Unlocking the secret world of kids’ imagination

Abstract

Explains the essential factors in creating successful licensed toy products for children: two are immediacy and story. Points out that toys that engage children’s emotions are more likely to succeed than ones which are simply functional and well crafted, or excessively kitsch, as the Star Wars characters arguably are; it is easy to gain children’s attention, but the product must then deliver on underlying expectations and provide a story. Illustrates this with a case study of a design exercise, U‐Force, where comic book characters were developed for multimarket global appeal, and a background story then emerged. Uses the example of Lego to illustrate another secret of successful toy design, adaptability: part of Lego’s appeal is the mystery which comes from the child’s ability to transform one finished toy into another.

Segmenting the toy industry: a study of pre‐teen Millennials

“…On a five-point scale, anchored between "very unimportant" and "very important," respondents rated the importance of each of the following characteristics of their favorite toy: "challenging," "easy to use," "made me use my imagination" (creative), "taught me something" (educational), and "allowed me to play with others" (social). The five toy characteristics that were evaluated and included in the cluster analysis were selected based on the toy literature and prior research (James, 2005;Poris, 2005). The measurement scales were developed and validated by experts at Harris Interactive.…”