Episode #54: 5 Biggest Myths About Working In The Toy Industry
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Ready for a myth-buster? How about 5?
For today’s episode I’m going to dispel 5 myths you may have about the toy industry and share personal stories, and lessons that you can learn from each of these myths. When I first started my toy career I had a pretty clear idea about what it would be like to work in toys. I thought I knew what I’d be doing every day, who I’d be working with, and what would be driving my design decisions. Over the past decade, as I learned what really goes on behind the toy curtain, I’ve also come to be aware of myths other aspiring toy creators have about this industry.
The goal of today’s episode is to help you clarify your thinking. If you’ve been hearing a lot of “no” as you’ve been pitching your toy or game idea, this episode could help shed some light on why. We’ll touch on the correct use of intellectual property, who leads the toy development process, why toys are designed to price first, when patents are necessary, and the different paths you might take if you’re just breaking into this field.
Let’s dive into the episode.
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Listen to episode #25 with Karen Bonnici by Clicking Here.
Learn more about Toy Creators Academy by Clicking Here.
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Azhelle
You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, Episode Number 54.
Intro/Outro + Jingle
Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors and entrepreneurs like you. And now your host, Azhelle Wade.
Azhelle
Well hey there toy people Azhelle Wade here, and welcome back to another episode of Making It in The Toy Industry. This is the weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. For today's episode, we are going to discuss the five biggest myths about working in the toy industry. When I first started my toy career, I had my own idea of what it would be like to work in the toy industry. And over the past decade, I've heard so many other myths coming from other aspiring toy people who are interested in breaking into this awesome world of toys. Some of the myths that I'm going to burst today might seem funny, while others are eye opening, but it's not going to be all tough love. Today I'm going to share with you some personal stories where I have them and of course lessons to be learned. So let's run down the list of myths that we're going to break today. Are you ready? Myth number one, you can apply any license brand or IP you want to a toy idea that you want to sell. Myth number two toy designers designed for kids. Myth number three toys are designed first and prices are figured out later. Myth number four, you need a patent or provisional patent to sell your idea. Myth number five, the toy industry is impossible to break into unless you know someone. Okay, sound good. I'm excited to dive in. First up Myth number one. And Myth number one remember was you can apply any licensed brand or intellectual property that you want to a toy idea that you want to sell. And this is a myth to a people. Not at all, this is not the case. Licensing is a huge industry in itself. That requires a lot of communication and negotiation with licensors like Nickelodeon, Marvel, Disney Warner Brothers, etc. If your idea revolves around the intellectual property of let's say a deceased person, you'll likely have to negotiate with a foundation that maintains the rights over their brand. And if you go about developing or worse selling a product that you haven't licensed the rights for. And you don't have that formal licensing agreement to produce that product, you could find yourself guilty of intellectual property infringement. And I know so many people out there who have great educational ideas inspired by historical figures, but forget to reach out to the appropriate parties first to obtain the rights to manufacturer toy for that particular IP. Often they're too far down the development path and they've spent too much time and money. And when they can't get those rights, they realize they can't recoup that time and that money. Now there are two reasons why you want to reach out to a potential licensor early in your product development cycle. One, the licensor needs to approve your toys, design, everything from function, button placement and color all depending on how particular they are. All of it will need to be reviewed and approved by the owner of that IP. Whoever they are, regardless of if they even license the IP to you there is still a level of approval for your toys design. Now, the second reason is this. Some toy companies actually obtain exclusive rights over an entire category for a particular IP. So for example, let's say Playmates Toys, obtains the action figure license for Ninja Turtles from Nickelodeon. No other company can legally then create Ninja Turtles action figures, not you not Mattel not Spin Master no one it's just the person who obtains the rights in that specific licensing agreement for whatever the amount of time determined is. Just like if Warner Brothers were to grant Lego the construction toy license for Harry Potter that would mean that mega blocks or connects or anyone else can't make a Harry Potter building set. So before you go investing your time and your money, building an innovative patented Construction Set for Hello Kitty. You're going to want to do your homework and make sure that no other toy company has already licensed the rights for the category that you want to go after. So the actionable lesson here is do the legwork and do things the right way. Forming partnerships with licensers can be just as vital as forming them with your buyers. If you managed to obtain a licensing agreement from a licensor and your product sells well, that same license there will be more willing to offer you another license in their catalog later if you request it. Considering that licensed toy products make up about a third of all toy sales, this is definitely something that you want to take seriously. I remember way back when working on the Hello Kitty license, just learning simple things like Hello Kitty is a girl and not a cat changes the types of toys and play patterns that you will apply to that product because you want those play patterns to be approved by the licensor and they won't approve it if it doesn't match with their brand values. So definitely take this piece into consideration. Next up, Myth number two toy designers designed toys with kids in mind. Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, what, where she going with this, but hear me out. Toy designers, both corporate and independent, of course, initially begin their designs looking at what kids want. But in truth, the main motivator leading the rest of the toy design process is who is actually going to buy it. And depending on if your toy business is B2C, meaning direct to consumer or business to consumer, you're selling to a mom directly or maybe an older kid. Or if your toy business is B2B, meaning you're selling to a retailer who will resell your product, your toy design actually starts to be led by what your end buyer will want instead of what the kid would want. Now let's look at an example from the perspective of your end buyer being a mom in a B2C business. Now a kid might love the idea of a glitter bomb toy, they might have so much fun watching that glitter bomb explode all over their bedroom. But mom, when mom sees that packaging that says glitter bomb with 20 ounces of very fine, never going to get out of your carpet glitter. Mom is going to run, not walk run far away from that store and that package. So that's why toy design tends to be led by who is going to buy the product. Now let's take a look at this from the perspective of a buyer. Now a kid might think that they want a giant robotic dragon that's gonna end up costing $350 at retail but that's not their problem. And they want this giant robotic maybe ride on dragon because of a new Disney movie that just came out and it's all about dragons and dragons are all the rage. But a toy buyer knows that a $350 ride on robotic dragon is just not going to fit in their planet gram or the budget of their stores consumer demographic. So they'll likely turn down your pitch of a $350 ride on robotic dragon without a second thought. So a lot of toy design in our industry, a lot of the designs are tweaked and refined and developed with the toy buyer in mind and that toy buyer is the person who represents Target, WalMart, Barnes and Noble etc, and decides in large quantities, what toys and games will go into their stores toy aisle the next season. If a toy requires tooling for plastic components, and the tooling costs are very expensive. A toy company may choose not to even go into production until they receive some sort of interest from a retail buyer. Now the lesson I want you to take away from this myth is to understand the impact and influence of retail buyers in our industry. The retail buyers know their customers, they know the quality, the budget and the taste of their customers like the back of their hand. So they're going to push back against anything that doesn't fit that mold. A toy can have a feature or a play pattern that would really resonate with children but if a buyer doesn't see the whitespace or the opportunity for that product in their store, then they won't carry it. And the same applies to packaging design. Stores like Target and Walmart have really strict rules about the height of box sizes and their toy and game aisles. And if your amazing product doesn't fit in a box under a certain height, guess what? You're gonna have to change it, or they won't carry it. Ready for Myth number three? Okay, here we go. Myth number three is a toy is designed first, then the price is figured out later. I'm sure you've heard people openly critique toy and game designs with comments like, Oh, I wish it had more lights, you know, this toy should also play music. Or why doesn't this game come with more cards and pencils. But with most what most people don't realize is there's a reason that a toy might not have more lights. And there's a reason if a game doesn't come with more cards. And that reason is price. How much a product is going to cost is really going to affect what the end product is, even over the desired function of the toy, the desired function that a designer has of a toy, I can't tell you how many metaphorical tears I've shed over my career over the components that I've had to cut out of a toy just to save 10 cents, or instructions that I've had to change to black and white to save a few cents. But at the end of the day, losing that component or losing the color and instructions could make or break the viability of the product. So in order to keep the toy in a planogram, we cut what we need to cut. Now I've had inventors come to me with great ideas before they lean in with the idea of first adding feature after feature to their toy or game. They're building out these beautiful stories and play patterns and the price is the last thing on their mind. But I'll tell you, it ought to at very least be the second thing on your mind. And here's the lesson I want you to take away. Every toy category has its industry standard prices that customers expect to pay and features that they expect to get in return for that price. A dding extra features or components to your product simply because you want them can cost you sales or your spot on the shelf. So here's a really quick example, most card games tend to retail between 15 to $25. Now, if you have a card game that has twice as many cards as your competitor, and maybe your cards are 30% bigger, you're gonna have to raise your retail price just to maintain your profit margin because your factory price is going to go up. But what you have to ask yourself is this, will customers notice the extra cards? Will they care that the cards are 30% bigger enough to pay significantly more for your game? Especially if there's a similar but cheaper game right next to yours on the shelf? And the answer is maybe not. Now, today, the biggest shopping platform is Amazon. And with an open marketplace, you can put anything you want online, but I want you to be careful. Make sure you're analyzing what is already available on that marketplace, and that you're positioning your product to compete at either a price level or a feature level or ideally both. Alright, next up is Myth number four, you need some sort of patent to license your toy idea. While there are other industries where manufacturers won't even look at your invention to buy it unless it has some sort of patent or provisional patent, that happily is not the case in the world of toys, you can actually license your toy or game idea without having a patent at all. Now this is a great point that we covered in my most recent toy challenge. We'll be having more of those, make sure you're on my list to find out about them. But you can actually license your toy or game idea without having a patent at all. When you sell your idea in the toy industry. You're selling more than just the idea and you're selling more than just a patent you're selling the time, the effort and the resources that you invested in developing that functioning prototype and hopefully a patentable invention. Now there's a difference between having an invention that's patentable and one that is already patented. A patentable idea means that it's protectable that a toy company could if they wanted to or needed to file a patent for a set idea and legally defend the intellectual property of the idea from another company that might want to infringe on when you walk into a pitch meeting. While a patent definitely gives you an edge to negotiate for a higher percentage of royalty, it's it's not a requirement. Now I of course, I know that you want to protect your idea in that pitching phase. And there are many steps in which you can do that you can file a provisional patent, you can lean on your NDA. And if you want to learn more about that process of inventing and filing a provisional patent and pitching with that patent, I want you to listen to episode number 25. Go to thetoycoach.com forward slash 25, where I interviewed a fellow inventor named Karen Bonnici, who did just that I will also drop a link in the show notes of this episode. Now the lesson I want you to take away here is just don't let the limiting belief that you need a patent prevents you from pitching your toy ideas. If your invention is protectable, if it is patentable, a toy company may be willing to pay for the patent as part of the contract negotiations. So focus on developing a truly unique idea, doing your research to find the right companies for it and building the right relationships so you can start pitching it. Okay, here we are. Finally, at Myth number five, the toy industry is an impossible industry to break into. Now, I'll admit it's not easy breaking into or even staying in the toy industry. Even I took a few detours working for kids towel company, and even a button company at one point in my career, but it's definitely not impossible. Now, when it comes to design, there are a few ways to break into the world of toys and some of these ways you can apply to other career paths within the industry as well. Now to start, there are actually two colleges in the US that offer toy design degrees. And that's the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York where I went and Otis College of Art and Design in California. As a student there, you're going to be guided by industry professionals into developing your portfolio and your skills. And then eventually they'll help you apply to internships so that you can start your career in toys. Now, what are you going to do if you don't live anywhere near those two colleges, or you've already gotten a general industrial design degree. Now, in that case, I would recommend working on filling your portfolio with children's product oriented designs to show that you can think and work like a toy designer. If you need an example of how to lay out your work. Check out the online portfolios of actual toy design students. This will show you what toy companies are used to seeing so that you can follow suit. Now I'm not telling you to copy their work, but copy the way that it is presented. Do they use blue pencils to sketch? Then you sketch with blue pencils. Do they show 3d models? Then you show 3d models. Do they show market research? Well, you get the drift go from there. If you're still having a hard time landing toy jobs, I want you to start looking outside the industry but in correlating industries, similar industries to the toy industry. So when I was first starting, I used to search job boards for any listing that had the word kids child and design because at the time, I was focused on design, if you're looking at marketing, you go kids child and marketing. Now that's probably how I ended up designing kids towels at a company for two months. But honestly, I didn't care every step closer that I could get toward my ultimate goal, which was Kids Toys is all that mattered. Now, it's important if you want to grow in the toy industry that you reassess your job, if it's an internship every three to six months, and if it's a full time job, then you want to reassess it about every year. And when you reassess, you want to ask yourself, am I ready for the next step either within this company or within another company? Am I ready to change from children's towels to kids party supplies or to kids board games. If you have a genuine interest in kids products, it's going to show in your portfolio and in your interview. You may need to be open to moving a state for this industry, Yes, that's true, I have a good friend who just moved from New York to Florida to follow an opportunity because she loves this industry so much. Now finally, if you're thinking Azhelle, there is no way that I'm going back to school, I am too old for that. Don't worry, there's always a more contemporary route. You can also learn online with a digital toy course that's specific to what you want to do in the toy industry. One that I created for toy inventors and entrepreneurs is Toy Creators Academy. And this course will teach you the many different aspects of the toy industry, how to develop ideas that are toy yedek, and how to connect with the right people to manufacture and sell those ideas. toy industry events also can be a great way when you're not looking to go back to school, but you're looking to make connections. These events can be a great way to get to know people in the industry, and start your new maybe later in life toy career. Okay to get people that is all I have to share with you today. Those were the five biggest myths about working in the toy industry. I hope you learned a lot from today's episode, I want to invite you to follow me on Instagram, I'm at thetoycoach. We've got some exciting things coming up and I do not want you to miss it. So again, head over to Instagram and search for the toy coach and you can DM me any time. If you enjoy this podcast and you haven't already left me review. Well, what are you waiting for? Seriously, I want to hear it. Leave me some love in the review section. Wherever you listen to this podcast. I get notified of the reviews and they put a huge smile on my face. Like this one I'm about to read to you from Matt designer. It says I've been in the industry for a long time and this podcast has been a great resource and motivator to get back to focusing on inventing thanks for all the work you put into it. Thank you, Matt designer, I really appreciate that review. As always, thank you so much for joining me here. I know there are a lot of podcasts out there. So it means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week. I'll see you later toy people.
Intro/Outro + Jingle
Thanks for listening to Making It in The Toy Industry podcast with Azhelle Wade, head over to thetoycoach.com for more information, tips and advice
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