Episode 67: Objectively Vetting Your Amazing Toy Ideas
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Coming up with toy ideas is fun, and over time it gets easier and easier. And vetting ideas that you’ve come up with is the trickiest step of all, because of our own ego. Ego can get in the way of you recognizing if your latest toy or game idea is really GREAT or just OK. So, in today’s episode The Toy Coach breaks down 3 methods and exercises that you can utilize to vet your latest Amazing toy idea.
The processes that are detailed in this episode are intentionally designed to separate your ego from your idea. You’re going to learn to get objective by diving into the perspective of your potential buyers. That’s consumers, toy companies, and retail buyers. If you’re unsure of what all those titles mean or how you can really get in their heads to think clearly and strategically about your idea, listen in to this episode.
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Azhelle 00:00
You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, Episode Number 67.
Intro/Outro + Jingle 00:06
Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors and entrepreneurs like you. And now your host Azhelle Wade.
Azhelle 00:17
Hey there toy people Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of the toy coach podcast, Making It in The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. Now, today's episode came to me when I was working with my toy students inside of Toy Creators Academy. And we're preparing for the virtual toy pitch event that's coming up in May. As we're working together on these ideas. The idea for this episode came to me as clear as day. Now my students will be virtually pitching their ideas directly to toy companies and distributors. And honestly, I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to organize this for them. Now, if you want to learn more about how you can join Toy Creators Academy and get in on all of these opportunities, just head over to toycreatorsacademy.com and sign up now. Now, coming up with toys ideas is always fun. And over time, it gets easier and easier. But vetting ideas that you've come up with is the trickiest step of all. And why is that? ego. We all love our own ideas more than anything, we think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. So today's episode is for everyone listening today that believes with their heart and soul that they have the greatest toy or game idea, perhaps since monopoly. And if you hear people like me telling you time and time again, that your idea, see if it's really good. But if you don't have a toy coach of your own, you might be feeling overwhelmed and confused by that. Like, how do you do that? So I struggled with this very same thing in the early days of my toy career. First, it was hard to be objective about my own ideas because they were mine. So of course, they're great. But then it was hard for me to be objective about my team's ideas, because they're amazingly talented toy people that I found and hired. So how could their ideas be anything less than phenomenal. So it was out of necessity that I developed a process. And it's really a mental checks and balances that I could often put myself through to help me separate ego from idea. So I wanted to share my process with you here today. And it's a lot of mindset work that you'd have to do on your own if you don't have a coach, but maybe with the help of some friends. And even when you don't have a coach on your side, you can still objectively evaluate your toy or game ideas. And here is how. Whenever I'm developing a toy idea, I like you think it's the best toy idea since Tickle Me Elmo. I also imagine that moment when my new toy invention hits the shelves, and new stations all over are clamoring to cover stories about parents fighting at their local targets to get their hands on the very last of my toy being in stock. Oh yeah, you can bet you're not the only one who thinks their latest toy or game idea is the best thing ever, we all do. But a true toy person knows deep down that as much as they love their new idea. And as important as it is for them to be passionate and proud of it, it's even more important that they can look at the idea of objectively and to vet it. Vetting your toy idea is the most important step next to unlocking what that idea is. And a true toy person knows how to really vet an idea so they can tweak it, change it or position it for success. So over the years, I've developed many methods for betting ideas, the methods that I implement are intentionally designed to emotionally separate myself from my invention so that I can really look at it objectively. And there are so many different angles that you as a toy creator needs to be able to see your toy idea from, you've got to see it through the eyes of a toy buyer. You've got to see it through the eyes of your consumer. And you've got to see it through the eyes of your user, if that differs from who will actually Do the purchasing. Plus, if you're working in corporate or if you're pitching to corporate, you've got to see your toy or game through the eyes of a corporate toy executive. Now, over time, you'll develop what many in the toy industry call a golden gut. It's an instinct or a feeling that you get when you see a new toy product that you just know, is it. It's the right product, it's the right time, it's the right price point. And you just get this internal knowing that you've got the connections needed to make it all come together to make that opportunity happen. Now, the tricky thing about a golden gut is, it can be so good, so intuitive that you might see potential earlier than most so early that it could be years of development and pricing and repitching to get the industry to catch up where you already saw the trends and consumer desires we're heading. But before you ever develop that golden gut, what do you do? Well, you apply methods, you research and research to get into the minds of your prospective buyers until you understand their wants and needs like your own. You view your product as if it were someone else's. You vet your ideas by deep diving into research and the psyche of your prospective buyers, competition, and even yourself. Now, there are three ways that I want to talk about that I've done this in the past. And we're going to just dive into those right now. Are you ready? Okay, so method number one, pretend your idea is not your own. Now, I started using this technique pretty early on in my career, when I recognize the impact that my own ego held on my discernment for great toy ideas. And the idea came to me. And the idea came about one day after I'd critique to competitor toy product in my head, while on a trend research trip. Only towers later see a very similar item in the showroom of the company I worked for. And of course, I loved my company's item more, I was totally bias. So I started to realize that the origin of a toy concept or product had a heavy impact in how I perceived the validity of that product. Now I'm sure you've seen it happen in your own career, whether it's in the toy industry or out, the same idea coming from two different people in the same meeting can be received very differently. One person can say it and it's praised, and another can say it and it's bashed, well, this is the same concept but applied to toy products and the company that it comes from as opposed to the person who says it. So what was the difference? I thought? And the answer was this, well, ego, but also authority. Now authority is something that a toy company builds up over time, and usually locks in with a highly successful legacy line like Mattel and Barbie. Now, there's a different expectation that you have naturally of Mattel when they put out a fashion doll than when you see one at $1 store from a no name brand. So back to method one, pretending your idea is not your own. It involves identifying what category your toy or your game is in. And what company is currently the leader of that category, then using an image editing software to create a visual rendering of your toy idea, but in their brand. Now, this rendering is for your eyes only. Of course, you don't want the world thinking that another company owns with or came up with your idea. But the purpose of this is to knock out your ego to knock it on its back with this contradictory visual. It's an idea you love so much, but in the package of your competitor. Now it could be a full on box rendering that you create. Or it could just be a snapshot, a screenshot of like their website where you put your product in place of one of their own. But the purpose of this exercise is to get you thinking to get you asking yourself these questions. What if your competitor came out with this very product? How would you perceive that? Would you be impressed? would you expect better? would you expect more? Would you feel beat wondering why you didn't have that idea first? Would you be embarrassed for them? The digital rendering in which you're pretending your idea is not your own allows you to get out of your own head. And it helps you measure your idea against the best of the best in an objective way. Remember, because there are leaders in that category, your standards are naturally set high, and you're naturally going to expect more from them, which means seeing their package on your product will cause you to expect more of your own invention. Or you might say, Oh, this is perfect, this is totally something that they would release, and then you know, you've got a winner. Now let's move on to method number two, which I call idea influence. Now, this is based on a tendency that most designers have noticed through their entire careers, where the validity of any toy pitch presentation or concept presentation that is being shown, is directly affected by the ones shown before it. So for example, in a design meeting, any idea pitched following a really bad idea has a tendency to seem not so bad. And any idea pitch after a really good idea seems to have just a little less shine. Now, that's why smart designers curate their portfolio strategically to help mitigate design influence. You do that by putting breather concepts between your biggest and most impressive works, kind of like how parsley is a palate cleanser after meals. But what I've learned over the years is using idea influence is a great way to suss out if you have a really truly amazing toy idea, or one that's just okay, or maybe one that's really not so great. So to start, you'll need to curate a list of several existing toy products that are really exceptional, and in the same category as your innovation. And then you want to write down a decent one to two sentence elevator pitch for these products, or even use ones that might already exist. And also, you'll need the elevator pitch for your new innovation, then this is the part where you might benefit from using a friend, you want to find a friend or a family member to help you out here to really pitch all of these toy ideas to you in a specific order. The second best existing toy goes first, the very best toy it goes second, and your unique to idea goes third. Now ideally, you want them to really get into all the pitches like you want them to really try to sell you. And as you're being pitched good idea after a great idea. And then your idea, what you'll notice is having two great two ideas pitch to you ahead of your own is going to influence how you see your own idea. This process will often inspire new ways to further develop your toy or game concept. Or alternatively, it might just inspire new ways that you might present it. Now either way, this exercise of comparison and utilizing idea influence to your benefit is extremely helpful in getting an objective view on your idea. Okay. Okay, finally, let's move on to method number three, which is called walk in their shoes. Now Who is there? Well, there could be your target consumer, it could be the toy company or manufacturer, or a retailer that you want to sell your product to. Now, if you take time to put yourself in their shoes to see the world from their point of view, you'll get a more objective look at your toy invention. So now let's break down the expectations that consumers buyers and toy companies have when they're considering buying or licensing your toy or game. Alright, to get started, let's go on to consumers. Consumers are your mom's your dad's your grandparents, your older kids. They're the people who are putting down the money to buy your product and making the conscious decision to do so. And consumers are primarily looking for value. They need to believe that the value of your product is in line with what they're used to spending on similar items. And they need to believe that the cost of that item is going to be brought back in the value that it will bring to their lives. And that value can come from a bunch of things, it can come from the brand that listed on the item, it can come from the size of the product, the style of the packaging, the function of the product, even the design of the product. So your job is to objectively look at your toy or game and compare it to similar items where ever your customer might shop, and really do a direct comparison, I'm talking component for component which means item by item or piece by piece, box size to box size, does the perceived value of your item equal or exceed the perceived value of the other items that will be continually biting to steal your consumers dollar away from you, because it has to be better in order to win that fight. Okay, let's move on to retail buyers, retail buyers, other corporate professionals who are responsible for choosing the right product to bring into stores that will guarantee a certain return on investment or the retailer itself. Now buyers primary focus is to grow revenue. If your product isn't going to generate more money for the retailer, or help that retailer tap into a market that they're currently missing, you're going to have a really tough time selling in that product, I want you to consider this 99% of the time that a buyer picks up an item, another item is getting dropped from that store. And I'm leaving that 1% because there are some occasions when a new manufacturer might come in with a clever idea for how to maximize existing retail space by adding in things like clip strips, or temporary POP, point of purchase displays, that will essentially increase the sales opportunity within a store. But that's really occasional, a lot of that stuff is already planned out. So nine times out of 10, your product needs to be able to replace and generate more revenue than another product. And that is going to happen when either A your product offers a better margin, which means that the retailer will be making more money off of each sale, or B your product is a better quality. And the existing product in their store might be experiencing a run of bad PR, bad reviews or even a recall. So the retailer wants out of that product. Or see your product is actually that innovative next version of an existing product, especially if a store currently sells a value and a premium version of that same existing product, which is essentially splitting sales. Think about it in the sense of A electronic toothbrush. If a store has an electronic toothbrush, that is a value price point, which means it's a lower price point. And then they have an electronic toothbrush, that is a premium price point, which means it's a higher price point. And you come in with the next generation of electronic toothbrush. Maybe it's for kids and it sings or something, you can have an opportunity where you might be able to say hey, what if we swipe out that lower price point product because I bet you I can generate more of a revenue for you if you take in my new next generation singing kids electronic toothbrush. Now in either of those situations, you're winning because of potential return on investment that your toy or game could bring to that retailer. And that means that if you look at your invention or your idea from this perspective, you can't help but get really objective about whether or not this idea is a good idea. Because it doesn't matter how much fun you might have had play testing it. When you get objective about these ideas you're really looking at, does it have a place in the market? Does it fit price points that people are looking for? And does it fill a gap that is needed to be filled? Okay, finally, let's talk toy companies. And when I say toy companies, you might also know them as toy manufacturers one in the same. Now toy company executives or leaders at toy companies that you might be pitching to. They're the most complex to pitch to because they They're being pulled in 100 different ways, at 100 miles an hour. They've got their own toy design preferences, but they also have to meet the needs of buyers, they've got to satisfy their end consumers. And they've got to meet the expectations of leaders in their respective toy companies. So their focus is typically online expansion and customer acquisition. And in regards to toy companies, execs, when I say customer, I'm actually referring to retailers like Walmart, Big Glads, Claire's the stores themselves, those are who they view as their customer. Now, toy company execs are looking for products that will entice their existing retail customers into giving them more shelf space at retail, but they're also focused on expanding their customer base with unique offerings and marketing campaigns that other toy companies can offer. So when I say that, I mean, they look at their existing toy lines and say, How can we convince this retailer to give us more space on the shelf? What do we have to introduce into this line? How many marketing dollars Do we have to put behind this line? What will motivate this buyer to give us more shelf space. Now, it's easier to sell in a full program to a retailer than it is for a toy company to sell in any individual item. So that's also why toy companies are very focused on line expansion. And that's why the scalability of your toy, or game invention is so important. If you can show these line extensions in your pitch. And if they are well thought out and applied in such a way that each extension increases the play pattern, or the brand value, you'll have an easier time catching their attention. Now I want you to write down each of the expectations of consumers, buyers and toy companies. Let's review them really quick. Consumers are initially primarily looking for value. Retail buyers primary focus is to grow their revenue. And toy company's primary focus is on blind extension, and customer acquisition. So write down these expectations. And next to each expectation, I want you to think about and write out what your amazing new toy or game idea actually does to meet those expectations. Not only will this exercise help you to objectively analyze your idea, but it's also going to help you build out the talking points for your pitch, making sure that when you pitch your idea you're leading with not just the features of your toy or game like oh, it lights up, and then it flaps. But there are also benefits that you can tell a toy company like this product that I'm bringing to you today. This is how you're going to expand in the construction toy category in target, let's say. Okay, toy people. That is all I have for you today about how to vet your toy ideas like a pro. If you take away just one thing from today's episode, I really want it to be this, it's easier to sell an entire program than it is to sell in a single item. So when you are pitching your single invention or product to a toy company or a product to a retailer, know that they're thinking of how that product can either build out into its own big program or how it can be a part of a larger program that already might exist. So that might be a seasonal end cap, it might be a two foot section, or it might be a whole pallet display. This goes back to Toyetic Principle number two from episode number two scalability. And if you haven't heard that episode, I want you to go to thetoycoach.com forward slash two and give it a listen right away episode number two. But if you do know the four Tarik principles, then you already know that thinking through the scalability of your idea is extremely important and can extend the shelf life of your innovation. So next time you're building out a toy idea, I want you to really analyze that product and think, how can I add to this? How can I grow this? Can it be more than just a one off item. The easiest way to scale initially is by the visual application of theme like space or unicorns. But then you can also apply a trend theme like sensory or unboxing play which will cause the play pattern and function of your toy or game invention to really evolve, really adding value and longevity to your concept. Okay, okay, I'm really done. This time I'm going to get off of my soapbox, but I do want to leave you with a listener spotlight. Today's listener spotlight comes from Elizabeth who left this lovely Apple podcast review. Elizabeth says Azhelle is such a bright soul. She brings so much fun and vibrancy to the toy industry as if it already wasn't super fun. She really tells you all the behind the scenes things you want to know. Oh, thank you so much for that review. Elizabeth. I hope to see you inside the Facebook group for the podcast. If you love this podcast, and you haven't already left a review. What are you waiting for? I absolutely love when I get a notification. That is there is a new, lovely review, and it puts a huge smile on my face. If you would love to meet fellow listeners of this podcast, this is your official invitation to join the Making It in The Toy Industry podcast Facebook community. The links and opportunities that I share within this Facebook group have resulted in fellow toy creators hitting major milestones in their toy business. If you're ready to connect with like minded toy people, this is the group for you. As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know there are a lot of podcasts out there. So it really means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week. I'll see you later toy people.
Intro/Outro + Jingle 26:45
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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🎓Learn more about how you can develop and pitch your toy idea with Toy Creators Academy® by clicking here to visit toycreatorsacademy.com and join the waitlist.