#224: This ONE Media Event Could Make Your Toy Brand Go Viral 📈
Toy trade shows are NOT the only way to get your brand noticed. Your toy brand could go viral after attending a toy industry media event. In this episode of "Making It in the Toy Industry," Azhelle Wade shares the juicy details behind influencer events and media showcases like Sweet Suite and Holiday of Play. These industry gatherings are hidden gems for toy and game creators looking to snag media attention and make lasting impressions without the hustle and bustle of traditional trade shows. Already planning to attend Sweet Suite? Hit play on this episode to learn how to get noticed on the show floor.
Once you've got the inside scoop on these media events, Azhelle shares five game-changing tips to transform your booth into a social media sensation. Hint: it’s all about engagement and fun! You'll learn how to captivate your audience with interactive experiences, leverage strong branding and social media presence, and lay the groundwork for future collaborations with influencers and media moguls.
This ONE invite-only toy industry event could make your toy brand go viral. Find out how to create an unforgettable booth that stands out, why these events are crucial for your brand’s visibility, and where you can maximize your exposure.
What's In This Episode
Discover why trade shows might not be the only way to get your toy noticed.
Learn about exclusive influencer and media events like Sweet Suite and Holiday of Play.
Find out the key tips to create an engaging booth that stands out at these events.
Explore creative social media strategies to maximize your event presence.
Understand the importance of strong branding and how to implement it effectively.
Get insider advice on how to plant seeds for future collaborations with influencers and media attendees.
Hear the ultimate bonus tip to calculate the ROI of attending these media events.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Check out Sweet Suite and Holiday at Play photo albums on Flickr - See how other brands have built out their booths and reference it when planning for your show experience.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Ready to book your spot at Sweet Suite? Contact: jdevin@adventurepub.com
View Suite Suite 2023 Website -
[00:00:00]Azhelle Wade: You are listening to making it in the toy industry. Episode number 224. Hey there. People Ezell Wade here. And welcome back to another episode of making it in the toy industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by the toy coach.com.
[00:00:35] How are we doing today? People I, myself am coming off of a cold, just having come back from a Astro marketplace and academy. And man, I always get sick these trade shows. Am I the only one? Let me know if you also get sick at trade shows. Speaking of toy trade shows. are trade shows the only way to get your toy or game noticed? Well, they're not, there are things [00:01:00] out there called influencer events and media events put on by media agencies in the toy industry. have you ever heard of an event called sweet, sweet or holiday of play? Maybe you've seen some of those names in my social media feeds or in my emails or maybe you've just seen them around the web. Well today, we're going to dive into exactly what those events are and how you can make the most of them.
[00:01:26] Now out events like sweet, sweet, and holiday of play. what happens is if you have a toy or game product that is available for sale, and it could be something you're selling direct to consumer, or maybe it's something that you've gotten lucky enough to get into a major retailer or specialty retailers. You would go to a show like this to get media attention. These shows aren't trade shows.
[00:01:50] They are what they call the biggest nights of play in our industry. And the whole goal is to stand out and make a lasting impression on the media. [00:02:00] That's an attendance. So at these events, you will see a ton of kid influencers. You'll see adult influencers, But you'll also see editors from media stations like Buzzfeed.
[00:02:10] so today I want to get into some tips and tricks to make your booth space at these events really stand out and be truly unforgettable. Now friend of the show, J D who works with the toy insider provided tips for us to give you about making the most of your booth at these events like sweet, sweet, and holiday play. It's not the same as a trade show. so you don't want to do the same things. By the end of this episode, you're going to learn how to create an engaging booth with activities that will attract and captivate attendees.
[00:02:43] You'll learn the importance of strong branding and social media presence. and you'll learn effective strategies to plant seeds for future collaborations, with influencers and the media that walked by. So if you've never heard of these events before, I want to paint a picture for you of what they're [00:03:00] like, imagine you're at the pier in New York city. And you enter into this big ballroom, like setting windows floor to ceiling. And as soon as you walk in your greeted with someone who hands you a pass for the day, you put that pass around your neck and to your right, you'll see a display where you'll see a bar where they're free drinks waiting for you to grab two right in front of you. You'll see snacks galore and then you will be led to a room filled with booths and activations by other toy and game manufacturers. Okay. That's the picture. So these events are filled with toy and game manufacturers who aren't looking for a sale but they're looking for media coverage. So opposite the manufacturer, who are they inviting to these shows? Well, it's not buyers, for these shows, it's media, Instagram influencers, brand ambassadors, YouTube creators, Tik TOK stars, family [00:04:00] bloggers, bloggers reporters, producers news anchors, all are invited to come to Sweet Suite. Or to holiday of play, to meet with the brand representatives of the best toy companies in the U S.
[00:04:14] Not just anyone can get into this show. You have to get invited And that's because the organizers of this event want to make sure that this event is as valuable as possible to the attendees. And the best part of these events, in my opinion. Is, they aren't as big as a toy trade show. So the people who are attending these events will pass by your booth. Your job is to pull them in to intrigue them and give them something to write about or post about.
[00:04:46] So we're going to get into the five tips that JD has provided us, but then I'm going to give you a final bonus tip at the end that you can not miss. This bonus tip is going to assure that you make the most of this event. All right. [00:05:00] Tip number one. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. So bring the fun. These events. Sweet, sweet, and holiday of play are not trade shows. This is not a time to make sales. It's a time to make a buzz. These are the biggest nights of play in the industry and the attendees expect to come and get hands on.
[00:05:21] They want to hear about your newest products. Okay. They do, but they really want to play with them. So for every product that you're bringing, think about how someone can play with it and engage with it, other than just picking it up and looking at it or taking a photo of it.
[00:05:36] Engagement is key. Your in booth activity should be a social posting opportunity. The media and influencer attendees of these shows are going to meet with about 30 to 70 different brands. How many brands just depends on the event? And you want to stand out. As I said, they will make it to your brand booth.
[00:05:59] So [00:06:00] stand out when they do. Think about how you can turn your booth into an experience through raffles, leaderboards, or interactive life-size versions of your product That can encourage on the spot social sharing. Now I have got to underscore on the spot. Because how many photos do you take on your phone that you say you're going to post later and you never do.
[00:06:23] So you really want to make a magic happen. At your booth that will encourage someone to post it on the spot. So is it that they get a free giveaway? The moment they post it? Is it that they're entering a giveaway by posting it and by sharing it, or do you create a visual that is so cool and unique and interesting that they want to share it? I'll give you an example of a few activations that I've seen in person that really stood out to me that I shared, there was one company.
[00:06:56] Oh my gosh. And as I'm saying this, I'm realizing I don't remember the company, but I do. [00:07:00] Remember the activation. So I'll say this now, branding, branding, branding, put your name everywhere, but there was one company that had a photo booth that would take a picture of you, but it just pixelated the picture completely.
[00:07:12] And they gave you a Polaroid of that pixelated picture. You never got the real picture. You saw yourself taking the real picture, where you're crisp and looking like yourself. And then what prints is this pixelated picture? And that called back to their product. That was a pixelated pixie. I see something product.
[00:07:29] and that is something that I immediately had to post because it was so cool and unique and different, and really Instagramable.
[00:07:36] All right, I'm going to give a tip. That's really relative to what's working right this moment on social media, if you could create an opportunity for someone to build B roll content at your booth, that would be huge.
[00:07:48] A year ago, I went to a booth and they had remote control cars and they would just hand everybody a control and let them drive around the cars. they were showing us how. these cars had cameras [00:08:00] on them and kids would drive them around their whole house. And the camera on the top of the car would show what the house looks like from this car point of view. And they had, the cameras projecting the images that they were seeing on these large LCD screens. So when I saw that, I thought, oh, cool. What would it look like if I sat down on the floor and the car was driving around or driving through my leg or something. Like that.
[00:08:22] So I did, I sat down on the floor. they drove the cars all around me And my team member took a video of me sitting on the floor and having the cars drive around me. And that was actually really good B roll content that I overlayed texts later on and posted on Instagram.
[00:08:41] And I think I said something like when you sit down for a second and become a stunt track. and so those are things you want to think about. So if I were attending sweet, sweet, or holiday. At play, I would be looking at what are the popular Instagram trends right now?
[00:08:55] Are there, are any of them something that I can recreate with my products [00:09:00] and adding my product into the mix of that trend would actually make that trend funnier or more interesting. Is it a dancing trend and my product, makes noise when it's moved. So if somebody dances with my product in their hand, it's going to make a crazy sound effect.
[00:09:16] So just think about it like that. JD friend of the show said he seen brands bring in giant pinatas claw machines, a ball pit, and even a money booth to these events just to draw in attendees and create social media moments. So again, just get creative and think about what is an image or something that somebody would want to post. And how can I create a space that allows that experience to be repeated and repost it and recreated? Okay.
[00:09:47] Tip number two, branding is key. You want to have your logo and your brand name? Everywhere. If that's on the booth signage on the tablecloth, on the shirts any [00:10:00] employees are wearing the day of. handouts that you give out. Anything apart of your event set up even should have your branding, any attendee reviewing their event, photos or giveaways should be able to tell exactly what company you are with by seeing your shirt, your tablecloth, your signage.
[00:10:20] There are so many photos and videos being taken at this event. From so many different angles, really think about how your branding will show up in any and every shot, even shots that may not have been intended to capture your brand can capture and promote your brand. Your social handles and your active hashtags should also be everywhere within your booth.
[00:10:45] You want to tell people what to hashtag when they're posting and you want to tell people what social media accounts to follow. And you want those that hashtag and you're at. On all of your printed materials and your signage, whenever attendees are [00:11:00] posting to social or including your products in video packages, you want them to know who you are and how to find you and how to tag you in those posts. I would say, add your hashtag and your at symbol everywhere. If you feel like you have added it too much and you've overdone it, you probably did just enough. So just add it everywhere.
[00:11:24] Tip number three, plant the seeds for future collaborations.
[00:11:29] Don't leave it up to the media or the influencers attending this event to think of creative ways to work with you. Come prepared to this event with a few creative ideas of your own. And have simple instructions ready for the influencer and media attendees to help you with that social promotion. So seriously, if it's a matter of, oh, we want you to share this to a story and tag XYZ.
[00:11:55] If you love it, have a QR code that will immediately take them to that specific [00:12:00] story that you want them to do or tag or share. If it's a sound that you want them to use, you could have a QR code. Take them right. to a video that uses that sound so that they can use the sound. So think about ways that you can make it super easy for someone to share your brand on social media.
[00:12:18] another way to plant seeds for future collaborations is to think about affiliate programs. Do you have one? Do you need to build one and affiliate program would pay a commission on generated sales and those are always welcome.
[00:12:32] You could use this as an opportunity to find influencers, bloggers who might partner with you become ambassadors for your brand. Anytime they generate sales. So many people now are using tick-tock shop and they have their own Amazon shop pages. Can you get your product featured on this influencers shop page and share in some of the proceeds so that you can increase your sales.
[00:12:58] Now the third way you can [00:13:00] plant seeds for future collaborations. You can pitch coverage ideas to any media attendees based on upcoming events. So that means that you've got to have in your mind, basically headline ideas that you could pitch to media. So if there is an upcoming holiday or an upcoming milestone, a social milestone that's relevant to your product, you could literally pitch the headline idea. like, The one gift you don't want to forget to put under the tree. Now you won't necessarily know what the media, attendee is wanting to write about or what they might currently be reporting on, but you can come up with a variety of headlines and pitch different ideas to them while they're there.
[00:13:45] Or you can offer to pitch ideas at a later date, you might be able to come up with something that fits into their coverage plans in unexpected ways. Think about TV and movie releases that could align with your product. think about sporting events coming up that could [00:14:00] align with your product.
[00:14:01] And then think of seasonal things like vacation planning back to school planning, outdoor activities, family game night, et cetera. so in my experience, the editors are typically working one to two months in advance with the articles that they're writing.
[00:14:16] so whatever day you're attending sweet, sweet, or holiday of play, think a month or two out what holiday will be happening a month later. And then two months later and come prepared with concepts for article titles that would fit really well in with your product line.
[00:14:33] Okay. Tip number four, look to the past to plan for the future. Did you know that you could check out the photo albums from all previous events on flicker well you can! And we will put the link in the show notes, go to the toy coach.com forward slash 2, 2, 4 to check out the link to the past media events held by the toy insider team and look through those to see how other brands have built out their booths and take that learning into consideration.
[00:14:59] While [00:15:00] planning for your show experience, you could even look at images and videos and identify other opportunities to market that other people have missed Further than that, you can always reach out to a representative to brainstorm and share best practices for an incredible experience at the show.
[00:15:18] Tip number five from our friend of the show.
[00:15:21] Jay D thank you so much is be fearless and book early. So if you have a crazy idea for a booth, don't dismiss it, just run it by the toy, insider the adventure media team. They love new ideas and we'll work with you to make it a reality. So if you think you have this crazy idea for an activation and you don't think it will work, hang on, just give them a call And see.
[00:15:46] Don't be afraid to book early. When you book early for this event, you will get an early bird discount, and most importantly, you'll get a premium booth location. Those run out fast, not only do the premium booth [00:16:00] locations right out, but so do the branding opportunity. So really don't wait too long to reserve your booth at a toy insider event today. Now the next toy insider Sweet Suite is happening July 17th. So if you're interested and you want to be a part of it, head over to the toy coach.com forward slash 2, 2, 4, and I will give you all the details. So you don't miss this incredible media opportunity.
[00:16:25] Now, finally, I promised you a tip, a bonus tip, and this bonus tip I said is going to make all the difference for the show and it will. So one of the biggest issues with any trade show is figuring out how do I calculate the R O I? So we want you to have a clear ROI from the show, but how can you do that?
[00:16:45] When a show is not specifically about something as direct as sales, right? How do we do that? here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to Google. I want you to set yourself a Google alert for your brand name. You want this Google alert to check daily for any [00:17:00] mentions of your brand.
[00:17:01] You're going to do this before you go to this show, ideally a month before would be great, because then you would have a month of pre-show data but then you're also going to take a look at your email list. So before you go to the show, I want you to take a look at your email list.
[00:17:16] I want you to take a look at the growth rate of your email list. Are you getting five new emails a day or 500 new emails a day? And how many emails do you currently have on your email list? I want you to create an Excel sheet or a Google doc, write all of these numbers down.
[00:17:32] I also want you to go and check your traffic.
[00:17:34] Now you can log into Google analytics and you can check your site traffic there. you could also use a tool that I use. Uber suggest to check your site traffic. And I want you to check your site traffic and see how many visits you're getting month to month. I want you to write those numbers down.
[00:17:51] Then I want you to go to the show. After the show, you're going to check all of those numbers again, likely after the show. If you did a good job of promoting your [00:18:00] brand there, you will begin to get Google alerts that your brand has been mentioned somewhere on the web. So you want to take note of how many times you get those alerts and how many times your brand is mentioned.
[00:18:12] You also then want to look at your email list, see how that has grown. And again, you want to look at your website data and how many visits have increased to your website. So you're going to compare at least the data from a month before the event. And then I would say for after the event, at least three months, you want to give time for the media outlets to write articles, get them approved and get. out, same for influencers who might be planning their content a month in advance.
[00:18:39] You want to give them time to include your brand's content into their content plan? And then you want to give them time to post it. So at least give yourself about three months after the event to look at how your numbers have changed. So again, that final bonus tip is before you go to the show, write down what those current numbers [00:19:00] are. And then three months after the show, write down where you have gotten.
[00:19:04] That will give you the ability to track the return on investment for an event like this.
[00:19:10] So going to any show, it's so important to have an ROI in mind, a goal in mind, and it's important that you know your numbers before you do the show.
[00:19:19] So you can be clear on what works and what doesn't work for. You.
[00:19:22] So let's do a quick recap of what we learned today, how to make your booth stand out at sweet, sweet and Holiday Of Play one. you've got to create engaging fun activities that attract attendees.
[00:19:33] You've got to ensure your booth has a strong unmistakable branding and opportunity for social media moments. Three, you've got to bring collaboration, ideas, ready to the event and pitch it to the influencers and media.
[00:19:48] Here's your action item for this week. If you are looking to grow media for your brand, I want you to consider reaching out to one of the adventure media crew and booking yourself a [00:20:00] booth at Sweet Suite, which is coming up in July.
[00:20:03] Once you reach out, tell them some of the ideas that you've gotten maybe inspired from this podcast. And see what ideas they might have for you and your brand. They are happy to work with and brainstorm with you a little bit. Then once you book that booth, create your plan, make sure that you focus on the interactive social media moment. above and beyond focusing on what products you're going to bring.
[00:20:29] Again, I want you to go on Tik TOK and Instagram, even YouTube. And look at viral videos of toys and games, which videos are going viral, how are they going viral?
[00:20:40] And how can you recreate eight? What is happening in those videos in a booth with your own product? As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Well, that's all we have for [00:21:00] this week until next time, make it toyetic toy people.
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