#228: Why You're Not Hearing Back from Top Toy Companies and What To Do Instead
Submit your toy invention idea and hear nothing back? You’re not alone. In this episode of "Making It in the Toy Industry," host Azhelle Wade—discusses the frustrating problem of feeling ghosted by toy companies. You’ll uncover why your submissions might be hitting a dead end and learn actionable strategies to finally get a response.
So, why aren’t toy companies calling you back? Azhelle kicks things off with key definitions: What exactly is an inventor in the toy space, and what's involved in the submission process? In this episode you'll learn the different submission methods used by toy companies, from emailing, agents, portals and beyond.
Ever thought it would be amazing to have a wish list and know exactly what companies are looking for? Well you're in luck, because in this episode Azhelle explains how to get a wish list from toy companies, ensuring you’re pitching what they actually need.
And what if you put into action everything from this episode and companies still aren't biting? Tune in for the backup plan that will give you more creative control and a bigger chunk of the profits.
Don’t wait for toy companies to discover you—hit play and learn how to stand out in a pile of inventor submissions.
Submission Methods To Pitch Your Ideas To Toy Companies Covered In This Episode
Email Techniques:
Learn how to craft the perfect introductory email to get that all-important Zoom meeting. Pro tip: Never send unsolicited ideas!
Agents:
Discover how to approach toy brokers and agents, and why they might be your golden ticket.
Inventor Relations Managers:
Understand the role of these gatekeepers and how they can be an asset or a roadblock.
Online Portals & Pitch Events:
Get the lowdown on using company portals like Hasbro Spark and My Mattel Ideas, as well as virtual and in-person pitch events.
For a deeper dive into submission methods, hit play on this episode.
Episode Cliff Notes
[00:04:01]: Discover the various submission methods toy companies use to review inventor ideas. From email etiquette to online portals, learn practical tips to get your foot in the door and present your innovative concepts effectively.
[00:11:22]: Are you targeting the right companies with your invention? Learn how crucial market research can elevate your pitch and improve your chances of getting noticed by aligning your ideas with the right companies' product offerings.
[00:24:32]: If traditional approaches aren't yielding results, it might be time to consider entrepreneurship. Learn about effective crowdfunding strategies and how launching your toy idea independently could turn your dream into reality, even attracting attention from larger companies down the line.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Watch This Video On How To Use Inventor Submission Portals
The Toy Trade Show Handbook For Toy People
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People of Play Innovation Conference - click here
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[00:00:00] you are listening to Making It in the Toy Industry, episode number 228.
[00:00:23] Hey there, toy people, Azhelle Wade here, and welcome back to another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach. com. Today's episode addresses a common problem that I'm seeing cropping up again and again lately. And that problem is not hearing back from toy companies after submitting your invention ideas.
[00:00:46] This topic keeps resurfacing in my free toy clarity calls, where I'm meeting with people to find out what they should do with their incredible ideas.
[00:00:55] It's been coming up in my Instagram DMs and even in my LinkedIn [00:01:00] comments, people are often saying, I've tried submission portals, but they aren't working. Or they'll say, I'm trying to pitch from another country, but the portals are not accepting ideas from where I live. Or they'll say I've contacted people so many times with my ideas, but I'm not getting a response.
[00:01:19] So by the end of today's episode, you're going to know what to do to get in contact with toy companies that seem to be evading you. You're going to understand how to get. a better idea of what they're looking for so you can make a better pitch and you'll have a change of perspective when you are reaching out to these companies.
[00:01:38] Let's dive in.
[00:01:39] So let's kick off this conversation with some important definitions that you'll need to know as we continue. First up, just the topic of what is an inventor? An inventor is someone who has an idea for a toy product and they want to pitch that idea with a prototype to toy companies for licensing, [00:02:00] which means they're essentially selling the idea in order to reap a percentage of the profits when the toy company manufactures it.
[00:02:07] Now, the second definition that's going to be important for this part of the conversation is submissions. What do I mean when I'm talking about submissions? The process of submissions is the process of getting your idea considered for licensing. If you're an aspiring inventor and you've been reaching out to toy companies to pitch your ideas through email or LinkedIn without any response, buckle up for some tough love toy coaching, because there's a big chance you might be doing it wrong.
[00:02:33] Now, every company has its own process for receiving inventor submissions. Some companies will allow you to email them directly. Other companies require you go through. agents. Some exclusively work with inventor representatives, others have portals, and some just attend toy industry pitch events when they want to review pitches from inventors.
[00:02:54] Now, the smaller the company, typically the more direct and informal the process of pitching [00:03:00] will be. Larger companies tend to have more controlled and limited paths to pitching due to legal considerations. And this is because as companies grow, they just retain more legal counsel, and they quickly learn that accepting pitches through email or without an official legal agreement in place can actually cost them more in the future.
[00:03:22] Then it's worth. So as these companies grow, the path of pitching becomes more controlled, more limited. You cannot and should not send your ideas to anyone unsolicited. If you do, and a company does not accept unsolicited pitches via email, which most do not, your email will at best be deleted and at worst be forwarded to a legal team and then blocked.
[00:03:46] So if you find yourself not getting an email back from a company, this could be why. So now I'd like to dive into the different submission methods that companies use. There are different ways to get [00:04:00] your inventions in front of them. Let's break all of those ways down. Now, the first submission method is email.
[00:04:06] Email is really just a means to get a meeting to pitch to a company. It's not at all a place to send an unsolicited pitch and it's not often the first stop that an inventor will use to pitch an idea. if they're going to pitch an idea virtually, that's usually done through Zoom.
[00:04:23] So if you want to reach out to a company for an opportunity to pitch, you might say something like this, quote, Hello, name of the person you're reaching out to, my name is your name, and I am a toy inventor specializing in dolls. I've got several Innovative prototypes. That would be a great fit for your company.
[00:04:41] Do you work with inventors? And if so, can we schedule a zoom call pitch meeting? I'm happy to review and sign any necessary documents. Now, if the company doesn't respond after you send a note like that, you can follow up, but again, do not send your idea until you are invited to do so. [00:05:00] the second, submission method that we'll see is through agents.
[00:05:03] Now, toy agents are also referred to as toy brokers in the industry. Toy agents represent toy inventors and will take a percentage of their profits for representing and pitching their ideas. Think of it as like you're Alicia Keys and you are signing with a record label and that toy agent is the record label.
[00:05:23] Yeah. So that's kind of the relationship there. Now, some toy companies prefer working with agents because an agent can bring a bunch of different inventions. They can tailor which pitches to show the company and they come from a variety of inventors. Agents in this industry are hard to find because it's a hard gig, but you can connect with them via email or LinkedIn.
[00:05:44] Now, if you are going to reach out to an agent, or if you want to reach out to somebody to see if they will be your agent. You would send them a message, a DM, or an email that says, Hello, their name, my name is, your name, and I'm a toy inventor specializing in dolls.
[00:05:58] I've got several great [00:06:00] innovative prototypes, and I'm looking for a broker to help me license these ideas for a share of the profit. Can I send you my idea for your consideration? Now remember, all agents are not going to want to work with you, and not all agents will be interested in your idea.
[00:06:15] They have to feel passionate about it. They've got to have the right connections for it and they have to have the time to take on representing you. Now, again, remember if you are sending your idea to these agents, it's up to you to protect that idea. so the agent may have their own NDA that they want you to sign.
[00:06:33] You may have one that you want to ask them if they will sign, but they are not going to be required to sign any NDA just to review your idea. Now the third submission method for submitting your ideas to toy companies is to go through their inventor relations managers.
[00:06:48] now inventor relations managers work for toy companies. So they work for the benefit of the toy company and they manage inventor relationships and submissions. [00:07:00] Inventor relations managers can be in house people, meaning they work full time for the company, or they can be freelancers that are contracted to work with that company specifically.
[00:07:10] inventor relations managers, depending on if they're in house or freelancers are going to have different methods for receiving submissions. some Inventor Relations Managers are in house with the toy companies, and in that case, you'll have to follow the submission method of the company to submit your idea.
[00:07:26] some other Inventor Relations Managers are freelancers or contractors, and in that case, they may have their own method for receiving initial submissions because they might be contracted with several companies for different categories and they might have their own method followed by the toy company's method to submit your idea or they might want you to submit directly through the toy company first.
[00:07:48] You're going to have to ask them what their submission process is. The fourth way to submit your ideas to toy companies is the one that you likely are most familiar with, and that is through online portals. So many [00:08:00] toy companies today have online portals. Five years ago, that was not the case.
[00:08:04] And these online portals are places where almost anyone can submit their idea for consideration at that company. Some portals that we've talked about on this podcast before are the Hasbro Spark and the My Mattel Ideas portal. These portals require you to sign legal documents before you can fully submit your ideas.
[00:08:24] Now I do have a full video on online portals, how to find them on the websites of different toy companies and how to start pitching. so if you want to watch that video, go to the toy coach. com forward slash two to eight. And I will link that video in the show notes. Let's move on to the fifth and final way.
[00:08:41] We're going to talk about how you can submit your ideas and that is with pitch events. These events either virtual or in person are opportunities to pitch your ideas directly to toy companies. Now these pitch events either happen as part of toy trade shows or maybe their own events.
[00:08:58] So what you want to do [00:09:00] is check upcoming trade shows for pitch events and consider participating in events like the TCA virtual pitch event, Or the People of Play Innovators Conference. So you can visit, the toycoach. com forward slash 228. And I'm also going to add the link to both of those events, in the show notes, but you can also do some research and find some of your own events.
[00:09:20] We have a toy trade show handbook that lists the top toy trade shows in the industry and breaks down which events are beneficial to inventors and why they are beneficial. Now, if you've done everything right, you've gone through email, you've worked with an agent, you reached out to inventor relations managers, you went through portals, and you went through pitch events, and you are just not getting any response to toy companies.
[00:09:44] Let's move on to our next steps. So next up, we're going to talk about evaluating your idea and your approach. Are you targeting the right companies? for your invention. You've got to ensure that your pitch matches the [00:10:00] toy company's product offerings.
[00:10:01] In module one of TCA, the very first thing I have my TCA ers do is research the market. You want to research the company's best selling products. You want to research license acquisitions that they've recently taken on, all before pitching and before developing that idea. And the reason you want to do this is because I don't want you going to a company that specializes in wooden toys and pitching a doll line or going to a company that specializes in outdoor sports toys, and pitching a board game.
[00:10:35] Your doll idea or your board game could be the best idea since Squishmallows and Catan, but if it's not the category of product that a company that you're pitching to is looking for.
[00:10:47] It doesn't matter. They're not going to pick it up. In fact, pitching the wrong category of product to a company, especially if you're new, can have a negative impact on your credibility [00:11:00] with that company, because they'll think that you just don't understand what they're looking for. You haven't done your homework and that you're just wasting their time and they'll be less likely to respond to you next time you want to pitch to them.
[00:11:10] And this is why. I so heavily focus in my TCA virtual pitch events to match students to pitch to companies based on what companies are looking for. We're trying to save everybody's time. Now, the second thing I want you to look into, if you've done all the previous submission processes, you're not getting responses back.
[00:11:32] We're reevaluating the situation. We're going to ask ourselves, Have you actually given that company enough time to respond? You want to give companies a few weeks to respond.
[00:11:42] And if they don't, you want to follow up with a brief and clear email. You don't have to restate everything that you stated in that original email. Remember, these are full time employees balancing multiple responsibilities at their nine to five jobs, And reviewing these submissions is just [00:12:00] one piece of the puzzle in their huge day job.
[00:12:02] So I'm sure you've experienced in your own full time job when your inbox is overflowing with emails, your LinkedIn DMs are filling up. So imagine on top of your day to day work, you were also getting dozens of emails and inquiries about pitches for a company that you work for. So. Let's be patient. Give them a couple of weeks to respond.
[00:12:23] And when you do follow up, keep it brief, but more importantly than just keeping it brief, make sure that you restate your name and the exact name of your product as it was submitted in your pitch submission. The reason you want to use the same name is because if they want to go into the system and look up your product to check the status, having that exact name for what they can search is going to help them find it. Okay, let's continue on evaluating your approach to pitching. Was your pitch clear? Was your pitch compelling? Was your pitch crafted to industry standards?
[00:12:59] [00:13:00] You've got to ensure your pitch is professional and meets these industry standards. A lack of effort in your pitch could also result in a lack of effort in their review. If your pitch doesn't look seriously professional, a response may be delayed or forgotten. There is something I hear people say in the toy industry a lot, a great product in bad packaging won't sell, but a bad product in amazing packaging can really sell. And that's the same thing with your idea and your presentation. Your idea is to the toy product as the package is to your presentation.
[00:13:37] Your idea could be amazing, but if you don't present it as a product, As amazing as the idea itself is, it will not be seen for its full potential. so you've got to present your ideas to the professional standards of pro toy inventors as you can get with your skill set.
[00:13:54] The fourth thing I want you to Ask Yourself is have you followed up appropriately? You want to [00:14:00] follow up with brief, concise emails that simply restate your name, the product name, and give a single and clear call to action for the person on the other end. For example, you just want to ask for a yes or a no, Maybe you just want to ask for a status update, or maybe you want to ask for a zoom meeting to show them other ideas or to follow up on the ideas that they've already seen.
[00:14:24] Keep it short, simple, and brief. When they get to your email, make it one sentence, make it two sentences, something they can read quickly, respond to quickly and internally by allowing them to respond and take care of that email quickly, you are giving them a win my friend.
[00:14:39] So think about ways that you can make it an easy yes or an easy response.
[00:14:43] If you've done all of that and you still aren't getting responses from your pitches, there is a chance that you are not understanding what those companies want and when they want it.
[00:14:57] If your pitch isn't aligning with what [00:15:00] companies want, you want to do more research to find out more about those companies. So as I said, you can look in Google to find licensing deals and the way that you would do that is search quote licensing deal and then put in the company name and you can see, news releases from any licensing deals.
[00:15:19] So maybe you find out that a company signed a deal with twister and now, they're going to be getting the Hasbro twister license and they're going to be making product for that.
[00:15:27] or you want to search for interviews that inventor relations or product development executives at a company has given. So you can search by going to quote company name and then interview and put in the title, maybe product development director, inventor relations rep, Or just the word inventor. And then you'll search through the findings there and read or listen to interviews with people from those companies where they often will tell what the change of the tides are for the company, what areas they're [00:16:00] focusing on now that they weren't focusing on before and learn from those things.
[00:16:04] Now, if you have a direct contact with a company, you can actually email and ask them for something called a wishlist. It's a list of what companies are looking for and once you've established communication with a toy company, or an inventor relations rep at a toy company, you can ask for a wish list.
[00:16:19] You can say, I know the last project I sent you didn't seem that interested in, but I would love to get your wish list to get a clear view of what products you are looking for from your inventors. You can even ask for a category specific wishlist. So say your specialty is dolls. You could ask a company, hopefully one that is producing dolls, what their wishlist is for the doll category specifically.
[00:16:44] Now, a wishlist may come back to you and say something like, we're looking for dolls with innovative hair play, or we're looking for feature electronic plush that, have a gaming component for preschoolers, or you might have a wishlist that says [00:17:00] we're actually not looking for any new IP, but we're looking for enhancements to our popular classic brands.
[00:17:06] So once you get those wishlists, you've got to take them seriously. If they're giving you a clear direction on what they want, you want to deliver on that as closely as possible. And if you have a current idea, That can be tailored to fit a wishlist. You better do that. Don't go into that meeting thinking that, Oh, they're going to figure out how to, apply my invention to their brand because they're not supposed to do that work for you.
[00:17:31] You're supposed to do that work.
[00:17:32] Now, the next thing you need to know is when they want these ideas. Toy companies develop products seasonally. Each year, companies plan their spring and fall lines and they also plan seasonal bursts of smaller lines that come out throughout the year. Now, every year they pitch ideas a year in advance to their customers and their customers are the retailers that they're selling these products to, right?
[00:17:55] The targets, the Walmart, the big lots, right? Now, before they pitch [00:18:00] those ideas to retailers, some of those ideas have been in development for a year and other ideas have been in development for just a few months. It usually depends on the complexity of the idea as to when they start the development, depending on how, when they want to pitch it.
[00:18:15] Now, out of the whole product development year, the initial ideation phase for when they're going to come up with new line ideas where your inventions could fit in is usually just a few months. Yes, there may be special circumstances when a retail partner or consumer demand from social media pushes a company to suddenly develop a product outside of their normal timeline, But I'm going to tell you, nobody likes when that happens.
[00:18:41] So you really want to pitch your inventions when they are in that primary ideation phase. There is a chance that your item could get picked up outside of that primary ideation phase, but for the best chance you want to pitch during that primary ideation phase.
[00:18:55] Now, when is that phase? the key time to pitch to major innovations [00:19:00] is August through September. And that's when companies themselves are pitching ideas to retailers for the following fall. Spring and summer development cycles are. in late winter and they tend to focus on lower price point products and aren't typically a time when a company will release a major innovation.
[00:19:19] You can still, of course, pitch around that timeframe, but it's just not usually when they spend money on something big, a big new innovative push. So you want to pitch your new innovations around August. You want to follow up through the summer and then be prepared to make revisions For follow up meetings in September to November, and those follow up meetings can be zoom, but they'd be better if they were in person.
[00:19:43] And if you follow the trade shows, you know that there are trade shows in September and in November, when you can plan to meet with companies to show them the update you've made on your pitches. Let's keep it moving. If you are sure that you have [00:20:00] pitched an excellent idea, you've gone through all of the correct channels, meaning the company's approved channels, and you're still not getting any reply, let's talk about a real standout strategic follow up and what's important when you do that relationship building.
[00:20:17] So to stand out. Imagine that you are applying for a high level job. You wouldn't just submit your application for this high level job and wait. You would reach out to someone at that company or find a personal connection for an introduction. you would be ushered into an interview for that role by someone in HR.
[00:20:38] Well, similarly in the toy industry, personal introductions and building a network are crucial. You can borrow credibility by working with an agent or an inventor relations rep, or you can build your credibility over time. You can establish connections and you can demonstrate professionalism.
[00:20:57] In the example I gave of HR ushering you into the [00:21:00] conversation would be almost like our, TCA virtual pitch events where I hold pitch meetings for my students and introduce them to toy companies and sit in the room. While that first pitch is happening to give feedback, guide the conversation and make sure that no mistakes are made.
[00:21:21] But you can also say that another scenario that's similar to HR kind of ushering you into the room is going to some of these inventor pitch events where they make it really easy in the toy industry to get in the room with someone at a major toy company.
[00:21:36] And again, go to the toy coach. com forward slash two to eight. And I'm going to link not only our toy trade show handbook, but we are also going to link, our full, podcast resource list of episodes that explain all the different choice shows. Cause I have so many episodes where I dive into the different toy shows that are great for inventors.
[00:21:57] Now in the toy industry, when you were trying to establish [00:22:00] yourself as an inventor, a personal introduction as that first meeting is always going to help you do that. Before you start pitching your ideas, You have got to grow your toy network. You've got to build your credibility and it is a non negotiable.
[00:22:16] You can grow your network in two ways by borrowing credibility or by building credibility.
[00:22:21] Real quick what that is you can borrow credibility by working with an agent or working with an inventor relations rep Essentially that person is saying yep there. They have a good idea. This is a good inventor You should look at this product right now, but building your credibility that takes time, but it does last longer building your credibility means that you're going to these shows.
[00:22:44] You are meeting people face to face. You're talking about your skills and experiences outside of the toy industry so that you are held in higher regard for what you bring to the table. Now, borrowing credibility is faster, easier, but it will cost you and it is [00:23:00] short lived, you don't have a lot of control there. without any network or credibility, what you're doing is you're asking someone to trust that you and your idea are more valuable than any other idea that they have on the table. And you might be, and your idea might be the best thing that's come across their desk in yours. But unfortunately, it's not just the idea that has to be great.
[00:23:23] It's the whole package. It's the pitch. It's the idea. the credibility and the timing.
[00:23:30] I hope I didn't burst too many bubbles with this podcast episode. I want to make sure that you are empowered with knowledge. And now let's get to the inspiration piece, because if you've done everything you can to pitch your idea, you. And the right toy company is just not responding to you, but you know in your soul that this idea has potential.
[00:23:49] I really want you to consider an alternative path. I want you to consider the entrepreneur path. And that means that you're developing this product to launch on your own. [00:24:00] But I want to be real with you. It is an expensive process to develop a toy. So it's Understandable that you would love to work with a toy company to have them take on the responsibility and manufacture your idea for you and take on all the risk.
[00:24:12] But there is another way. You could opt for crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and backer kit are great ways to fund your project and start your own business. toy company. And once you fund and launch that campaign and you make a successful toy business, people will come knocking.
[00:24:31] You'll get interviewed. You may even get an offer to license your idea, or maybe someone wants to take it over. Don't give up on that idea just because you aren't getting a call back from a company that you pitched to. if you can find an audience that loves your idea enough that they are willing to financially support it, to back it, that is a dream and a vision worth fighting for.
[00:24:56] Scarlett 2i2 USB: Don't wait for one company to give you the [00:25:00] okay for your dream to happen. Especially, if you can build an audience of consumers who are telling you it needs to exist.
[00:25:10] Before we dive into our summary of today's episode, I've got to take a break and give a quick shout out and huge thanks to the listener that left this review. this review came in last month from stick stacks, who said I've listened to all the inventing related podcasts out.
[00:25:26] And this has become one of my favorites While the toy industry is all about fun. It's also one of the most competitive when it comes to licensing inventions. It's great to be able to pick up little important details about the industry while driving around. And I'm really grateful for this wonderful content. Thank you so much. User stick stacks I saw your review come through and immediately had to show my husband. I was super proud. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And if you love this podcast and you have not already left us a review, what are you waiting for?
[00:25:58] Your reviews? Help [00:26:00] this podcast grow and be seen. So please, Wherever you are listening. Give us an amazing five star rating. Leave us a review and please subscribe to this podcast. All of those actions are what helped this podcast keep coming back week after week.
[00:26:19] So let's dive into our summary of what we learned today.
[00:26:22] First up, we talked about the different submission methods in the toy industry. What are the different ways you can submit your toy or game ideas through a pitch meeting. You can work with agents. You can work with inventor relations managers who might be in-house or out of house from the toy company.
[00:26:39] There are plenty of portals. Remember, if you want to learn how to use the toy portals that are on toy company websites. There's a video@thetoycoach.com forward slash 2, 2 8. There are also pitch events, toy industry pitch events, where you can pitch your ideas.
[00:26:53] Then we talked about evaluating your approach, making sure that you are targeting the right companies, giving them enough [00:27:00] time to respond and presenting them with a clear and compelling and professional pitch. Then we covered knowing what companies want and when they want it, you have to not only conduct the right market research, but make sure that you're aligning your pitch schedule with the company's timelines for product development. And then we chatted about standing out with following up how to build your toy network and your credibility.
[00:27:24] Are you going to borrow or build, send me a message and let me know what you're going to start with. Finally, we talked about alternative paths, You don't have to wait for someone else to give you a yes to develop that idea of yours.
[00:27:36] If you don't have the resources to make your toy idea, real consider crowdfunding as a viable option to bring your ideas to market independently. If you need some lessons on crowdfunding, we do have a few podcast episodes and I will link them in the show notes. Just head over to the toy. coach.com/ 2, 2 8.
[00:27:56] As always, thank you so much for spending this [00:28:00] time with me today. I know your time is super valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. Until next week, I'll see you later. Toy people.
[00:28:09]
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