How a Small Toymaker Builds Its Brand
Instead of directing its ads at kids, toymaker Mega Brands is wooing parents with a strategy that emphasizes creativity over achievement
By David Kiley
When a toy company sets out to build a brand, it usually cranks out ads for Saturday morning and after-school television. But Mega Brands is targeting those who don't watch much afternoon TV and often deride toy advertising: parents. The Canadian toymaker is trying to press the buttons of parents who are involved, but feel their children may be over-programmed. A broad-based campaign, designed by New York ad agency Strawberry Frog, featuring ads, events, packaging, and a Web site, promotes the idea that unstructured and unsupervised play is vital to kids' happiness and development. The idea is to transcend a mere toy-company identity. Here's a look at some of the products and examples from the campaign which Mega hopes will make its brand stand for more than just toys.
When a toy company sets out to build a brand, it usually cranks out ads for Saturday morning and after-school television. But Mega Brands is targeting those who don't watch much afternoon TV and often deride toy advertising: parents. The Canadian toymaker is trying to press the buttons of parents who are involved, but feel their children may be over-programmed. A broad-based campaign, designed by New York ad agency Strawberry Frog, featuring ads, events, packaging, and a Web site, promotes the idea that unstructured and unsupervised play is vital to kids' happiness and development. The idea is to transcend a mere toy-company identity. Here's a look at some of the products and examples from the campaign which Mega hopes will make its brand stand for more than just toys.
