Beyond "WOW!"

We live in a world of “Wow!” In fact, “Wow!” is so ubiquitous that a recent Google search for the words “Wow factor” came up with 1,940,000 hits. Everything from Sarah Palin to "outstanding customer service" to "great art" seems now to be measured on a “Wow!” scale.  Of those 1,940,000 hits, I bet 99% can be attributed to responses elicited by Steve Jobs and his incredible Apple “Wow!” machine.

The toy industry was one of the first to measure product potential with “Wow!” In many cases, the term was used to describe products that had some sort of technological edge. I am wondering, however, whether an industry that is not a first adapter of new technology can ultimately survive on just “Wow!” After all, every day you open the newspaper and read about some new cell phone, iPod or software that elicits a “Wow!” How do we compete with that?

I am not suggesting that we abandon “the Wow! factor” but that we broaden our measurement scale to include some of the metrics that we in Toy Nation can do better than anyone else. For example, what about the:

• “A-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h Factor” for toys that elicit feelings of tenderness
• “Love Factor” for products that create emotional connections between people
• “Yuck Factor” for toys that are gross out fun
• “Ha! Factor” for things that make us laugh
• “Fan Factor” for products that either start or feed life long hobbies
• “Yay Factor” for collectable products that excite when that rare missing part of the collection is finally found
• “Aha Factor” when one finds a cool toy that one never thought of because they had never seen it on TV.

A great industry should supply a variety of toys that meet differing metrics. A great toy stores should carry products that meet all of these metrics. If they do, they create a sense of enormous anticipation in the heart of the consumer. That moment when a customer stands in front of a store and feels that odd excitement that comes from thinking: “Today, I am going to see something that is going to satisfy my own peculiar itch.” Now, that’s a Wow!