Shattering Paradoxes

One of the things that really struck me at ToyCon was the interesting paradox of hearing speaker after speaker address the need for us to change how we approach our businesses while at the same time some of our institutions continue to ground us in rigid patterns of thinking.

Let me give you an example. A number of speakers talked about the older toy user: Adults who don’t want to give up their toys; Adults who want to play with their children: Adults who collect limited edition toys.

Yet when NPD presented their annual sales data for the toy industry (and it was, by the way, an outstanding presentation of much valuable data) there was no information on the adult end user. There was plenty of information on, say kids 9 to 12, but where was the data on adults 18 to 20 or 25 to 30?

As NPD says on its website: “NPD is the single source for toy market research in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, providing information on what is selling, who’s buying, where, and why.” Because of that, they help define our industry. By only focusing on children as our end users, they help reinforce our sense of self.

For the toy industry to grow it will need to actively market to the ever growing adult market.   Wouldn’t it be mind expanding if, not just NPD, but all our institutions change their message to one that reinforces the notion that toys, toy stores and toy departments aren’t just for kids anymore. They are for everyone