Inventing and Marketing New Toys and Games

How to market those wonderful ideas you have for a fabulous new toy or game

Have you come up with an idea for a new toy that you feel is destined to become the next greatest rage?  Here are some ideas to help you find a way to bring your idea to the marketplace.

"Inventors and creators toying with ideas of how to introduce their new products now have an outlet. FAO Schwarz—more specifically the toy retailer's New York City location—has started monthly toy auditions, where new toys can be previewed for David Niggli, FAO president, merchants and executives"

FAO opens door wider to toy inventors
"In a bid to establish itself as the first port of call for unique toy concepts, specialty retailer FAO Schwarz has adopted a new "toy audition" program for inventors and manufacturers/distributors. Once a month, a panel of senior managers headed up by FAO president and chief marketing officer David Niggli will throw the door open to pitches, giving inventors constructive feedback and advice on how to develop their concepts into shelf-worthy product lines. The program kicked off in March, and future auditions will be held on the second Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at New York's Center Stage Theater. FAO is accepting appointments by phone at 212-239-7363, extension 264."
 

Read about some Toy Audition success stories as reported in Startup Journal.  "... FAO says it is developing, at least in a preliminary way, about 20 of the pitches that have been made so far... "

The Toy and Game Inventor’s Handbook

"Inventor Richard C. Levy’s licensed products have generated more than $1 billion in global retail sales."

"Ronald O. Weingartner has reviewed thousands of submissions and produced hundreds of them."

"Go behind the scenes of the $30 billion toy industry for a vivid portrait of the people that create, pitch, license and commercialize products. Based upon more than 100 interviews, Levy and Weingartner will encourage you, inspire you, and lead you, step-by-step, through the perils and pitfalls of presenting, licensing and bringing products to market."

"The Toy and Game Inventor’s Handbook is crammed full of firsthand, empirical, insider information gleaned from hours of interviews with the industry’s most successful independent toy and game inventors, and its most knowledgeable and influential executives, leaders and observers."

Toys & Games  Articles to help your invent and market your new toy.

Toys & Games " ... Rehtmeyer Inc. was established in 1989 as toy think tank that would develop toy ideas and license them to other toy manufacturers. Rehtmeyer is noted for creating new product opportunities and industry direction that include bringing games to girls and candy into the toy world. While the scope of our business has vastly increased over the years, Rehtmeyer Inc. is still noted for many of the toys they have developed over the years. .."

"In 1996, Rehtmeyer Inc' not for profit entity entitled "TGIF"; "The Toy & Game Industry Foundation" and the "Toy & Game Inventor's Forum" was developed. Its initial function was to serve toy and game inventors. No longer just an inventor program, "The Toy & Game Industry Foundation" annually host and sponsor the toy industry' most prestigious and exciting forum, trade show and networking. TGIF is held in Las Vegas each year and boasts a speaking faculty of 50 some key industry executives."

Toy Fair

Sloperama's School-a-rama  "My intent here is to help game biz aspirants learn what it takes to get in and move up in the game business. I write a new article every month, to answer Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs") about designing and making games - computer games, video games, even board games."