Toy Treatment

BEFORE the 2006 HOLIDAY SEASON BEGAN, Toys "R" Us President Ron Boire announced the five hottest trends that would influence shoppers' toy-buying decisions. Among Star Wars Legos and Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes appeared an assortment of bilingual toys such as electronic language activity center Pink Nitro Notebook.

Products that promote dual-language skills are in growing demand, said the retailer, after researching and evaluating thousands of new toys in preparation for the Christmas shopping period.

"Without a doubt, bilingual toys have grown tremendously, especially over the past three years. Consumers want these items," says Jim Silver, editor in chief and co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine. "It really originated with Dora, and it's a trend that's certainly increasing."

Toys that boast English- and Spanish-language capabilities have made strong gains in the past year, reflecting the large number of young Latinos in the United States whose families speak Spanish — and English-speaking non-Latino children whose parents want them to learn Spanish. The fact that the most popular toy-giving season gave weight to this booming area underlines a growing trend year-round.

Research points to Hispanics spending more money on toys than their general-market counterparts. With a surging population comes growing affluence, and Latinos have larger households in which the child is the focal point — and in need of playthings. Plus, Latinos are a younger demographic with grandparents still in the workforce. According to Simmons Fall 2006 National Consumer Survey, 53 percent of Hispanic adults, or 14.8 million, purchased toys or games in the past 12 months, with 9.5 million having purchased toys or games for children under 12.

Hispanic adults also shop at the same stores for toys as the general market, though in higher numbers at The Disney Store and KB Toys, according to Simmons National Consumer Survey. (See chart, page 4)

With so many children, and more people with money to spend on toys, marketing to Hispanics has not been ignored by the $22 billion toy industry. Toymakers are taking a multipronged approach to reach this market, including creating multicultural products that resemble Latinos, products that speak Spanish, products based on successful properties popular with Latinos and, of course, developing dedicated Hispanic marketing campaigns.

From Barbie to Elmo — even venerable board games Monopoly and Candy Land — toys increasingly are being made and marketed with Latinos in mind. Still, despite some hefty competition, semi-new kid on the block Dora the Explorer has been the definitive "Hispanic" merchandising property in the past few years.



DORA INFLUENCE INESCAPABLE

Nickelodeon's children's program Dora the Explorer, which features the 7-year-old Spanglish-speaking Latina, has had a less specious marketing plan by virtue of the popularity of the TV show. It has been a favorite of the preschool set since debuting in 2000, and the Dora character has been canonized a darling by toy manufacturers after gaining unstoppable traction in the years that followed the show's launch.

Now in its fifth year of licensed products and with more than $5.3 billion in retail sales, Dora has made the transition from top seller to global mega brand. There are hundreds of Dora products, and they go way beyond toys, including Dora the Explorer Campbell's Soup, Dora the Explorer Yoplait yogurt and even Dora the Explorer navel oranges. Sales from this past holiday season launched Dora into the No.1 spot as the top toy license, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based industry market research firm The NPD Group. That's in addition to Dora the Explorer named Property of the Year by the Toy Industry Association (TIA) for the second straight year. The property led 2006 sales for Fisher-Price, with Dora's Talking Cash Register and Fairy Wishes Dora chosen as two of the most-popular toys of the season. Dora's Talking Kitchen was named TIA's Girl Toy of the Year, Toys "R" Us Joy List's Best of the Season and won the Toy Wishes Buying Guide's All-Stars Award.

The lineup for this year's Dora the Explorer product lines was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York, which took place from Feb. 11-14, and was reportedly Dora's biggest ever.

Dora's success among Hispanics has a lot to do with the fact that she herself is Latina. Her vocabulary is peppered with Spanish words, but her bilingual abilities have made her — and toys like her — favorites among all parents who may see Spanish as an asset for their own children.

"These toys work very well among both markets. They teach homes both languages," says Silver of Toy Wishes magazine. "Kids love knowing words from another language. They enjoy picking them up, and it makes them feel smart and feel special."

Brenda Andolina, director of public relations and brand development for Fisher-Price, has counted on that effect as the toymaker broadens marketing outreach to parents.

"Toys that include Spanish phrases are appealing to Hispanic moms who want to retain their language and cultural heritage, and meanwhile they expose the general-market kids to Spanish," she says.

Dora spinoff Go, Diego, Go! — the action-adventure boy hero and Dora's cousin — also has been successful in the toy market. Diego's Talking Rescue Center, for example, lets children go on rescue missions with the young adventurer and his animal friends, while providing commentary from Diego in both English and Spanish. Dora the Explorer Magic Hair Fairytale Dora allows kids to imagine whisking Dora away on adventures through magical lands while she offers them encouragement in English and Spanish.



FISHER-PRICE TAPS LATINO INSIGHTS

With up to 400 new products released each year, Fisher-Price acknowledges that many are developed with Latinos in mind. Dora and Diego are linchpin toys targeted for growth, but other toys this past holiday season, including one of the most sought after, T.M.X. Elmo (the technologically advanced Tickle Me Elmo), also were made available in Spanish.

Fisher-Price is in its third year of a dedicated Hispanic advertising campaign for all of its toys that includes TV, print, out-of-home and event marketing, Andolina says. "Hispanic consumers are different than the general market, and our marketing has to be specific."

For example, advertisements for the general market depict children playing with toys, with the tagline "Play. Laugh. Grow." But for Hispanic advertising, the ads show children playing with toys alongside their parents, and the tagline reads, "Juega con ellos. Ríe con ellos. Crece con ellos." ("Play With Them. Laugh With Them. Grow With Them.") By simply adding "with them," Fisher-Price is cognizant of Latino insights that indicate the importance of parental involvement in their child's development, Andolina says.

"We portray what resonates with Latino moms," she says. "Hispanics appreciate child development under the watchful eye of a parent. The imagery reflected is integral to the communities' view of themselves."

Fisher-Price's marketing also includes a toy guide placed in Spanish-language newspapers that has editorial of interest to Latinos, such as the importance of children playing together with parents, the tradition of the Three Kings Day celebration and ethnic-specific holiday traditions. Twice a year the company conducts a photo shoot in Miami with Hispanic models that is used for the toy guide and the out-of-home campaign.

The toymaker also utilizes free standing advertisements and works with retailers to create on-shelf promotions in Spanish targeting stores that overindex with Latinos households. A recent promotion with 300 high-density Hispanic Wal-Mart stores located primarily in the Southwest was conducted in the weeks leading up to Three Kings Day on Jan. 6. The "retailtainment" event centered on the holiday, which celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men, with in-store activities inviting children to write to them to request gifts, color the Three Kings coloring book or draw a maze of the journeymen's trail. Costumed characters hosted some of the events. The product tied to the promotion featured a limited-edition, eight-piece Little People playset that included three kings, a camel and a Hispanic family of four bearing gifts.

Beyond product promotions, Fisher-Price uses PR to push the message that toys help kids learn, stay healthy and reap academic advantages. "We highlight the fact that toys promote an active lifestyle and also toys that are just fun," Andolina says. "We tackle health issues like obesity and diabetes, and we talk about them on an adult level and on a child level."

Education and empowerment is also one of the missions of the TIA's Toy Industry Foundation, whose research has shown that play is an essential part of a child's healthy development, from motor skills and hand-eye coordination to listening and language skills, problem-solving and the ability to relate to others. The foundation also collects donated toys for disadvantaged children .

The organization has included Hispanic initiatives aimed at educating parents, caregivers and the general public about the value of safe and developmentally appropriate play, including a Spanish-language version of its "Fun Play, Safe Play" brochure ("Juego Divertido, Juego Seguro"), which covers a range of topics on safe play and appropriate toys.

Still, a toy's success is measured by its connection with children, who oftentimes discover products through television shows.



REBELDE WITH A CAUSE

Mattel, the world's largest toy company with $5.7 billion in annual revenue and whose brands range from Hot Wheels to Barbie, realized 25 years ago that it needed to develop products reflecting the Hispanic market when it released the first Latina Barbie doll.

To boot, at the recent annual Toy Fair in New York, Mattel unveiled Barbie Rebelde, hitching its sights on cashing in on the explosively successful Rebelde phenomenon. Rebelde is one of the hottest telenovelas on Univision and its main characters form the pop-rock music group RBD, which has become the hottest music sensation with chart-topping hits and an enormous fan base. RBD also sings in two languages. The first dolls, to be released in May, will include the show's popular characters Mia, Roberta and Lupita dressed in their signature school-girl uniform, complete with red blazer, tie and short denim skirt.

Sara Rosales, vice president of communications for Mattel, says Hispanic children are the target consumers for this line, which will not be marketed with traditional advertising. Instead, Mattel will rely on publicity efforts through Hispanic news and talks shows.

Additional Hispanic-themed Barbies being released include a Cinco de Mayo Barbie from Mattel's Dolls of the World collection, and Barbie's Latina friend Teresa, who was introduced in 1988, and is part of the Chat Divas. The Divas are a group of talking and singing Barbies that take calls on their mobile phones, lip-synch and can broadcast music from an iPod or other player. Plug in an MP3 player with Spanish songs and the Chat Divas sing to the tunes.

Another technology-laden item is a new version of Mattel's Little Mommy doll line that includes a Latina baby who asks for her teddy bear and bottle, plays peek-a-boo and even requests a diaper change — all in Spanish.

Rosales would not disclose Mattel's marketing strategies for competitive reasons but says Hispanic-themed products are targeted to Latinos.

High-tech is also the name of the game for LeapFrog Enterprises, which considers itself the leading developer of technology-based educational products. The company over the past few years has introduced interactive bilingual items, and this year is coming out with a number of dual-language products targeting youngsters from six months to 16 years old, its first time going after the older age group.

For older teens, LeapFrog has introduced the FLY Pentop Computer, a pen with an optical scanner that scans what it sees, speaks in Spanish or English, solves math problems and lets users draw drums and keyboards, which they can then tap with the pen and record tunes.

For younger kids, there's LeapFrog's Learn & Groove Counting Maracas that children shake for lights and sounds. It also help tots count from one to 10 in Spanish and English. They can play musical activities in both languages and move to a learning rhythm. The Leapster Learning Game System platform will feature 12 new game titles in Spanish, including Dora the Explorer Piñata Party, in which Dora, Diego and Boots the monkey hit piñatas while letters fall from the papier-mâché container for kids to match letters with sounds and spell words.

"With these new platforms we're helping bilingual families develop the skills to leverage their capacities for learning and assimilation," says a spokesman for LeapFrog.

The company conducts some traditional marketing for the Hispanic market, such as advertising and in-store product displays, but, like Mattel, relies heavily on publicity through news outlets.

Meanwhile, LeapFrog has invested further into bilingual Web site leapfrog.com since announcing in November increased online marketing and new Web content to drive more online sales from Latino shoppers. LeapFrog's Spanish-language site is not merely a translated version of its English-language site.

That's a smart move since Hispanics are more likely to shop online than the general market, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research. The study cites Latinos' larger families and their greater likelihood of having children in the household as the main reasons. About 14 percent of Hispanic online shoppers have purchased toys on the Web, versus 11 percent of non-Hispanic Web buyers.

Mindy Figueroa, project director for Scholastic's bilingual Maya & Miguel property on PBS, says companies' desire to cater to the Hispanic market is a combination of increasing market share and sales, and offering products that empower Latinos and reflect their culture. Scholastic dabbled with Maya & Miguel toys, but the company now chooses to focus on its books and DVD products.

"Savvy marketers are pushing their products on this growing market, and consumers are demanding these products," she says. "Since parents are making the decision with their children at the point of sale, a culturally relevant toy, or one with distinct physical attributes, may win over one that is not."