Pitching at Javits

Another NYC Toy Fair is upon us and thousands will soon assemble at Javits to do what they are expected to do: exhibitors-sell, buyers- buy, PR people-hype, reporters-report and inventors-PITCH. It is this latter group that scours Javits' aisles hoping a latest idea, through an oddity called "parallel development", isn't already licensed to a marketer and on display. Inventors live on originality and there is nothing more deflating than to hear a marketer judge an idea as "done before".

In our Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook, Richard Levy and I identified a glossary of over 475 bizwords that are a major part of industry jargon. For the inventor, these are the most common words they will hear in pitching product at Toy Fair.

Nondisclosure form/NDA/submission agreement: This is the agreement between company and inventor that makes it possible for both parties to share and review new concepts in confidence. It is usually weighted in favor of the company (it was drafted by their lawyers).

Product description: This is the verbiage where the inventor details the original idea and is often less read than assembly instructions.

Water or Coffee?: If time is short and there are several concepts to present, refreshments will not be dispensed by the host company. Inventors should come to the meeting refreshed.

Meeting bizwords that have positive messages:

Who has seen this? Companies love to feel that they are seeing a concept ahead of competition.

Send this to the home office so I can show it to my people? Inventors should make certain the sense of urgency to submit is maintained through the internal decision to license.

Meeting bizwords that have negative messages:

Can't get my arms around it/I don't get it: Uttered by an executive struggling to understand a submission.

Cute! (as in, That's a cute item!) Carefully, that could be the kiss of death...The saying is "cute doesn't butter the bagel".

You're kidding, right? It's downhill from there. Start pitching the next product.

We've already done that? A definite no interest. An offer to take lower royalty won't help.

And the worst bizword for the Inventor.....

Reject: Used by some companies when they do not want to pay a royalty. Used by all companies for any one of a myriad of real or imagined reasons.

So use kind jargon when around a member of the inventing community. It is likely that they dealt with considerable rejection at their last Toy Fair meeting and are now in search of a bottle of water or a cup of coffee

Ode to the Season of Giving

The Big Day is near and throughout the mall,
Stores are ever hopeful shoppers will buy all.

Flat screen TVs, toasters, and an occasional toy,
Whatever it takes to bring loved ones some joy.

Marketers try every trick they think to muster,
A 4 hour sale, a "black" day(?), even a "door buster"(?).

Hurry, to get "Best prices ever" those FSI's shout,
And there's "Buy one, Get one" hype to get shoppers out.

Buy now, buy often, buy even what you don't need,
It stimulates the economy. It's your patriotic deed!

Just be thankful this mayhem comes but once every year,
So get to the malls, smile as you shop, and be of good cheer!

Happy Holidays to All!

When you "herd" at the mall, remember where you parked.....

Co-Author Richard Levy Goes to War

Richard and Sheryl Levy and I felt the buzz for Warstones in the Duncan booth at Toy Fair 2009.

Richard C. Levy, co-author of Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook, launched his unique new game product with Duncan Toys at Toy Fair 2009. Intricately sculpted power figures entrapped in glistening marbles give a captivating effect comparable to priceless gemstones. But these stones are actually battle pieces used in a new form of war game play. In collaboration with Samurai Comics, Richard will co-host a Warstone tournament Saturday at 2pm in Phoenix, AZ. It promises to be a "don't miss" event for players who wish to see the debut of a game play that combines marbles and trading cards. Warstones will be the spotlight at a local comic book store and feature cash prizes. Get all the info: http://www.westvalleyview.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=35993

Those Jolly Holiday Elves

The glow from these Florida inventors suggests banner sales years past, present, and future for their toy and game ideas. Those hit$ keep these $un$hine Santa$ $miling. Blog privacy rules shield identities but the telltale iconic glasses can only mean third from the left, front row is friend and co-author, Richard C. Levy!

These happy faces are not rejects from Macy's Santa brigade. And they are in no way genetically related to the rotund, jolly, old North Pole original. These are the Sunshine Santas; toy and game inventors doing their creative work not in some inhospitable polar outpost but rather in tropical south Florida. Their St.nick-name and costumery are merely to show respect to the seasonal icon who has helped hype many of their creations and allowed them to enjoy a very comfortable tropical subsistence.

As a group, they are not only highly creative, but they are wise enough to have escaped northern climatic distractions like snow and ice storms so creative juices can be focussed on new toys and games. Why spend the day shoveling when time can be better spent making the next big toy idea into reality? When a toy marketer is searching for a break through product, one phone call to the Social Santa, and a whole itinerary is mapped out for meetings with the talented band of neighborhood elves. Chicago, NYC, LA and the Twin Cities maybe other inventor hubs, but they certainly lack the palm lined patios where the Sunshine Santas make their pitches. Talk about "blue sky meetings"! They live it everyday!

But despite spending most of their business days in idyllic settings, they do reluctantly leave south Florida sans costumes to join the rest of us in much less temperate NYC for February Toy Fair. Most likely the mission North is to view their fledgling creations on the big stage and gain assurance that the marketers will do whatever it takes to keep them in sunshine!

Congratulations Baby Q!

New game Quad•doku will be four months old at the end of the year. But it already has received a significant industry commendation. Dr. Toy chose it as one of the 10 Best Games of 2009! Nothing like a view of baby Q on sites like Target.com and areyougame.com to get the proud parents hearts palpitating. Of course you can always order it from Cadaco Games. May you gain more attention during holidays 2009, Quad•doku!

The Birth Of A New Game

It's been months since Toy Fair '09 and the future NYC extravaganza is closer than the past one. I have been so active doing other toy biz things that TOYDREAMERS.blogspot.com has been barren.

Included in that biz is tracking all the efforts on our 2009 game, Quad•Doku. It's emergence got me thinking about the varied labors of getting a product licensed, developed, produced and released to the market by a good industry partner.

No question, the birth of an offspring is a true miracle. The delivery of an infant from the womb into the world is an ultimate creation. Though physiologically unable to personally make such a delivery, I have been a co-contributor to the process twice. Seeing that new born after nine months of development is indeed remarkable. I've been struck by the similarity of the human miracle to the miracle of licensing and birthing a new game with a marketer.

I had this revelation when Cadaco recently delivered my new game, Quad*Doku, into the retail world. Looking back, the development period was at least nine months, maybe longer. From planting the seed for the game through the defining stages as "my baby" took shape, there was much excitement and anticipation. I wasn't showing vague black and white ultrasound images of my baby, but rather a real looks like, playable creation, a real game! Like any expectant parent, I couldn't wait to show-off my baby publicly. And first exposure would be to partner companies needed to complete the delivery into the toy and game world.

Guess what? After three or four of those exposures, I had no partners! Disappointed, I put the effort on the shelf and did a bad thing, I aborted the creation! However, the lingering desire to create a word game to supplant Scrabble kept swirling, and I had a "don't give up attitude". I decided to start a new creation complete with better play features and a very cute name. Rather than just being Baby X, I gave the creation the name, Quad*Doku. That name came from my imagined connection to the hugely successful Sudoku. I can only thank the toy and game gods that John Lindsay, President of Cadaco, had the product sense to pony-up for my baby and agree to partner in the daunting task of getting the trade to love a new word game! The baby was finally born!


I knew from my Milton Bradley and Hasbro years that a new product concept, even from the best creators, faced odds between 90 and 100 to 1 that it would arrive at Toy Fair. I'm thrilled that the result of our labor (much assistance came from life partner, Leslie) has ended up in master cartons with a real order number (No.747). Only time and many, many consumers will tell if our creation will survive in the cold world of retail toys and games. Like any proud parents, we have very high and hopeful expectations that our offspring will be a success in the real world. Go baby Quad*Doku, go!

Creative Factor at Toy Fair

It doesn’t seem possible that Toy Fair ’09 was two weeks ago. Now we should be back to whatever it is we do; inventing, prototyping, pitching, promoting, maybe even planning for Toy Fair 2010. Well, if we can’t deal with time chunks that far into the future, maybe the readying is for the June Licensing Show in Las Vegas or the October Dallas Show or another industry event on the horizon. One thing about the toy and game business, there is always someone available to hear a pitch or a show to attend somewhere. So noodle away, pitch your ideas, maintain your contacts, and by all means keep the industry bustling.

Here's one of the industry's best "bustlers". If you don't
know him you should . . . Kevin McNulty Endless Games

Co-author Richard Levy and I energized SRO crowds at our two Creative Factor sessions as part of a TIA education program.


SRO - Standing Room Only:-) Next year we'll do MSG -Madison Square
Garden- so there's room for all!

Our assigned topics were “invention” and “licensing” which we covered by extrapolating facts and stories from the pages of our Toy and Game Inventors Handbook. We did our best to give empirical, non-theoretical, eye-opening, practical advice from what has been called “the bible” of the industry on its subject. Actually, when we wrote the book, we compiled the insights of many industry leaders. Some of these people have played musical chairs since our pub date, but their words still resonate with currency as if their thoughts were expressed during Toy Fair 2009.

Buy a copy today!
http://www.greatideagear.com/toybook

To set the tone in the Creative Factor sessions, we used such tidbits from the hundreds in the Handbook as:

“The success, the innovation, and the personality of the industry is best exemplified by the independent inventor. The creative inventor serves as a constant reminder that the business is about finding fun for kids and playing Santa Claus for America.”

Bob Moog, President of University Games

Ted Wolfe, long time inventor, saw an inventor’s role as

“adapting previously known devices to previously unknown products. Inventors do not speak only of original or innovative. Recombining is an acknowledged skill of the toy pro.”

Right on Ted! Seems that has happened all too frequently with the advent of “brandwashing” in our industry; a new face (media license) on an old item.


Talk about pizzazz! Here is the marketing maven and shtikmeister with his partner(s).

"Given equally good concepts, the inventor with pizzazz, passion, showmanship and a well thought out presentation will have the edge that could make the difference in a company taking or passing on an item."

Mike Hirtle, Hasbro, Global Vice President of Product Acquisitions

“Inventors should embrace the myriad opportunities entertainment licenses provide. Rather than being locked out by inactivity, I encourage inventors to see licenses as a major opportunity and create innovative product for these brands.”

Roger Shiffman, founder and president of ZIZZLE

Richard and I could not cover all aspects of invention and licensing in our two hours at Toy Fair or even in our 470 page “Toy and Game Inventor’s Handbook.” Being current and active in the business is all about gathering information, knowing the industry, identifying trends, and applying your own personal magic to what you learn each day so you are a creative force in the race to Toy Fair 2010. See you there.


One or both of us will see you next year!