January 14, 2021
UNO Celebrates 50 Years of Being Wild

The No. 1 card game in the world (according to the NPD Group) is celebrating 50 years of fun with a yearlong celebration filled with new products, events, and partnerships. New products featuring the UNO 50th Anniversary brand identity will be released beginning this month. The refresh includes a revised logo and a new tagline: 50 Years of Being Wild. Read more…
Pokémon Kicks off 25th Anniversary with Katy Perry Collaboration

The Pokémon Co. International revealed plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Pokémon will team up with Katy Perry and Universal Music Group for the year-long project P25 Music. More information about the collaboration will be released throughout the year. Read more…
Spin Master Flies High with Supercross Debut

Following the extension of its licensing agreement with Feld Entertainment last year, Spin Master Corp. is launching the first products from its new Supercross line. As the new master licensee for the high-flying off-road motorcycle brand, Spin Master is rolling out bikes in two scales in the first wave of products to hit stores this spring. Read more…
Funko Taps ChizComm Beacon Media for Snapsies Multiplatform Media

Following the debut of its Snapsies toy line last month, Funko — the Washington-based “purveyors of pop culture” — inked a deal with ChizComm Beacon Media to handle multiplatform media for the brand. Under the new deal, ChizComm Beacon Media will manage Funko Kids media across linear, digital, video-on-demand (VOD), over-the-top (OTT), search, and social. Read more…
Toikido Named Global Master Toy Partner for Among Us

The UK toymaker Toikido was named the global master toy partner for the popular video game Among Us from InnerSloth LLC and Dual Wield Studios. Categories in this partnership include collectibles, figures, plush, playsets, R/C, and more. Read more…
Fisher-Price Goes Retro for New Laugh & Learn Collection

Taking cues from the continued popularity of retro toys, the Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Mixtape, Busy Boombox, and Lil’ Gamer are new ways for parents and other caregivers to introduce some classic form factor to a new generation with features that teach the alphabet, counting, colors, and more with lights and sounds. Read more…
Hasbro Introduces Hybrid Tabletop Game Foosketball

Hasbro Gaming is kicking off a new year with a game that combines a pair of classics. Kids 8 and up can face off in Foosketball, a two-player tabletop game that combines elements of basketball and foosball. Players attempt to master their Foosketball figure to shoot baskets across the court. Read more…
Big G Creative Uncovers Treasure with Bluffaneer Dice Game

Big G Creative taps into a world of treasure with a game inspired by a lost story. The legend of the Bluffaneer was once thought to be gone forever at the bottom of the deep, blue sea. It was a rowdy tale of pirates who wandered the world for gold — and Big G Creative has uncovered it. Read more…
Legendary Toy Inventor Eddy Goldfarb Appears on the ‘Power Kid Podcast’

In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design welcomes legendary toy designer Eddy Goldfarb and his daughter Lyn to the show. Goldfarb is a prolific inventor who holds 300 patents. During the course of his career, nearly 800 of his products — including KerPlunk and Hydro Strike — have been brought to market. He was a 2003 inductee into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame and a 2010 recipient of the TAGIE Lifetime Achievement Award. Listen here...

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Disney Launches Marvel Must-Haves 52-Week Merch Reveal Event

Following the success of last year’s Mando Mondays promotion, Marvel gets into the action with a full year of consumer products reveals. The event begins with a look at new toys, collectibles, and other items inspired by WandaVision, which hits Disney+ tomorrow. Read more…
Play Sesame Street Songs and Games with the Skoog Cube

Skoog is partnering with Sesame Workshop to launch an interactive platform that combines tactile and educational play with a constantly expanding content library so kids can access music and stories without having to rely solely on a smartphone or TV screen. Read more…
Chronicle Collectibles Disappears, Leaving Questions and Unfilled Orders

Texas-based Chronicle Collectibles has essentially gone MIA. Chronicle, which was producing a variety of licensed collectibles inspired by Star Trek, Outlander, Stargate, Fallout, the Terminator, and more has locked down social profiles and retained legal counsel. Read more…
GennComm, Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. Resolve IP Scuffle

GennComm LLC and Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. (BHTB) have buried the proverbial squishy hatchet. The two companies kicked off the new year by reaching a “mutually satisfactory resolution” to a years-long rumble over the use of GennComm-owned memory foam in BHTB’s Squeezamals line. Read more…
Metamorphosis: The U.S. Toy Industry Word for 2021

The NPD Group’s Juli Lennett weighs in on what will be an incredible year of change for the toy industry following record sales in 2020 that were fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more…
No Toy Fair? No Problem. Don’t Let the Lack of Trade Shows Mean a Lack of 2021 Press

Many brands seem to be under the impression that their yearlong media and influencer results hinge on Toy Fair New York. Brilliant PR & Marketing’s Clark Nesselrodt checks in with thoughts on how the toy industry can turn challenges into opportunities for the year ahead. Read more...
Inside FanGirl Consulting’s Super New License: La Borinqueña

FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management is newly representing the superhero franchise La Borinqueña. Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez created this Afro-Puerto Rican superhero in 2016 as a way to raise money for Puerto Rico amid an economic crisis. Now, as the brand has expanded, philanthropy is still at La Borinqueña’s core. The Toy Book spoke to Miranda-Rodriquez about La Borinqueña, licensing prospects, and what the brand has planned for the new year. Read more…
GameStop Reveals Holiday Performance; Trio of Chewy Execs Join the Board

Following a dismal 30% drop in Q3, the company says its total sales declined 3.1% during the holiday season ending Jan. 2. The bright side is a 4.8% increase in comparable-store sales and a 309% increase in digital sales versus the same period last year. Read more…
Jazwares Names Laura Zebersky as President Amid Wave of Executive Promotions

Laura Zebersky, a 15-year toy industry vet, steps into the role of president following a successful run as chief commercial officer, in which she was responsible for overseeing the company’s global licensing, marketing, and sales initiatives. Zebersky was a 2017 recipient of the Women in Toys Wonder Women Award in the manufacturing category. Read more…
Hasbro Creates New Global Purpose Organization, Appoints Kathrin Belliveau as Chief Purpose Officer

This group’s purpose is to “further activate and accelerate the company’s ongoing efforts to make the world a better place for all children and all families.” It will work toward this goal through functions such as global government relations, global communications, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ethical sourcing, and philanthropy and social impact. Read more…
Karen K. Miller and Merritt D. Farren Join Cyber Group Studios

Los Angeles-based Cyber Group Studios USA appointed Karen K. Miller as president and CEO and Merritt D. Farren as general counsel and chief operating officer. The duo will be responsible for growing North American development and distribution operations in an effort to support Cyber Group Studios’ global business. Read more…
Boat Rocker Studios Welcomes Denise Gomez as Director of Licensing, Americas

Gomez joins the company from WarnerMedia, where she spent 14 years at Cartoon Network across a variety of roles, most recently as senior director of licensing. The company’s Dino Ranch is headed to Disney Junior and CBC this month and has toy and publishing deals with Jazwares and Scholastic, respectively. Read more…
WeVeel Names Valerie Marderosian CEO

Beginning Jan. 18, Valerie Marderosian will step into the role as current CEO Danny Kwok moves into a new role within WeVeel’s global business unit. Read more…
 
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