Toys try to trend on TikTok

The Future. Toy companies are moving their marketing money from TV to TikTok, YouTube, and other social platforms. After two years of record-breaking sales driven by e-commerce and the pandemic, toy sales have cooled a little in 2022. But the savings on marketing dollars by turning to socials may keep margins high.

Viral play

Axios reports that toy companies are taking to TikTok.

• That’s because that’s where the kids are now — look no further than the popularity of Ryan’s World.
• So toy companies have tied their products to apps, video games, and even influencers — like Bonkers Toy’s Addison Rae dolls and its “Twilight Daycare” baby doll having a Roblox coupon code.
• TikTok can even revive old toys, like how a math tutor who goes by Miss Arlene made a 16-year-old shape-puzzle toy called the Kanoodle go viral using the hashtag #kanoodlechallenge.
  • Now, the company is introducing a new product inspired by the video called the Kanoodle Pyramid.

And, of course, there are even toys to turn kids into influencers. The “Studio Creator” helps them make “professional-looking digital content” like “dance videos, vlogs, baking videos, [and] unboxing” videos.

Building back

While the gaming industry has grown exponentially in recent years, the toy industry has suffered since the bankruptcy of Toys R Us in 2017. But since the pandemic, the industry has made a stunning comeback, with US sales jumping 20% in 2020 and 18% in 2021.

What drove people to the toy shelves? According to Axios’ Jennifer A. Kingson, “pandemic lockdowns and boredom sent parents racing to buy playthings.” Gotta keep the kids entertained somehow.