Are kids toys marketing tools?
Toys are becoming more advanced, every generation comments on how “when I was younger we didnt have toys like that!”
And it was only a few weeks ago that I experienced this notion when I saw a brother and sister, no older then 10 sitting at a restaurant table with an iPad 2 each in hand, with the girl sporting a pink Hello Kitty case whilst her brother had a Cars 2 adorning his.
My point? well this isn’t the first time I have seen tech being used to keep kids amused. Countless times I have seen mums trying to keep toddlers and babies quiet by playing them some kind of kids programme on their iPhones whilst on the trains and tubes.
So the tech market is getting younger but toys are also adapting to integrate in with tech. Take Skylanders for example, a toy series that you can physically collect (32 in total at the moment) and using a ‘portal’ send into your game.
I will admit, I do play video games and do in fact own Skylanders. It’s the first game to combine an action figure that is part of the game and the series was a instant hit selling out across the country with stock only just becoming available again.
Skylanders is not only multiplatformed, its crosses platforms. Their action figures, card collectors and stickers all on in one figure, along with an online code to connect with your friends and fellow players.
With the success of a game like this though I don’t think it will be long before something similar develops for the iPhone/android and other touch screen devices. With all this in mind then, lets revisit apps again. How many free apps do you have? maybe 1 or 2? more? well most parents with young children I know don’t have paid apps on the kids piece of tech, and if you have ever had a free app before you know it will undoubtable do one of two things.
1) Ask you to download the full version for a small fee.
2) Bludgeon you with advertising.
And although its technically unethical to have advertising in a children’s app i’m wondering just how many of them do make some suggestions about other apps or products?
I would suggest that in the next 12 months there will be a toy on the market, possible something like Pocket Pals (Small dog/cat toys, no bigger then 4 cm) or even some kind of AR card game for kids that can be played with in the physical and digital worlds.
But what do you think? are the toys better value for being across more platforms or are we just marketing to younger children to buy more as they never come as a single toy but part of a collection.
