Creating playful everyday things
Some companies are considering the fact that the objects we use in our daily lives can become much more appealing to kids and adults if they have some kind of playful feature. With this in mind, H&M has created lately some fun apparel, making children love their outfits as they can become superheroes or have curious attributes such as a dinosaur crest on their arm, or dino feet.
Another good example is a product born from the collaboration of Lego and Ikea: Bygglek, a storage cabinet that allows children and adults to put their legos away easily. The product can also be used as a surface for kids to play with.
In the home décor area, toy companies have created wonderful playful things such as rugs (Round the Town Road Rug & Car Set by Melissa & Doug), clocks (Clock puzzles by Clementoni) or even animal heads (Home Löwe by Playmais). Another line of products is the Micussori by Micuna, with products that have different functions. For instance, a headboard that can be used as a whiteboard, and a desk panel.
The kitchen is also a place where there have been a lot of playful innovations; plates with race tracks for children to eat everything in order to arrive at the finish line (Dinner winner Dino time by Fred), cutlery featuring figures (Couverts à salade by Pylones), or cups with customizable characters (Twisty™ Mix & Match Characters Bite Proof Sippy Cup by Munchkin).
A toy brand identity in another product
Another strategy to make a product more playful is simply by using a toy brand’s general design into another product. This automatically makes it more joyful. That is the case of the Candy Land footwear collection by Reebok, a line of shoes created in collaboration with Hasbro. Just by seeing the ads, you can quickly get the idea of how much fun these products are.
Similarly, Adidas has teamed up with Lego to create their own line of apparel and footwear. Lego has also recently collaborated with Levi’s to develop pieces of clothes that can be personalized with Lego Dots, as the company says they created “joyful designs”.
And even if these companies are already relevant, by doing this kind of strategies they improve their brand awareness while reaching a broader range of consumers.
Cross-industry collaboration
The reality is that the boundaries between toys and regular objects are blurrier than ever. People, influenced deeply by the pandemic, are looking for ways to have fun while doing regular daily activities. No doubt, for the toy industry, teaming up with companies from other sectors could be a great source for innovation, as well as brand awareness. Think about how you can add your toy expertise in other industries to make life for children and adults more playful.
