Making the magic happen: The launch of Magic Mixies
In a nutshell
The objective for Magic Mixies was clear: Be one of the top toys under the Christmas tree in 2021.
With a very strict embargo and limited sales window, Playtime devised a strategy that left no-stone turned – kicking off with an exclusive, virtual launch to whet the appetites of key editors, producers and journalists and seeing it through with hard-core media relations, an in-store event and top-tier influencer activity.
On 22nd December, The NPD Group revealed the all-important top 10 best-selling toys in the last week of sales data published pre-Christmas. Magic Mixies ranked 6th in the list.
Approach and Execution
The hottest ticket in town
Magic Mixies deserved a magical launch event – an engaging experience that was more than just a product demo.
Key to this was the right host. Step forward prime-time entertainer and magician, Stephen Mulhern. His magical expertise gave the launch credibility and his entertainment prowess lifted the overall experience of the product.
The exclusive embargoed event featured a live reveal of Magic Mixies from the Moose studio by James Austin-Smith, Moose Toys’ Innovation Director. James revealed the product’s ‘wow’ factor complete with lights, sounds and magical mist.
This set the event’s virtual chat room alight with comments and amazement from the attendees.
A Q&A with James and Stephen brought the product’s story to life along with its key messages and core properties.
We factored in a full follow up with all attendees post-event and on the day the embargo lifted, guests received their own Magic Mixie.
Our client at Moose Toys described the execution of the event as “Flawless”.
Influencer outreach
During the pre-sale phase, we recruited a series of parenting influencers to run content when the product went on mainstream sale. This drove awareness and also helped build the connection with parents – seeing children’s reactions to the reveal aspect of the product was joyful.
To maintain momentum, we launched big hitting content during October half-term.
Stephen ran a second piece of content on Instagram during half-term week – focusing even more on the ‘wow’ factor of the Mixie reveal.
To further boost awareness amongst the key mum audience, we partnered with Samantha Faiers who, alongside her children, showcased Magic Mixies on Samantha’s Instagram channel.
Christmas showcase
The team also ran magical demos throughout the Christmas Press Show supported by Stephen’s content on screen. It was important to be able to physically demonstrate the product to multiple journalists and influencers – it was the first time the product was seen publicly in the UK.
The Potion Cupboard
We hosted our exclusive ‘Potion Cupboard’ event at Selfridges during half-term week to bring the product to life and build on a childhood love of ‘potion play’ – a key aspect of Magic Mixies. We organised for the installation to take pride of place on the toy floor and also as part of Selfridges’ own Halloween themed fun.
We ensured the event was listed within Selfridges’ marketing comms for half-term week and invited celebrities and influencers to attend - to let them experience the magic for themselves with their children.
Results
The late in season embargo, tight sales window and stock challenges didn’t distract us from the overall objective. We got stuck in and didn’t let up until Santa came knocking.
The approach introduced the audience to Magic Mixies at multiple touchpoints. Our media relations drive was relentless and our innovative approach to showcasing the product stood out resulting in superb feedback from the media which translated into impactful coverage.
We generated 264 items of media coverage during the campaign period
Magic Mixies was the only product actively demonstrated by Holly Willoughby in This Morning’s ‘Top Toys for Christmas’ segment
Top tier coverage included: This Morning, Heat, Wired, Metro, Steph’s Packed Lunch, MailOnline, Stylist, GQ, The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Sun, Yahoo, GoodtoKnow, Hello, Mother & Baby, The Independent, Reuters, Daily Express and Daily Star plus scores of regional pieces online
Our influencer relations scored a significant reach and engagement as well as providing multiple click to sale opportunities
Magic Mixies ranked No 6 in NPD’s Top 10 best-selling toys for Christmas. The magical product also came in at No. 5 in the Top 50 Total Toys in December’s NPD sales figures – after only three months in the market.