We’re Going to Toy Fair!
It’s not quite Disneyland, but the annual Toy Fair – starting today — in New York City generates its own high-pitched version of child-like fun and excitement. For the past 20 years or so, I’ve joined the crowd cramming the aisles of this much anticipated event which introduces the toys that will land on moms’ must-have lists come the holiday shopping season. It’s here at Toy Fair that companies launch their latest to retailers, traditional press, and in recent years, social media alike. We invite you to stop by the Summit Toy booth, #1973, where we’ll be demonstrating the popular Backyard Safari Outfitters and Zillionz toy lines. I’ll also be walking the aisles with my colleagues, Julie Livingston, former head of public relations for Toy Fair and now Director of New Business Development at Child’s Play, and Marie Baker, who heads our social media program. We’ve got dozens of meetings booked with companies who are leaders in the toy industry, to discuss how our combination of traditional public relations, social media and word-of-mouth expertise can help them reach moms.
So whether you’re a toy manufacturer looking for more awareness among moms or a mom blogger interested in reviewing toys, we hope to meet you at Toy Fair! Connect with us at childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
See you there!
Don’t Miss our Chicago Holiday Bloggers Brunch, Nov. 20!
No matter how many blogger events we host, we can’t help but get excited each time! Child’s Play Communications’ fifth major Bloggers Brunch event is taking place this Saturday, Nov. 20, in Chicago, as part of the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG.). We hope to see you there!
It’s going to be one BUSY event:
On Friday morning at 10 a.m., I’ll be answering questions about marketing to moms for a panel discussion hosted by ChiTAG.
On Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., I’ll be making a presentation about moms and social media to the Chicago Midwest chapter of Women In Toys.
Then — at 10 a.m. on Saturday– I’ll be moderating a panel of mom bloggers that we at Child’s Play are presenting, as part of our Bloggers Brunch. The presentation is titled Marketing to Moms in Social Media: How to Most Effectively Promote Your Brand. We have a great group of panelists planned:
- MJ Tam, Editor, Chicagonista.com
- Kris Cain, LittleTechGirl
- Maria Ramos, MyChicagoMommy
- Amy Mueller, ParentSphere
We’re still signing up guests to attend the panel presentation, so any companies that are interested, please register here. Moms who are attending our Bloggers Brunch may also attend the panel presentation, at no charge, but must let us know beforehand.
Most exciting is that, at noon on Saturday, I and my Child’s Play team — Julie Livingston, who manages our event programs; Marie Baker, who heads our award-winning Team Mom review-blogger network; Erika Sanchez, an old hand at our blogger events, and Fiona MacLeod, who just joined Child’s Play to help with special projects – will host the Holiday Bloggers Brunch, where we’ll have the opportunity to connect 50 mom bloggers with event sponsors including: Cold Stone Creamery, now sponsoring one of our Bloggers Brunch events for the third consecutive time, Backyard Safari Outfitters, also back for the third time, Playtex Baby, In Zone Brands, Road Rippers, MEGA Brands, Zillions, and Restaurant.com. Mary Kay Cosmetics has signed on to provide pampering to our mom blogger guests.
The best part for us: connecting in person with all the moms we’ve been working with over the years through Team Mom and meeting other mom bloggers for the first time.
So, to all our sponsors and all our mom-blogger guests: Can’t wait to see you there!
Finalizing Guest List for Dinner’s On Us!
On August 5th, Child’s Play Communications is hosting Dinner’s On Us. Like our past social media events, the dinner, scheduled to take place in NYC the evening before BlogHer, is designed to be an intimate gathering of leading bloggers and a select list of top sponsors, which this year include Nickelodeon, Cuisinart, Baby Boom, Cold Stone Creamery, K’NEX, Hershey’s/Kraft, Giddy Up, Backyard Safari Outfitters/Zillionz, California Strawberry Commission and Toyota.
Most importantly, at Dinner’s On Us we are presenting the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, to recognize those who have used social media to help a worthy cause. The event will also feature drinks on the rooftop at a location convenient to BlogHer as well as a lovely meal.
SPACE IS LIMITED. If you have received an invitation and have not yet RSVPd, please do so now. If you have not received an invitation and would like to be on our waiting list, please send your name, the name of your blog and your contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
Dinner’s On Us will be a very special event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

