The Hottest Thing in Kids Marketing? Imitating Webkinz
Emily Bryson York
Advertising Age
October 8, 2007
Pop quiz: Name one of the more
common places you'll find a Webkinz stuffed toy today.
Answer: Tossed aside and forgotten in the corner of the
bedroom. Everyone knows you buy them not for the physical
toy but for the ID tag that allows access to the virtual
world.
Through Webkinz and myriad other online virtual
communities, kids -- especially girls -- are feeding pets,
buying shoes and making salon appointments. While
advertiser interest in the adult-focused Second Life may
have all but evaporated, marketers targeting a generation
younger would be remiss to dismiss virtual worlds as a
fad. In fact, the interest in such communities is so high
that they are increasingly seen as a vital marketing
component for any kid-focused brand.
MGA Entertainment, the toy company that makes Bratz,
introduced Be-Bratz in August, a line of dolls sold with a
pet pink mouse and a flash drive that hooks users up to a
Second Life-esque website similar to that of Webkinz.
Little surfers
It's not alone. Mattel launched a "Barbie Girls" site
in April that now has 5.5 million registered users. The
Barbie Girls doll-shape MP3-player/flash-drive hybrid hit
stores in August, and users are spending about 30 minutes
per visit on the site, Mattel said, although it declined
to give traffic figures. The device hooks users into the
free site and unlocks additional features -- more clothes
and such. And Disney paid $700 million for Club Penguin in
August, a site that had about 1.6 million monthly users at
the time. Webkinz, owned by Ganz, has about 1 million
registered users. MGA's user data weren't immediately
available, but its director of online development, Lisa
Sirlin, said children are continuously getting web savvy
at earlier ages.
"The web is ubiquitous for children. They're getting
online much earlier, and they're able to do much more than
an earlier age," Ms. Sirlin said. "You've got 4-year-olds
that are savvy. That's a departure from a few years ago."
With that in mind, MGA followed its August Be-Bratz launch
with MyePets.com and line of plush animal toys to be
"rescued" in stores for access to the site. The product is
geared to a younger clientele, in the 5-to-7-year-old
range.
The similarities among all of the sites are striking. Be-Bratz
and Webkinz both have pets that need to be fed and played
with, and the sites have look-a-like meters for health,
hunger and happiness. Both sites have games to play for
points that can be used for clothes, pet toys or ways to
fix up a house. At Club Penguin, inhabitants live in
igloos, and pets are called "puffles." Barbie Girls can
adopt pets and shop, too. One of the animals available: a
penguin with an igloo.
Whose idea?
Ms. Sirlin of MGA denies any inspiration from Webkinz
or Club Penguin.
"My team does not look at competition," she said. "Really
the inspiration came from the existing brand and what we
know about how kids play online."
And Mattel maintains that while Webkinz and Club Penguin
have been met with success in the tween market, the Barbie
maker was the first to market with a product and website
just for girls.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," said Mattel
spokeswoman Lauren Dougherty. "But Barbie Girls was first
in the market, and we're really excited about the traction
we've had so far. It's definitely reflective of how girls
are playing today." The Mattel product was in development
for two years.
As each new site seems to receive a warmer greeting than
the last, the issue doesn't seem to be one of an
overcrowded market -- yet. In fact, it seems that major
toy launches will soon require interactive websites. Even
American Girl has added more interactive features to its
website.
This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner