The Beauty of Toys

Dear Readers,

There's a pile of toys sitting in my living room. A couple of Fancy Nancys, an Elmo, a Tumbles, a cow and a moose (they're a couple) and some night vision goggles. They're not mine. Well, they're mine but I don't really play with them. Other than the Elmo and the Tumbles on rare occasion.

These toys came my way via various PR and brand managers who sent them upon request. Most of these toys appeared with me on a TV or web show. Some, like cow and moose, just found their way to me somehow.

The amazing thing about all this is that a year ago, I didn't know much about toys. Now, I have become an official toy expert. Not only am I a contributing editor for Toy Wishes Magazine, but I often appear on TV or online talking about the hottest toys for nieces and nephews of all ages. And I feel confident I know my stuff. Or at least I try.

Of course, there's that incredible Gifts section on SavvyAuntie.com that lists the best toys we've seen this year. Yes, it's nearing 2009 and we're already scouting for the best of the new year. And by we I mean me. Because I'm still a one-woman show. (Although after the new year, I am welcoming @savvychrista and @savvydebi as part-time interns and they are going to be a tremendous help!)

My point about my becoming a toy expert in less than a year is that if you set your mind out to do something, to be something, and if you work hard enough, you might just be able to achieve it.

I learned that when I began working at L'Oreal in 2002. The beauty industry is pretty incestuous. When I thought about getting into the industry just a few years before I landed the job at L'Oreal, a woman who had been in the industry forever told me that if you weren't 'born' into the beauty industry, it was almost impossible to get in. Beauty execs move from one company to another, or are lifers at their first. Rarely do people enter the industry after entry-level.

But I got in at a senior level.... and knew little about cosmetics other than my own passion for them. But I learned. I studied. I inquired. I went to makeup counters and watched. I read research data. I scanned the internet for cosmetics news. I dove right in. And became a beauty expert.

The toy industry reminds me a little of the beauty industry. There are a few independent brands with some winning products, but mostly there are just a few larger companies that own a significant number of toy brands - just like in the beauty industry. And just like the beauty industry, it's tough to get into the toy industry if you weren't born into it.

Both industries thrive on innovation - but true innovation is rare and fleeting. A truly innovative product has never been done before, and it often takes either a small, nimble company, or a rich mega-company, to produce and launch it. And as technology gets easier to replicate, an innovative product doesn't own a category for too long before a copy-cat comes along to steal part if its thunder.

Finally, technologies are often replicated between brands of a larger company. Just like you'll find similar technologies in mascaras across mass and prestige makeup brands, you'll notice similar technologies sweep across toy brands. For example, this year it was hard to find a toy that wasn't motorized in one way or another.

Elmo Live! by Fisher Price is the latest incarnation of our ticklish furry friend, and is really life-like. Or toddler monster-like. While a few steps above the original Tickle-Me Elmo, Elmo Live! is still a motorized plush.

Playskool, a division of Hasbro, and a wonderful Savvy Auntie sponsor, launched Kota the Triceratops, the motorized dino that little kids just love. And Playskool's Tumbles, Biscuit and Butterscotch were also favorites of kids for whom the basic plush is no longer the only option. And Tonka, another brand associated with Hasbro, has a real winner with the Tonka Bounce Back Racer which sold out quickly.

Non-tech toys also made it big this year. Bakugan, a trading card/marbles/action figure game based on the anime series of the same name, caused quite a stir among school-aged boys. And the hackysack-like Myachi, took ten years to become and over-night success.

Alex Toys, a leading crafts brand, launched it's Alex Jr baby plush baby products and I instantly fell in love with the gorgeous colors and designs. Somewhere between pastels and prime colors, the toys are really a delight to look at.

Of course, there are smaller, independant companies that I see a lot of promise for as well. Tedde - the 'un-mass' produced teddy bear company, really has an opportunity to reach an audience that is looking for a different toy to give a unique child.

Finally, companies are making great strides in developing toys specifically for Special Needs kids, or realizing that their traditional products are developmental for those kids as well.

I am eager to see what 2009 will bring for toy innovation and how the economy will shape the industry. What will be this year's Webkindz, Guitar Hero or Wii Fit? Will technology play an even greater role, or will consumers lean toward basic toys as the economy brings them back to basics at home?

I'll be attending the Toy Fair in New York in February and will have a better idea then. I'll share all the new innovations with you as I learn about them myself, here and at SavvyAuntie.com. Plus, this year I'm launching a still hush-hush way of telling you about all the latest, hottest gifts for kids. It's coming soon and I can't wait for the reveal!

In the meantime, I have Elmo and Tumbles to keep me company. And yes - having great toys does make me a very cool Savvy Auntie. Just ask my nephew and nieces. They're coming to play this week.



XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS Please join our Facebook Fan Page! There's more there!

Collective-Me

Dear Readers,

Last night I attended a wonderful entrepreneur panel hosted by Collective-E. I've blogged a little bit about how Ladies Who Launch was one of the ways that I connected with other women entrepreneurs when I first thought of the idea for SavvyAuntie.com. Well Beth Schoenfeldt, co-founder of that company (and frankly my most favorite half), recently launched Collective-E - a collective of women entrepreneurs, along with my other friends, Katie Helmuth and Sabina Ptacin. And last night was one of their first events - and boy did it draw a crowd! I am so proud of these amazing women. SO proud!!

Now to be honest, I wasn't planning on attending. The panel of successful women entrepreneurs were moms - and the businesses they were discussing: Kidville, Skip*Hop, Patem Pads and Big City Moms, were all very mom-focused. Not being a mom, it wasn't as interesting to me as I would have preferred, but Beth is a good friend and told me I would meet great people if I attended - and I did. Beth is always right about these things and I thank her for persuading me.

But the panel was still very mom focused. There was lots of talk about how the women on the panel were stay-at-home moms looking for something to do and ended up with a very (very!) successful business. Or they were working moms that found a mommy product/service need-gap and wanted to fill it - and have! Each panel member explained how she had to balance being a mom and an entrepreneur - which I am confident is no easy task.

The other thing that these moms had in common was that they are married. One told of how she went to her husband for funding to seed the project (he was still working while she was home with the kids). Another mentioned that her husband was between jobs and starting this company together was the perfect opportunity for him. I've actually met her husband - a couple of months before I launched SavvyAuntie.com I interviewed with him for a marketing job at Skip*Hop. He's an incredibly successful serial entrepreneur, so I am sure he was welcome support and is a valuable partner. In fact, had it not been for the fact that the company's main products are diaper bags, for which I have little passion, I would have loved to work with him.

So here we had five incredible women entrepreneurs (Big City Moms is a sister team) who started their own companies, with children. But they also have husbands that support and contribute to their success. And I wonder: How many of these mompreneurs would have started these businesses without the (emotional, financial and skill) support of being married to their husbands?

I have often said that mompreneurs start businesses because they have children and auntrepreneurs start businesses because we don't. Still, even I delayed becoming an entrepreneur for years because I was hoping to have the support of marriage - which I still do not have - before I did. But in my late 30's - I realized it was time to take control of my destiny and start a company of my dreams anyway.

The good news is that I've never dated more. I guess happy people are attractive. The bad news is that I don't have the support (emotional, financial and skill) that comes with marriage. And boy could I use a hand (to hold).

So there's no one to hug when a great thing comes about. Or when I am stressed. There's no one to bounce ideas off of. Or learn from. Or get help from. Or share experiences with. Or to be proud of me.

The mom entrepreneurs at the Collective-E event last night joked that finding ways to work with one's husband is a panel discussion all in of itself. And I don't believe having a spouse as a partner is always easy. I am sure it comes with its own set of issues.

But having a partner to share life with makes having success that much more fruitful. I heard repeated again and again last night: "My husband and I...." "So I said to my husband..." "Our biggest mistake was that my husband and I thought..." Just having the luxury of sharing the entrepreneurial experience with a partner is something I am envious of.

At first, I wondered if these women would have started their businesses if there were single?

And then I wondered... would I have ever started my company if I had actually been married? Would I have been satisfied in just finding my love? Would I have needed to manifest this destiny if I were a wife?

And I wondered if my company would be more successful if I did have the support of a husband. What would he contribute? How would he be my other half?

But then I realized that the truth was, I never needed a Collective-Me. I just needed Me. And while I am working my tail off and have risked my life's savings on starting a business on my own, I have all the support (emotional, financial and skill) I need. I know that because I've done it. And am doing it. I seem to be all I *needed.

Which isn't everything I've always wanted.

But it's enough for now.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - Please use the comments section to tell me if marriage or non-marriage is a help or hindrance to your entrepreneurial ventures and aspirations. Men - this is for you too!

Please vote for SavvyAuntie.com in the Niche and Misc. Social Media category in the Mashable Open Web Awards! http://mashable.com/2008/11/05/open-web-awards-2/ Thanks!

*Notwithstanding all the friends, acquaintances and business colleagues who have and continue to support me. Thank you!)

Making Community Work

Dear Savvy Aunties,

I love the Savvy Auntie Community. I read the members' profiles and see the passion they have for their nephews and nieces and it feels great to be able to provide a platform for Aunts around the country - and the world. There are many active members on the site, but many are inactive. And while Aunties need to gauge their own Community participation, if we're all going to become Savvy Aunties, we need to connect, inspire and teach each other through making Friends, creating Groups and participating in Forums. This is not happening at the pace I was hoping for. So we're in the process of creating new tools to inspire more Community participation.

On the SavvyAuntie.com Homepage, members who are logged in, will see a number of Savvy Things They Can Do Right Now. They'll also find those same tools in the Community section. And in other places on the site. But I encourage all members to begin new Forum discussions, or reply to those already posted.

Right now there are a couple of Forum posts that should really get a response from the Community. I really hope the Community responds. Once we show how warm the Savvy Auntie community is, we can really start to benefit from the support, advice and information we get from each other.

I am always looking for new ways to make Community more effective. Savvy Aunties have so much to share and we finally have a voice! If you have ideas on how to Make Community Work, please leave a comment here. I would love to see them.

I am so excited about the new opportunities for Community on SavvyAuntie.com!

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

The Savvy Auntie Brand Experience.

Dear Readers,

Have you ever heard of "Brand Experience?"

The brand experience is like being embraced in an experience completely, so that anything outside of that experience feels like an interruption and removes you from enjoying the experience. Another way to visualize it is like when you are in a theater, watching a movie, and you are so engrossed in the experience that when the guy behind you kicks your chair, the experience has been diminished. It's an awful feeling because it takes you away from the moment. And the more he kicks your chair, the more frustrated you become.

On the web, brand experiences are integral to the success of your site. If the user's experience is interrupted because the flow of the site causes interruptions, then the brand experience is compromised.  If your users get lost, can't get back to where they were, or are shifted to an outside link without understanding why, your brand experience has lost value.

So working on the flow of a Website, and creating what are called wire-frames to visually demonstrate flow, helps those designing the website optimize the brand experience for your users.

In the next few days, Savvy Auntie will launch in Beta format. This means that while we have done everything we can to assure a positive brand experience for our users, it's really only through the experience of many people having never seen the site before, and testing it out, that truly enables us to gauge success and design solutions and improvements. That's what Beta testing is.

Over the course of the last few months, Savvy Auntie has invited Aunties to nominate themselves to be Beta testers for this very reason. These Aunties will receive a special invitation to experience SavvyAuntie.com and provide feedback to us so we can fix any issues they experience as quickly as possible.

I'll be honest. I really am not happy about the fact that there is any possibility that there may be a negative brand experience with the Beta testers or anyone else who visits the site. It bothers me because, like inviting guests over for a dinner party, I want everyone to have a great time and enjoy everything I have prepared for them.

Nevertheless, there may be technical issues, broken links, flow issues or even, God forbid, a typo. But the great thing about the Savvy Auntie Community as I have experienced it so far, is that if anything does hurt the experience, they will let me know. Gently.

So when the site launches in Beta, please be patient with any bad experiences that may occur. I hope that there aren't any, of course. But we won't know until we test it out.

The thing about brand experiences is that they are much larger than the product, service or website the brand supports. Hopefully the brand experience you have received before we launch, Dear Reader, is enough to embrace you when we launch.

We are launching in Beta soon, and I cannot thank you enough for your continued support. We're working day and night to launch the best possible brand experience we can.

If you are an Auntie and would like to be included in the Beta Test - please nominate yourself at www.savvyauntie.com and tell me that you read this blog.

Thanks again, and we'll see you at the live Beta site soon!

XOXO,

Auntie Melanie

PS - That's Dana and I over at Syrup, the creative agency, working on website flow back on October 11, 2007.