Wow… 2023 was exceptional in many ways. And, sometimes it’s only when you have a break that you can fully take stock and reflect on the successes (and, yes challenges), even more.
As we embark on 2024, we want to kick off with a huge ‘thank you’ to our team, clients and partners for all their collaboration, passion and prowess.
In celebration, here’s a look back at our biggest and best highlights…
Into the Metaverse:
- We unleashed a Roblox integration for Moose’s new Beast Lab generating 2.2m impressions; by November the toy was No. 1 in action & adventure playsets (Circana)
- Our Papa Johns NFT campaign – which drove $1m in incremental sales in six weeks – won Gold at the 2023 Drum Metaverse Awards.
IRL Events:
- Easter: queues formed daily up Shaftesbury Avenue following our integrated launch for the Miffy x Chinatown pop up shop. Sales were 65% above target after 3 months.
- June: we championed a magical ‘Forest of Imagination’ at Bath’s Assembly Rooms – a pop up creative arts event co-founded by Grant Associates
- July: we kicked off the A/W toy season with a ‘scent-sational’ London pop up to launch Moose’s Cookeez Makery; the oven playset enjoyed sensational sales thereafter, coming in at No. 4 in Specialist Plush (Circana, Nov 2023).
- Summer holidays: our promotion of The Big Dog Art Trail in Swindon helped attract 23,000 visitors over the summer holidays; the art sculptures raised £165,000 for South West charity Julia’s House Hospice.
- August: we put the magic into the hands of kids – literally! – at a spellbinding Pixlings Potion Party; Moose’s new doll range went straight to number one in Playset Dolls & Collectibles (Circana, Nov 2023)
- September: we headed to Smyths at Staples Corner to film the Bluey Trolley Dash (think Supermarket Sweep in 2023) hosted by Matt Edmondson. Our content generated 2.8k link clicks to the Bluey Hammerbarn Shopping Centre playset on smythstoys.com.
- October half term: Who knew 1” stickers could be so much fun?! Kids at our Melissa & Doug Sticker Wow influencer event certainly found out – stickering every surface! Together with 16 in-store demo days, our activity helped the range fly off the shelves in Toymaster stores nationwide.
- October half term: we hosted 50 VIP guests in an immersive mock science laboratory to launch both the Beast Lab playset and Roblox integration, with star virtual guest, Youtuber Ethan Gamer and celebrities JB Gill and Nathan Massey.
Creator content:
- From a Bluey-themed beach cabin to Nathan Massey’s son Freddie pretending to cut his dad’s hair in a London barber shop, we raised the creative bar this year with our influencer content – driving reach and link clicks!
News generation:
- We ignited conversation around Britons’ favourite nicknames – generating 36 items of national and regional coverage for luxury confectioner, Lily O’Brien’s (including a spot on BBC Radio 2!)
Product placement:
- Toys on TV: for the third year on the trot we landed coverage on ITV’s This Morning’s top toys for Christmas feature; this year it was Moose’s My Puppy’s Home that featured.
- We also got Melissa & Doug’s Barber Shop playset and Wooden Latches Board featured on Steph’s Pack Lunch in November.
- Food in the press: Over 1,000 combined hits for Ecotone’s game changing brands, Kallo, Clipper and Whole Earth.
Thought Leadership:
- Taking Ecotone onto national radio to talk about its Food for Biodiversity mission and the fight against greenwashing – landing our interview across 77 stations with 1.1m reach.
- Guest stints by Ecotone’s CEO, sustainability and marketing leaders on podcasts including The Ethical Marketing Podcast and Food Manufacture – reinforcing its Food for Biodiversity mission to the masses.
Awards:
- We scored a double at the CIPR PRide Awards 2023, scooping two Golds for Best Consumer Relations Campaign for Papa Johns International, and Best Integrated Campaign for Miffy.
- Best Retail Marketing Campaign at the 2023 Licensing Awards went to Miffy – thanks to our London pop up at Westfield’s Ichiba Japanese food hall.
Thanks to all our clients and partners for their great support and here’s looking ahead to a great 2024.