New report highlights a greater need for diversity and inclusivity across toys and games

Family-focused marketing agency Kids Industries (Ki) has launched a new report today exploring the concept of diversity and inclusion amongst children and their parents – and what this looks like in the toys and games that they engage with.

The survey – carried out across 2,001 parents of children (aged 5-15) in the UK and USA – paints a picture of rising concerns among parents over screen time, yet also acknowledges how they appreciate the benefits of digital play. There is however a desire from parents for more inclusive toy and gaming attributes.

When it comes to the toys their children play with, parents are looking for skills support the most

What parents notice: Parents would like more opportunities to play as a family (38 per cent) and 35 per cent would like to see toys that focus on imagination. Another important observation was that parents are looking for toys made from materials that are better for the planet (33 per cent).

Key issue: Parents are busy people and 21 per cent say that they struggle to always find the time to play, watch, or do things with their child that they enjoy (rising to 27 per cent amongst US parents; 16 per cent in the UK). With that in mind, parents are keen to support their children’s skills development and 40 percent would like to see more toys that help with traditional education, such as maths, and the same number would like more toys that help with ‘soft’ education such as problem solving.

Moving forwards: In terms of representation, parents would like to see no differentiation between “girl” and “boy” toys (22 per cent) and an increase in positive role models (37 per cent).

More ethnically diverse toys were a desire for 22 per cent and 17 per cent wanted to see better disability representation. Better LGBTQ+ representation sat at nine per cent.

Parents want to be involved in children’s video games

What parents notice: 46 per cent of all parents feel that screen-based play is good for their children’s development (42 per cent of UK parents versus 49 per cent of US parents). 57 per cent of parents also recognise that digital play is relaxing for their child and 56 per cent say that it puts them in a good mood (rising to 62 per cent amongst US parents – UK sits at 51 per cent). They also feel that digital play expands the things their children are able to see and do (56 per cent). 52 per cent felt that it enables their children to be more creative or imaginative also.

Key issue: Over four out of five parents (84 per cent) feel that their children spend too much time in front of screens – consistent across all ages (5-7 – 83 per cent; 8-11 – 85 per cent; 12-15 – 84 per cent). They’re also concerned that screen-based play leads to less socialisation (42 per cent) and feel that it limits the things their children can see or do (17 per cent).

Moving forwards: Parents would like more opportunities to play as a family (37 per cent – 39 per cent in the US and 35 per cent in the UK) and 31 per cent are keen to see new and innovative ways to play and interact.

Again, there’s a strong desire among parents for more positive role models in the games their children play (41 per cent) along with support for games that provide soft’ education such as problem solving (37 per cent) and traditional education such as maths skills (31 per cent).

Having games that include better disability representation is of interest to 18 per cent of parents and 11 per cent would like to see better LGBTQ+ representation.

Gary Pope, CEO and Co-Founder at Kids Industries and Children’s Commissioner for Products of Change, commented: “Play underpins everything that our children will become – it is as Maria Montessori said: ‘The work of the child.’

“Our research indicates that 67 per cent of parents feel their children’s schools are good or excellent when it comes to their diversity and inclusion policies and approaches which shows there is much more work to be done. We must listen to children and parent voices and ensure their needs and wants are reflected in the toys and games that they consume.

“Nothing is more important than protecting and promoting a child’s right to play and making those play experiences the very best that they can be is essential and something that the industry needs to give serious consideration.”

Ki appointed creative partner for Morph’s Epic Art Adventure

Family-focused marketing agency Kids Industries (Ki) has today announced that it is the creative partner for a major new initiative – Morph’s Epic Art Adventure in London, set to be the first accessible, step-free cultural event of its kind.

The launch event, which took place at The Museum of London earlier this week, announced the partnership between Whizz-Kidz, Wild in Art, and Aardman – the award-winning animation studio and creator of the childhood-favourite and much-loved animated character, Morph.

The spectacular public art trail and tourist attraction will see up to 70 super-sized sculptures of Morph take over the streets of central London in summer 2023. The step-free family-friendly art trail of colourful Morphs will span iconic London landmarks including St Pauls, Tate Modern, the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market.

Whizz-Kidz is embarking on this fun, fully accessible trail across London to raise awareness of the need for better access and inclusion for young wheelchair users, and to raise vital funds to support their work.

The money raised will enable the charity to provide life-changing wheelchairs and confidence-building opportunities for young wheelchair users in the capital and across the UK. The Morph sculptures will be canvases for conversations about diversity and inclusion for wheelchair users.

Each of the 70 Morph sculptures stands at 6ft tall and will be adorned with bespoke designs from a range of artists, supported by sponsors including Sky, Barratt Developments, EY, Kids Industries, Evenbreak, and Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd. Once the trail has closed, each of the bespoke Morph sculptures will be auctioned with the aim of raising £500,000 for Whizz-Kidz.

A trail app, website, map, guidebook and dedicated social media channels will enable trail-goers to navigate the route, tracking down each sculpture and unlocking fun facts and rewards.

Sarah Pugh, chief executive of Whizz-Kidz, says: “We are delighted to launch Morph’s Epic Art Adventure in London. This accessible and fun trail will bring the London business community, creative artists, schools and families together in the summer of 2023. The awareness and money raised will have a huge legacy for young wheelchair users we support for years to come.”

“We are totally thrilled to be working with the excellent charity Whizz-Kidz on London’s first step-free art trail,” says Peter Lord, the co-founder of Aardman and creator of Morph. “I’m sure that local residents and visitors to London – young and old – will also be inspired to get creative and join Morph for an Epic Art Adventure.”

Gary Pope, CEO and Co-Founder at Ki, adds: We are super excited to support the important work Whizz-Kidz does as the official creative partner on such an important project – giving our time and resources to make this a huge success.

“The work that Whizz-Kidz does is incredible. Morph is incredible. London is incredible. Mashing the three together is pure genius – of course we wanted to be involved!

“One of our six immovable pillars of childhood, what we call the Super 6, is Diversity & Inclusion. As such, we are committed to equality in all its forms and to have the chance to play a small part in ensuring more children are able experience the epic-ness of London through a truly accessible epic adventure trail of Morphs is something our whole team stands behind.”

THE BIG INTERVIEW: Gary Pope on 20 years of KI

Family marketing agency KI (Kids Industries) celebrated its 20th birthday last week, commemorating the occasion with the launch of a new website, brand update and an October conference to look forward to. 

Licensing Biz sat down with industry stalwart Gary Pope, KI’s CEO and co-founder, to take stock of key moments in the family and licensing space, and discover what he still loves about this industry…

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First off, Gary, congratulations on marking 20 years with KI – that’s no small feat!

Thank you, that’s very kind. It’s not always been easy but then if it was, it wouldn’t be quite so much fun.

When Jen and I started KI, we weren’t quite sure of the direction we wanted to go in – but we were absolutely certain that we wanted to make good things for families. Between us, we had backgrounds in education, developing experiences, marketing and change management, and we knew we needed to create something bigger than a business with a single focus. We wanted to apply our skills and do it in the commercial realms of the family market.

We actually worked with headteachers and behavioural psychologists in our very early days to develop our core approach to our work – 4ft Thinking™. It’s our way of seeing the world through the eyes of a child using science – biology, psychology and sociology – to define a bedrock of fact from which we can then build a solution to solve a client’s problem.

Given the successes you’ve had, you must have had a number of approaches to sell the business?

Funny how this is what people think you want to do! Build it and sell it. That’s not us. Not yet anyway. We love what we do and wouldn’t want to be part of something else and be told what was what. I’d struggle with that as our culture is so important to us. We’ve been approached a lot. We make a good story. Typically, interested parties want us to focus on a particular aspect of the business, but we aren’t one thing – we have a unique set of services which are all underpinned by insight and a deep understanding of the consumer. We don’t know anyone else that provides that full 360-degree offering. And whilst that might not be the way traditional businesses are structured, it is how we do things. And the clients that really understand that about us, really benefit. There is a lot of value in KI – our client list, the order book, proprietary approaches and most importantly, our knowledge. And that is about our people. You can’t sell that.

What are you most proud of achieving?

Goodness, that’s actually quite hard… We’ve done some great things. We have helped to build hotels, redeveloped the future of the McDonalds Happy Meal, created SVOD Platforms, the family experience for Royal Caribbean Cruises… There’s loads of things we’ve done that I would never have had the chance to if Jen and I hadn’t started on this journey 20 years ago. And all of them make me very proud and grateful for the opportunities we’ve had.

In terms of campaigns, our work for Amazon Kids+ stands out. We launched their first national multiple IP marketing campaign ‘Feed their hungry minds’. Our objective was to drive awareness of the all-you-can-eat secure content service, providing unlimited access to thousands of child-friendly books, movies, TV shows, apps and games. The bit I am especially proud of is how we managed to get 16 brands involved in the campaign, from Horrid Henry, Harry Potter and Peppa Pig, to Bing, Hot Wheels, the Gruffalo and more – I don’t know of any other campaign that’s managed to do that. But to be honest that’s all about the collegiate nature of the licensing industry. Or maybe it was the work we did to develop and market the proposition for Aquafresh toothpastes, too – we took the brand from eight to 63 per cent share in just three years.

Above all, though, I’m most proud of building our team with Raj, Jelena and Jen. The four of us have worked hard on our business and our business is about how good our team is. We’re experts. And if a new member of the team is not an expert in Kids and Family when they arrive, we’ve got a pretty robust learning programme that makes sure they’re right up to speed.

Are there any campaigns out there that you wish you’d come up with?

I’m a huge admirer of what Magic Light has done with The Gruffalo – a truly brilliant multi-faceted masterclass in brand management that will ensure the brand is rightly future-proofed. How they have worked with licensees to authentically translate the characters into product – especially plush and toys – has been impressive. We actually own the full set of plush in our house.

There have been some major changes in the industry over the past 20 years. What stands out to you?

Firstly, the realisation that insight is a necessity. When we began it really was only the big players that understood the insight (or had the budgets for it). The days of wild west ‘going with your gut’ product development and marketing is over. There is now a very healthy attitude towards the value insight brings and how it enables us to immerse ourselves in another person’s world. It means we can use the informed knowledge to create life-fulfilling experiences for others – invaluable!

Secondly, I’d say the quality of the products the industry is selling has changed, for the better. The consumer has got more savvy, producers too, and our industry’s ability to rethink and regenerate is truly impressive. The days of label-slapping are in their sunset.

Finally, I’d have to say the environment that the consumer lives in has changed considerably. Twenty years ago TV was everything, and with 28 channels, the UK had the largest number in the world. We thought that was tough then. Today, access is unlimited and linear television is no longer a thing. The licensing sector has had to work hard to better understand the changing landscape and some have embraced the fact that eyeballs are what’s needed and it doesn’t matter where you get them.

What do you still love about the licensing industry?

We have the nicest, tightest and most supportive sector – truly. It’s a hugely collegiate industry and super embracing. I think it’s because it’s so bright, colourful, glamorous and filled with great creatives all wanting to please their audiences. This is especially true in the toy/family market.

Finally Gary, what’s going to be big in the next 20 years?

With my Children’s Commissioner for Products of Change hat on, it has to be said that we must get better at producing sustainable products – especially in the toy sector. Our own research shows that nearly half (48 per cent) of UK parents want to see products that are easier to recycle, and 45 per cent want cheaper sustainable product options. Having products that are easier to refurbish or fix appeals too, to 37 per cent of UK parents.

That said, times are really tough. The rising cost of living is having a huge impact on families and parents need to cut costs where they can. The trend of buying second-hand items will continue and manufacturers need to consider that in their plans. We need to put people before profit and find new ways of design and engineering products, at a price point that works for everyone.

www.kidsindustries.com