TOY FAIR 2014 PR MANUAL
21-23 January 2014: Grand Hall, Olympia, London
Welcome to the Toy Fair 2014 PR Manual – we hope that it answers your queries about the PR
opportunities available to you as a Toy Fair exhibitor.
As Toy Fair’s PR agency, our aim is to secure coverage about the fair, its exhibitors and their products
in the trade, consumer and national media before, during and after the event.
Last year, over 300 journalists attended Toy Fair, including BBC Breakfast, The Guardian, Daily
Telegraph, Independent, The Times, Daily Mail, The Sun, The Evening Standard and the BBC radio
network.
We’d love to match this for 2014 and you can help us achieve this. All you have to do is complete the
forms online and we’ll do the rest.
If you have any questions about PR before the show, please don’t hesitate to contact Ravi Vijh,
Charlotte Le Rougetel or Dean Barrett at Bastion on 020 7269 7900. Or you can email us at
[email protected]
TOY FAIR PRE SHOW 2014 PR OPPORTUNITIES
Exhibitor and PRs open day
The exhibitor and PR open day took place at Olympia on 3rd September. The event was an
opportunity to hear from suppliers, ask questions and view your space at Olympia.
If you would like to receive a copy of the PR presentation, please email [email protected]
Meet the Media event
Toy Fair will be hosting the popular Meet the Media event for its 3rd year in 2013. The event will be
held on 12th November at London’s Courthouse Hotel from 9am to 11.30am, exclusively for Toy Fair
exhibitors. The event gives exhibitors the opportunity to hear from different sectors of the media to
find out what they look for in media stories, how best to pitch stories to them and their plans for Toy
Fair.
We will email you with an invitation and full event details closer to the time. To suggest journalists
for this event, please email ideas to [email protected].
To see talks from last year’s Meet the Media visit http://www.btha.co.uk/toyfair/toyfairmedia/meet-the-media/
Media invitations
Email-able media invitations are being created by the BTHA to allow you to invite media to Toy Fair
directly. We will send these to you as soon as they are ready. In the meantime, if there are any
media that you would like us to invite to Toy Fair on your behalf or you would like us to add to our
press centre to receive Toy Fair updates, please email [email protected] .
Media comic
The media comic is a document created by the BTHA to show off new products launching at Toy Fair
in a fun and friendly way. Products are presented in a comic book style like the Beano (see image).
We will be producing a bumper media comic for Toy Fair 2014. The comic will be sent to everyone
on the media list in early January to encourage them to register for the fair. If you would like to be
featured in the comic, please make sure that you send us information about your new product
launches by 1st November 2013 to [email protected]. We are also interested to know about
product/company anniversaries and special guests and really love receiving good quality images.
New Product Directory
The new product directory is created each year to send to the media before the show, encouraging
them to cover the show, attend the event and seek out your product launches once they are in the
hall. The new product directory will also be placed online. To be included in this document, please
complete the form in the PR Forms section by 6th December 2013. We will include a maximum of
three entries per exhibitor.
VIP Christmas goody bags
We will be sending Christmas boxes of toys to our top 20 media this year. This is a fantastic
opportunity to get your brand in front of VIP journalists on the national newspapers and key
parenting magazines. If you are interested in providing toys (we need 5-10 toys from each exhibitor,
toys must be no bigger than 20x20x20cm and reasonably lightweight) please email
[email protected] by the end of October. We will endeavour to mail out all toys, but if there are
any leftover we will take them to Toy Fair and donate them to Barnardo’s.
Toy Trades Previews
All three of the toy trades will be writing previews on Toy Fair 2014 for their issues that come out in
January. To suggest your product for potentially featuring in the magazine, contact the following
people by the given date:
ToyNews: Samantha Loveday or Billy Langsworthy;
[email protected]/[email protected]
Deadline: 22nd November
ToyWorld: Tom Roberts or Kayleigh Conway; [email protected] /
[email protected]
Deadline: 3rd December
Toys ‘N’ Playthings: Mairead Wilmot or Mirella Cestaro;
[email protected]/[email protected]
Deadline: 9th December
SOCIAL NETWORKING
You Tube
A dedicated Toy Fair UK You Tube channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/toyfairuk. If
you have a video or ad sizzles you would like us to post on this channel, please contact
[email protected].
Toy Fair PRs’ Facebook page
A Facebook page specifically for Toy Fair PRs can be found at http://on.fb.me/nV3ayM or search for
Toy Fair PRs - we keep this page updated with PR news, media opportunities and information from
the fair. We will also email you these updates. Please send up to date contact information to
[email protected]. If you do not wish to receive these updates, please let us know.
When requested to join the page, please note that you must make your request from an
individual/personal account and not a company/group/page.
Toy Fair is on Twitter
Please follow us at www.twitter.com/toyfair2014. If you would like to post Tweets about your Toy
Fair activity before or during the fair please send 140 character Tweets to [email protected]
TOY FAIR 2014 AT THE SHOW PR OPPORTUNITIES
NEW! Toy Fair TV
After a trial run during the first two days of Toy Fair 2013, Toy Fair TV has been fully commissioned
for all three days of Toy Fair 2014. Presented by Anna Williamson and Gavin Inskip, Toy Fair TV is an
opportunity for your stand and products to be broadcast on 24 screens around Olympia and
streamed live through the Toy Fair website. Information will be sent out later in the year on how
production team Silverstream will be organising content and how you can get involved. To look at
highlights of last year’s show check out the Toy Fair website – www.toyfair.co.uk
Toy Fair Demo Zone
After the success of the Demo Zone at Toy Fair 2013, the concept is to be expanded for 2014. The
Demo Zone will now stretch over all three days of Toy Fair and will be part of a broader initiative,
Toy Fair TV (see above). The zone will again be hosted by TV presenters Anna Williamson and Gavin
Inskip and will give exhibitors the opportunity to demo a product they are launching at Toy Fair 2014
to media and buyers. There is also a selection of kids available on the day to help demo and give
their opinion on the toys. Exhibitors will have the chance to book products into scheduled slots
during each day of Toy Fair; the timetable will be organised on a first come first serve basis. You will
be contacted in due course when the timetable opens.
Please note: All toys submitted to the Demo Zone must be presented by a member of your team at
the allotted time. The presenter will not be able to demonstrate your product for you. Please arrive
five minutes before the Demo Zone session starts and you must be available for the full demo slot as
we cannot guarantee the exact time your demo slot will be. Please arrive with your toy assembled
and ready to demo.
Broadcast media
If you are inviting broadcast media to Toy Fair please let us know so that we can send them the
broadcast information pack. We can also email this to you to pass on. Please contact us at
[email protected] for your information.
BBC Breakfast
For the past few years, Toy Fair has been lucky enough to feature on BBC Breakfast on the opening
morning of the show. To help make the prospect of filming even more attractive, we’ve set out a
plan to have toys available on the day for the presenter to play with. If you have a particularly TVgenic toy that would demo well on TV please contact [email protected] and we will ask you to
bring a working sample to the press office during build up (Monday 20 January 2014).
Please note: There is no guarantee that the BBC will come to Toy Fair. If they do, there is no
guarantee your toy will be used. This is will be a purely editorial decision by the presenter and the
producer on the day. If a product needs to be demoed by a member of staff, you are more than
welcome to come into the hall at 6am to be on standby, but again there is no guarantee you will
feature on BBC.
Press clippings
If you are launching a product at Toy Fair or holding an event with mass media appeal and would like
a record of coverage, we recommend that you book a press clippings agency such as Durrants (part
of the Gorkana Group) or Cision (formerly Romeike) to track this for you as Toy Fair does not have
the resources to make clippings available to exhibitors.
Toy Fair Best New Toy Awards 2014
The Toy Fair Best New Toy awards are open to any exhibitors who have products at Toy Fair 2014
that are launching at or after the event. Go to the PR Form section to find the entry form and make
sure to submit a new form for each product, up to a maximum of three. Winning companies- as
selected by an independent panel of retailers- will be contacted before Christmas under embargo
and required to supply a sample product or image for display at Toy Fair. The selected products will
be announced in a press release on the opening morning of the show and will be displayed next to
the press office. Winning companies will be provided with a certificate and winners logo.
The press office
Around 300 journalists visit Toy Fair each year and the press office is where they find out what is
happening, what is new and what they absolutely cannot leave without seeing.
Admission
Access to the Toy Fair press office is restricted to journalists on press day (Tuesday 22 January).
Holding meetings with journalists
On press day please use the café areas or your stand to hold meetings as there is no space in the
press office. On days two and three please check with reception for availability.
Internet access
The press office has a Wi-Fi network available for journalists. After press day, it may be possible for
exhibitors to have limited access. Please enquire at reception.
ISDN line
The press office has an ISDN line for high quality radio interviews. To use this facility, please contact
Charlotte or Ravi at Bastion on 020 7269 7900 before the show or ask at reception.
Displaying company media packs
We recommend you bring 50-100 media packs to Toy Fair. The BTHA is keen to make Toy Fair a
socially responsible event and we would ask that, where possible, you help us to reduce our carbon
footprint by creating environmentally friendly press packs. Please do not bring catalogues to the
press office as journalists never take them.
Toy Fair 2014 we will have dedicated facilities to display USB press packs.
Please note: Media packs/USB’s need to be delivered to the Toy Fair Press Office at Olympia by 4pm
on Monday 20 January 2014.
There is limited space in the press office but we can store up to one box per exhibitor. We will
ensure your packs are replenished throughout the show, but please label them with PR contact
details and stand information so we can contact you if they run out.
Unused media packs can be retrieved from the press office from 4pm on Thursday 24 January 2013.
Any packs remaining at 6.30pm will be disposed of.
We do not allow exhibitors to take copies of other companies’ press packs.
Onsite PR briefing
Bastion will hold an onsite PR briefing at 4pm on Monday 20 January 2014, when we will show you
around the press office, outline which press will be in attendance, what press events are happening
when, and discuss the show’s marketing messages. If you would like to attend, simply turn up.
Press events diary
The Toy Fair press events diary is a list of all press events taking place at Toy Fair and is sent to
journalists ahead of the fair, allowing them to plan their visit. If you would like your event to be
included in this schedule, please complete this simple form in the PR Form section.
Accessing the Toy Fair press events diary
Please note – this is very important: Times are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. However,
due to the limited number of time slots available during press day compared to the volume of
exhibitors on site, it is NOT possible for Bastion or Toy Fair to guarantee that your event will be the
sole occupier of that time slot.
We will advise you if any events crop up post-booking that clash with yours so that you can choose
to make alternative arrangements. However, it’s important to note that, due to the last minute
nature of event confirmations at Toy Fair, we may not become aware of this until days – sometimes
even hours – before the show opens.
VIP media goody bags
Each year we create goody bags for the VIP media to take away with them. If you would like to be
included, please bring between 5 and 20 toys to the press office on Monday 21 January 2013 before
12pm. Please do not bring toys larger than, say, an action figure. Heavy toys cannot be included
either.
Toy Fair ‘Daily News’
The ‘Daily News’ is a paper produced on each of the three days of Toy Fair. The paper contains only
news from Toy Fair exhibitors and is distributed throughout the hall for visitors to read.
Toys N Playthings is responsible for writing the Show Daily. Please contact the editorial team:
[email protected]; [email protected]
Deadlines for Show Daily
Day One – 16 December 2013
Day Two – 12pm 21 January 2014
Day Three – 12pm 22 January 2014
The post show press release
Each year we write a post show release to send to the media telling them about the three days.
If you would like to submit a comment or quote from your company’s experience at Toy Fair 2014,
or some news about orders/leads achieved, for potential inclusion in the post show release, please
contact [email protected] by 10am on Thursday 23 January 2014.
Toy samples
Toy samples will be on display outside the press office. These samples are often used by media as
backdrops for filming at the fair. If you would like your toys to be included in this display, please
provide a card to accompany each toy that can stand next to your products detailing your contact
name and onsite phone number, company name, stand number and information about the product
including price.
Please note: Toy samples need to be delivered to the press office on Monday 20 January 2014 by
12pm and it is your responsibility to retrieve the toys once Toy Fair has closed. Any toys left over at
5pm will be donated to Barnardo’s.
Display cabinets
In the press office there will be three to four glass display cabinets which will host a number of toys.
Each cabinet will be themed with a certain news angle we believe may be attractive to the media to
help them with stories. The toys will be selected from the new product directory entries.
If selected, you will be notified and samples will need to be delivered to the press office by 12pm
Monday 20 January 2014.
Please note: If there are not enough products or a strong enough theme the display cabinets will not
feature.
Photography
If you would like to book the official show photographer to take shots of your stand, please contact
[email protected] before the event, or visit the organisers’ office onsite.
Costume characters
Toy Fair welcomes you to bring costume characters to the show free of charge.
Please note: All costume characters must be pre-registered so that we can send them an entry
badge in advance. Please book an exhibitor pass for them so that they can gain access to Toy Fair
before 9am when the show opens.
If you would like to bring a character, please contact [email protected] or call us on 020 7269
7900 so that your character can be included in the annual photo shoot. We do ask that you also
inform us in advance if you need space in the changing area for your character.
The character line up will take place on 21st January at 11:15 location TBC.
Photo wall
There will be a Toy Fair branded photo wall a stone’s throw from the press office on the Toy Trust
lounge (gallery 175). Please feel free to use this as a backdrop for your own photography.
Children at Toy Fair
Toy Fair operates a strict trade only policy and is restricted by health and safety regulations. In light
of this, the decision has been taken to prohibit children between five and 16 from entering the fair.
Children under the age of five are permitted when accompanied and supervised by an adult.
Children should be kept in pushchairs where possible. Proof of age may be requested. Prams and
pushchairs are allowed at Olympia.
The reason behind this decision is to protect prototypes that many exhibitors bring to the show as
well as to maintain a business environment for all exhibitors and visitors.
Regrettably there will be no crèche provided at the Toy Fair in 2014.
Please note: A special consideration will be made on press day – Tuesday 21st January – when preregistered publicity children are allowed to attend for the purposes of demonstrating product only.
To apply, please contact [email protected].
Please note: Children are not allowed into the press office on press day due to health and safety
considerations, except under exceptional circumstances.
Please note: Toy Fair will not be able to provide children for press events. Any press children hired
by Toy Fair will only be available for Toy Fair specific activities.