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RESEARCH

The Idea

Designing for a toy company isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to research who the competition is and what it is they have to offer their customers. That was the beginning of Greener Day Toys. Who are they? What do they have to offer their customers? Who is the target audience? Research needed to be conducted to be able to answer all the questions that dangle over Greener Day Toys. According to an article by Mojo Nation “The quality of the idea does not always equate to the success of the idea.” (Heayes 2017). This means that the idea may be a good one, but the production of the product is not equal to the main idea. So instead of the product not fitting the idea the designer needed to make sure the idea fit the product. The Onlyness Statement helps a designer get the branding process started. What is the mission of Greener Day Toys? The answer to that is stimulation. It is questions and answers like that that help sharpen the idea Greener Day Toys is trying to sell. “I use the online statement to sharpen my thinking around strategy and positioning.” (Holmer 2022). Selling a much healthier way to play and learn is the highest priority Greener Day Toys prides itself on. The designer wanted to keep the children in mind the entire design. The parents are just the ones purchasing the toys.

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The need

Greener Day Toys is a company that is designed around what children see how they feel and how they learn. The designer for Greener Day Toys has learned that wooden toys and educational books will only benefit the children who play with them. “Research suggests that playing and learning environments featuring natural elements like wood help children concentrate, focus, and even calm down more than other types of spaces.” (Team Lovevery N/A). Wooden toys do in fact help kids develop without the addictive sounds and bright light. Greener Day Toys also benefit kids by eliminating the dangers of batteries. “The study also found that 84 percent of patients were 5 years old or younger and that injuries may be increasing in severity.” (Nationwide Children’s 2022). Greener Day Toys Is also environmentally friendly. They are created from the earth and can also benefit the earth by not filling landfills with plastic that takes years to biodegrade. Greener Day Toys wanted to make sure the items that they were selling were 100% safe for the children who play with them. Thus, ensuring parents that they would have nothing to worry about.

The Product

Greener Day Toys found that wooden toys are also durable and can last for years. Children can pass their toys down to their siblings or someday to their own children or grandchildren. “A few of the benefits high-quality wooden toys have to offer are durability, entertainment, longevity, and beauty.” (PoppyBabyCo N/A). Though the toys are durable, and they will last for generations, Greener Day Toys also helps children stay off the screens. That includes television, phones, tablets, and computers. The consequences of screen time are sleep deprivation, obesity, chronic health problems, impaired socializing skills, delayed learning, and low self-esteem. “Perhaps one of the most worrying consequences of excessive screen usage is how it sends your brain into an addictive state.” (ActiveSG Circle N/A). Greener Day Toys takes the screen addiction away from children and aids them in a better future.

The Competition

What competition do Greener Day Toys face? That is a question that only research can answer. The toy industry is very competitive. An article on Hivelr website said, “The toy industry is highly competitive, with numerous companies vying for consumers’ attention and dollars.” (Hivelr Business Review 2023). This only confirms that the toy industry is a tough industry to be in. Greener Day Toys has to think about all aspects of its brand. Keep in mind that all brands are different, and their strengths are too. A website called Street Directory said in an article “As humans differ in their personalities, so do brands.” (Beth Flom). Brands are all different. The needs and wants of their clients are different. Their style is different. The message and their outcome however can be the same. Making their companies compete for Greener Day Toys.

Design Strength

Greener Day Toys brand is developed to help families come together. Built on nostalgia and fun learning. The website is designed to draw parents into a brand full of imagination. Seeing a kite fly through the clouds and imagining themselves flying too. The kite also flies through the entire brand. Stationary, social media, advertisements merchandise, and their website all draw customer's attention to the wonders of the Greener Day Toys Brand. The design for Greener Day Toys is recognizable due to the blue sky and the clouds. Clients love being able to see a brand and know exactly what brand it is. According to an article on Zero Gravity “When you see a sign, letterhead, or blog post, it should be clear what company created it.” (Gioeli 2019). This is the result of good branding. Seeing a brand and knowing the company that designed it is a good thing in design. Greener Days Toys is recognizable to the clients this helps the brand communicate with the customers. Let the customers know the brand is reliable and consistent. Greener Day Toys stands out from the competition because of their loyalty to their brand's design so customers can easily recognize the brand and know they can always count on them to make their families happy. “It starts with putting out consistent, high-quality, high-integrity content that beats whatever’s already floating around online.” (Rahal 2021). With This being said the strength of the Greener Day Toys brand is what beats the competition, thus making the brand successful all on its own.

Customer Surveys

Customer surveys are conducted to see what will work for a brand and how the brand is being seen from the customer's point of view. Greener Day Toys conducts a series of tests to test the product. Once they have figured out what the customers liked or did not like Greener Day Toys then decided on how many items they want to sell. Focus groups helped Greener Day Toys conduct the right test to have a better understanding of how and what they need to produce and how much they need to produce. In an article on Survey Sparrow, “It requires the use of various data collection methods, for example by observing clients, interviewing them, administering questionnaires with them you get to collect first-hand information.” (Lal 2019). The questionnaires that Greener Day Toys conducted helped them to understand customer satisfaction.

Recap

Greener Day Toys had the idea of being known as an eco-friendly toy company. Targeting parents and grandparents to buy their brand of wooden toys and educational books. This makes Greener Day Toys known for better learning. Greener Day Toys is as strong as the toys they sell. Making their brand stand out from their competitors. The design for Greener Day Toys is easily recognizable to the customers due to the consistent design throughout the entire brand. Greener Day Toys also conducts a series of surveys and questionaries to ensure they are up to date with their client’s needs and wants. There is no telling what the future holds for Greener Day Toys and if their brand today will withstand the changes made tomorrow. According to an article on We Create “Inevitably markets will shift, trends will change, and culture will be focused on new platforms, which is why your brand identity should be timeless, human-inspired, and adaptable!” (Westergaard 2023). This means that the idea of Greener Day Toys will always be a design created for the customers and maintained by the customers.

Reference:

 

  1. Heayes, R. (2017). The Business of Toy Design. Mojo Nation. Article. https://mojo-nation.com/business-toy-design/

  2. Holmer, A. (2022). The Onlyness Statement: Differentiation, Rational, and Formula. Medium. Article. https://medium.com/workmatters/the-onliness-statement-differentiation-rational-and-formula-da94e2470a3d

  3. Lovevery Team. (2023). Why Wooden toys make the best playthings. Lovevery. Blog. https://lovevery.com/community/blog/child-development/why-wooden-toys-make-the-best-playthings/

  4. Nationwide Children’s. (2022). New Study Finds Battery-Related Injuries in Children More Than Double in Recent Decade. Nationwide Children’s. Article. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/newsroom/news-releases/2022/08/jatana_battery_study

  5. PoppyBabyCo Team. (N/A). Why Are Wooden Toys Better Than Plastic? PoppyBabyCo. Article. https://poppybabyco.com/blogs/news/why-are-wooden-toys-better-than-plastic

  6. ActiveSG. (2023). What are the negative side effects of too much screen time? Article. https://www.activesgcircle.gov.sg/activehealth/read/screen-time/what-are-the-negative-side-effects-of-too-much-screen-time

  7. Hivelr Business Review. (2023). Mattel (MAT): Porter’s Five Forces Industry and Competition Analysis. Hivelr. Article. https://www.hivelr.com/2023/08/mattel-porters-five-forces-industry-and-competition-analysis/#:~:text=Key%20Challenges&text=Competition%3A%20The%20toy%20industry%20is,its%20market%20share%20and%20revenue.

  8. Flom, B. (2008). Branding Toys Isn’t a Game. Street Directory. Article. https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/193961/marketing/branding_toys_isnt_a_game.html

  9. Gioeli, K. (2019). The True Value of Branding Design & Why it’s So Important. Zero Gravity. Article. https://zerogravitymarketing.com/why-branding-design-is-important/

  10. Rahal, A. (2021). How To Build Brand Authority With Your Content. Forbes. Article. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/03/09/how-to-build-brand-authority-with-your-content/?sh=7c6d8e882091

  11. Lal, I. (2019). How To Conduct A Market Research That’ll answer All Your Questions. Survey Sparrow. Blog. https://surveysparrow.com/blog/how-to-conduct-a-market-research-thatll-answer-all-your-questions/

  12. Westergaard, H. (2023). From Logo Design to Storytelling: How Your Brand Identity Paves the Way for Success. We Create. Article. https://www.wecreate.one/logotostorytelling/

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