The world of children’s toys has evolved from wooden blocks to high-end construction sets which stimulate young brains. And the toy industry has changed dramatically as well.
In 1995, Paul Eichen left his corporate gig as an executive at an international data projector company to start the Rokenbok Toy Company. Eichen says, “The concept of uniting robotics with a construction system and creating a classic toy system really interested me.” Until three years ago, his marketing strategy was simple. He reports, “About 80 percent of customers came through specialty toy stores, 20 percent through word-of-mouth, and zero via the Internet.”
When the economy shifted, specialty toy stores began shutting their doors, and Eichen and his team needed to find a new platform to connect with customers and demonstrate how the Rokenbok toy operated. Eichen admits, “It’s not obvious to folks from static images what our toy system is or how you play with it. The construction vehicles are very sophisticated robots within a very sophisticated construction system, but you can’t tell unless you can witness a demonstration of Rokenbok.”
Eichen says, “As the opportunity to demonstrate in toy stores was disappearing, we needed to be creative with new ways which we could demonstrate our toy system. We thought of everything — from renting kiosks in malls during Christmas time to attending events like maker fairs and robotics conferences. Ultimately as we tested different methodologies, we found that creating videos — that not only demonstrated our products, but are really fun and show kids how they can play with Rokenbok — was what really took off for us.”
It also took off for their customers. Rokenbok users also upload videos of themselves playing with their Rokenbok construction systems. Eichen reveals, “There are a lot of teenagers creating YouTube videos. Some of these kids have been playing with Rokenbok for 10 years.” Eichen and the team have tapped into this YouTube community of Rokenbokers.
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This looks great, it needs more publicity. This is one toy we need to present to our kids, its fun and educational.
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