Lights, digital camera, cue Geoffrey!

Toys R Us is following within the footsteps of the most important toy producers and creating leisure content material to develop its model.

The retail model now has its personal leisure manufacturing division, Toys R Us Studios, which plans to offer Toys R Us’ greatest and most recognizable asset, its giraffe mascot Geoffrey, a starring function.

Toys R Us Studios just lately dropped the primary episodes of Geoffrey’s World Tour, quick movies about Geoffrey visiting 10 cities, on YouTube, and it already has its first cope with an leisure accomplice. This spring Geoffrey and scenes from his world tour will probably be featured on a child’s recreation present on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel.

Kim Miller, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Toys R Us and President of Toys R Us Studios, and an Emmy Award-winning producer with many years of expertise working with TV celebrities like Martha Stewart, says Geoffrey undoubtedly has star energy.

“He really could be to Toys R Us what Mickey Mouse is to Disney,” Miller stated.

In current years the highest toy producers more and more have been targeted on creating TV and movie content material starring their greatest properties.

Mattel’sMAT movie division this summer season will launch, in collaboration with Warner Bros., its Barbie film. A Mattel govt said at SXSWXSW final month that it has some 200 properties with potential for growth as leisure content material, and that having its personal movie division helps it management the story-telling.

HasbroHAS collaborated with ParamountPARA to supply the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film, which was top-grossing film within the U.S. in its opening weekend.

In 2019 Hasbro acquired manufacturing firm eOne for $3.8 billion to spice up its content material creation efforts. It rapidly determined it didn’t have to have a full-scale manufacturing firm, and is in search of a purchaser for eOne, however plans to collaborate with manufacturing companions to create TV and movie content material for its toy and gaming manufacturers.

Toy makermaker Spin Master’s enertainment division has created an animated fantasy-adventure sequence for youths, Unicorn Academy, that’s scheduled to start airing on NetflixNFLX within the fall.

Entertainment content material, accomplished the fitting method, can strengthen connections with a model, Miller stated.

“It’s important in today’s world to really be about more than just marketing toys, more than just always putting the product in the consumers face,” Miller stated in an interview. “I think this is an opportunity to really build a relationship with kids and their families.”

Miller stated she has seen repeatedly the sturdy connection each mother and father and youngsters, and even grandparents have with Geoffrey, the mascot that has been the face of Toys R Us for the reason that early Seventies.

“Tik Tok loves him – multimillions of views,” Miller stated. And Geoffrey was successful within the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade final yr, she added.

“I saw grown men at Comic Con cry when they saw him,” she stated. “I think we have something here.”

She is hoping that Geoffrey, by means of TV and movie tasks, can turn into a “feel-good advocate for children” and work with manufacturing companions, celebrities and public figures to create messages for youngsters that help and empower them.

The very first thing Toys R Us did to launch Geoffrey’s new leisure profession was to ship him on a world tour of 10 worldwide cities the place he met with native children, realized details about their cities, and visited Toys R Us shops.

There are 1,350-plus Toys R Us shops in 30 international locations, which weren’t impacted when the Toys R Us father or mother firm within the United States went bankrupt and closed all U.S. shops. The worldwide shops operated independently, underneath licensing agreements which had been taken over by the present majority proprietor of the Toys R Us model, WHP Global.

The 10 quick movies created throughout the world tour are airing each different week on Wednesdays on the Toys R Us YouTube channel. Three episodes have aired to date.

Nickelodeon will use content material filmed throughout the world tour for a three-episode recreation present, What A Mess, wherein contestants will probably be requested to reply questions on Geoffrey’s travels. The present is scheduled to air on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel in late spring.

Toys R Us is partnering with advertising company Known to ship Geoffrey on a tour throughout America this summer season, along with his personal tour bus, and in-person appearances and family-friendly actions. That tour is anticipated to additionally generate leisure content material, Miller stated.

“Known also has an entertainment development arm to it, so we’re going to be partnering on the content we can create around that and see what magicmagic we can do with that, in longer form stuff and possible podcasts,” she stated.

Miller predicted Geoffrey has sufficient star energy to drag off bigger tasks down the street, together with feature-length movies.

“We definitely would like to do a movie, for sure, and we’ve already been exploring what that might look like, Miller said. “The wonderful thing about content right now is there’s so many different ways to deliver it, that it’s really very exciting.”

Miller additionally expects {that a} good variety of celebrities will probably be desirous to work with Geoffrey. “We’re already in conversations,” she stated. “People, celebrities, you name it, have memories of this brand. When you’re a kid and you have an emotional memory, as an adult you’re very excited to be a part of it, and that’s a very lucky thing for Geoffrey.”

And so far as celebrities go, Geoffrey is a delight to work with, Miller stated. “Geoffrey is the easiest to direct,” she stated.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.