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Steve Reece: UK Toy Expert & European Toy Expert

Steve Reece is the Managing Director of Kids Brand Insight, a Toy expert Consultancy. Having trained in market research (back in the days before research morphed into consumer insight), Steve started working on testing Toy & Game products with children and families in the late 1990s for a leading market research agency in the UK, before moving into the Toy & Game business full time as Hasbro's in house researcher in Europe.


Steve then went on to run various pan-European research studies, as well as running qualitative research tests in the UK. Following this Steve moved into Brand Management with Hasbro, managing iconic brands such as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Play-Doh across more than 40 European sales territories.


Steve then lead a couple of highly successful start ups - one for a major Toy company, and one in the realm of Board Games, before setting up Kids Brand Insight back in 2011. Since then, he has worked as an international Toy expert Consultant with particular expertise on the UK Toy market and European Toy market.


Today, Kids Brand Insight consults with international Toy & Game companies of all shapes and sizes, applying expert knowledge across the world of Toys, but especially in the UK and Europe.


For more information on our Toy Expert and Board Games Expert services, just get in touch via the 'Contact' page.


UK European Toy Expert

Toy & Game Business Fundamentals Training Course Is LIVE, Sign Up Here

Sign Up Now For The Toy & Game Business Fundamentals Training Course






You can sign up for the course now by:

  1. Clicking one of Payment Buttons above (pay in British pounds (GBP) or US Dollars (USD)

  2. Bank transfer: just send an email to steve(at)kidsbrandinsight.com requesting bank details for transferring funds.


Exciting news, our Toy & Game Business Fundamentals Training Course is now open for sign up. Featuring pre-recorded Video modules you can watch the training Modules at a convenient time to suit you.


This is a basic level course offering an overview of key areas of our business. This course is suitable for people with a couple of years’ experience in the business, people involved in startups or those who have worked in the industry in one function for a long time but who need to learn more about how the rest of the business works.

 

Because of the level of support required for trainees, I am only offering TEN places for this current training course. I don't have the work capacity to make the course open ended for entry, so this is a one off (for now) opportunity to sign up. The course may run again later in the year dependent on my workload, but I can't guarantee that. So that's way I'm pre-notifying you of the course opening up on Wednesday at 10 am UK time, if you really want to access this course you need to sign up as soon as you can after the launch to ensure you get your place.

 

 

TOPICS COVERED

The modules covered in the course are as follows:

 

INTRODUCTORY MODULE

 

MODULE 1 - Toy & Game Business Overview

 

MODULE 2 - Product Concept Ideation & Product Development

 

MODULE 3 - Manufacturing & Manufacturing Trends

 

MODULE 4 - Forecasting & Managing Inventory

 

MODULE 5 - Distribution Markets, Models & Channels

 

MODULE 6 - How To Sell Toys & Games

 

MODULE 7 - Trade Shows: Which Ones & How To Maximise Results

 

MODULE 8 - Toy & Games Marketing

 

MODULE 9 - How Brand Licensing Works

 

MODULE 10 - Consumer Insights & How The Toy & Game Business Works

 

MODULE 11 - Legal

 

MODULE 12 - Key Current Market Trends

 

MODULE 13 - Industry Information Sources

 

MODULE 14 - Over Toy You/Ask Steve

 

 

 



Extra Bonus 1 - DIRECT ACCESS TO STEVE REECE

You can read more about my other work on this website, and you can see the costs for my Consultancy services. The biggest value that comes with the training course is direct access to ask me questions via email. For 7 days from signing up for the course you can send me as many questions as you like by email each day. My commitment is to check and reply to emails at least once per day during the 7 day window (but probably more) and you can send me multiple emails on each day. This is why I can only offer TEN spaces for the course, because while you can watch the pre-recorded Training Module Videos any time you like, I have limited time in my own working schedule. I have set aside 7 days from launch of this product to give you direct Consultancy feedback (via email only).

 

I have been working in the Toy & Game business since the turn of the last millennium, and I will share what I have learned with you in response to your questions. I don’t want you to sign up for this course & just watch the Video training modules, because there is far more value for you in asking me for help to answer your questions, recommend further information resources and share specific feedback to help you directly address your business challenges.

 

If I was offering this email Consultancy as a service, I would price it at a higher cost than the overall price of the training course, so if you do decide to sign up, please take advantage of this.

 

 

Extra Bonus 2 - THE BIG BOOK OF TOY & GAME BUSINESS ARTICLES

When you sign up for the training course, I will also send you a never before published PDF file with all the articles I wrote about the Global Toy & Games business in the first decade of working as a Consultant to the Toy & Game industry – that’s from 2011 to 2021. It’s 368 pages of non-stop articles all about this industry. Some have dated a bit as they discuss topics which are less relevant now than when they were written, but overall I would say it is surprising just how relevant many of these articles are to the Toy & Game business of today.

 

This giant compendium of articles is not available anywhere else currently. Many of the articles were published on now defunct platforms including my own www.StevenReece.com, which was my Blog in the early days & which was superseded by www.ToyIndustryJournal.com Also I wrote many articles for the UK’s no longer live Toy News Online magazine, these articles are no only available in this new e-book, which you can only get by signing up for this Training course.


 

 

HOW TO SIGN UP FOR THE TRAINING COURSE





You can sign up for the course now by:

  1. Clicking one of Payment Buttons above (pay in British pounds (GBP) or US Dollars (USD)

  2. Bank transfer: just send an email to steve(at)kidsbrandinsight.com requesting bank details for transferring funds.


Please note that your course place will only be secured when we have received payment, before that point we are offering 10 places on the course on a ‘1st Come, 1st Served’ basis.

Please note that your course place will only be secured when we have received payment, before that point we are offering 10 places on the course on a ‘1st Come, 1st Served’ basis.


THE COST

To get access to:

·       15 Training modules, which are sent to you as links to 15 pre-recorded Videos

·       AND to get the 7 days email only Consultancy access to Steve Reece

·       AND to be among the first 10 people to receive the Big Book Of Toy & Game Business Articles.

 

The price is £697 GBP (British pounds) which equates to about $847 USD (US dollars)


This price allows me to give focused attention to answer your questions about the business and about YOUR business, it allows me to share with you ten years of collated thought and ‘How To’ articles on this business and it allows me to share 15 training modules with you. As I mentioned above, just for the e-mail Consultancy the price would normally be more than the cost of this training.

 

I appreciate that not everybody has the budget to pay for this training. Which is why I am the industry Consultant who publishes the most FREE, high quality, content on how to get ahead in the world of Toys & Games. If you feel frustrated about that price, I understand that, but there are currently 106 episodes of my podcast – PLAYING AT BUSINESS available to you, and dozens of FREE in depth articles on my TOY INDUSTRY JOURNAL LINKED IN newsletter, so it’s not like I’m not trying to help!

 

For those of you who want to go the next level and are in a position to pay for a step up, this course could be just the thing.

 

 

FAQ

 

Q: Can I pay by bank transfer?

A: Yes, you can pay by bank transfer. Just email me: steve@r-gmarketing.co.uk and we will send you the bank details for transfer. Please note though, your space is not secured until we receive payment.


Q: I signed up for the course, watched all the Video modules, but it didn’t cover all my questions. Why did the course not answer all my questions?

A: This is a big industry, and in c. 25 years I have definitely not learnt everything you can learn. So I can’t give you 100% of the knowledge you need. BUT I will try to maximise your knowledge level up, that’s why the course is being launched on a limited basis so that you can ask me specific questions & get specific answers. Once you sign up for the course & make payment, you have unlimited email access to me for 7 days. You can literally ask me anything, and while I can’t guarantee to know everything, I do know quite a lot & if I don’t know the answer to your questions, hopefully I will be able to point you towards resources or people who might have the answers for you.

 

 

Q: I want to sign up for this course, but I also want you to sell my products for me, is that possible?

A: Please be really clear – the course covers what is explained on this page: 15 pre-recorded Video modules, the email access to send me unlimited questions by email & The Big Book Of Toy & Game Industry Articles. The course does not include further Services from our side, but please feel free to ask about your specific needs for other services before you sign up for this course.

 

 

Q: Please can you explain the exact delivery methods of the course so we know what to expect?

A: As soon as we receive payment I will add your email to a pre-automated email sequence. This sequence will use our auto email service – AWeber to email out to you with links to all 15 pre-recorded Video training Modules.  

 

A reminder email with the Video links will be sent out 24 hours later in case you missed it.

 

We strongly therefore suggest you ‘whitelist’ our email address: steve@r-gmarketing.co.uk 

 

The Videos themselves are hosted as Private YouTube videos i.e. they are viewed by YouTube, but not searchable or available to other people unless they subscribe.

 

I will also manually send you a PDF of the presentation I use as the Visual prompt for the Video training modules for your easy reference AND also, I will manually email you The Big Book Of Toy & Game Business Articles. (The reason I need to manually email these is that the auto-email system limits file size to 1MB & these files are c. 5-10 MB in size).

 

As far as access to my Consultancy insights via email is concerned, from the moment you transfer funds you can email me like crazy for 7 days (as many times per day as you like). I guarantee to check & reply to email at least once per day during that period & will probably do that more often than once per day until the 7 days’ time period is up.

 

Q: I have further questions, how can I get in touch with you?

A: You can email me directly on this email address: steve@r-gmarketing.co.uk 


Q: When will you open the course again in case the 10 places get filled before I can order?

A: Not sure at this moment. The reason for that is that the course has been designed to give 7 days full access to my Consulting input via email. In order to be able to offer that and fulfil that commitment I need to have a full clear week in my diary without other major commitments. At this stage, it's not clear if there will be another clear week in my diary during 2024, but if demand is as strong as anticipated, I will try to carve out another week in the Fall/Autumn period, possibly late October/early November, but I can't guarantee I will have time free then. So, if you really want to enter this Training Course, I suggest you order now, and even if you have a busy week, you can watch the videos later.

 

Q: I signed up for the course & made payment or had a payment issue, what can be done to fix this?

A.    Any issues with processing your order can be resolved by emailing me: steve@r-gmarketing.co.uk, I will make sure you get full access. There are always technical hitches with these things, that's why I am triggering your entry to the course & sending you documents manually to ensure they have been sent, but there can always be 'hiccups', but either way I will ensure you get full access once you have paid.


 

Buy Training Course Here Now:






You can sign up for the course now by:

  1. Clicking one of Payment Buttons above (pay in British pounds (GBP) or US Dollars (USD)

  2. Bank transfer: just send an email to steve(at)kidsbrandinsight.com requesting bank details for transferring funds.

  3. Please note that your course place will only be secured when we have received payment, before that point we are offering 10 places on the course on a ‘1st Come, 1st Served’ basis.





 



HAVE YOU LISTENED TO OUR PLAYING AT BUSINESS PODCAST?




If you want in depth analysis, insights and anecdotes from someone who has worked across the Toy & Game business for c. 25 years, and if you like listening to podcasts, then you might want to check out our PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast, just click the following link to listen: https://playingatbusiness.libsyn.com/website


At the time of writing, we have 106 episodes of the podcast live. Below are a few links to the most popular episodes:


EP 97: UNCHANGING FUNDAMENTALS OF THE TOY & GAME BUSINESS

We are living through times of massive change and disruption. Technology is advancing at a frighteningly quick rate, and the very fabric of society has been changed by our adoption and development of new technologies. 

However, despite that there are 5 unchanging fundamentals of the Toy & Games business. In this podcast your host Steve Reece takes a look at what has not changed in his nearly 25 years in the Toy business, and what is unlikely to change looking forward another 25 years into the future.



EP 83: THE 5 KEY INGREDIENTS OF MASSIVE HIT TOYS & GAMES

Products tend to vary from category to category, but at the heart of any top selling you will normally find most or all of the 5 key ingredients we run through in Episode 83 of the Playing At Business podcast. We discuss successful products such as Spin Master's Paw Patrol ranges, Monopoly board game & the truly iconic Rubiks Cube.


This episode is for anyone who hopes to develop & launch a top-selling toy or game.



EP 57: 5 KEY SUCCESS ELEMENTS OF PRESENTING & SELLING TOY PRODUCTS

Effectively presenting products is one of the most critical skills for people in the commercial departments of the toy industry. In Episode 57 of the Playing At Business podcast we take a look at 5 key success elements of effectively presenting toy products. It isn't just a case of showing how the product works (although that's part of it). There is much more to presenting products well enough to sell them. Check out this week's episode to find out more!



HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL NEW TOY BUSINESS

New toy businesses are the lifeblood of the industry. Today's Toy start ups can become tomorrow's corporate behemoths. But there are a lot of hurdles and barriers in the way of success for those starting up a new toy business. In this latest podcast episode, toy industry expert Steve Reece runs through a few key areas which need to be well managed in order for new toy companies to grow profitably and to achieve success over time. Steve has lead, worked on and advised dozens of successful Toy start ups, listen in to find out more.



And finally, if you just want the complete episode list for our PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast, just click here:


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