Marking its 60th anniversary, toy and entertainment giant Mattel has revealed the secrets behind the success of its famous Fisher-Price toy brand.
Not exactly what was announced by the Department of Business Licensing, we were fascinated by the process Fisher-Price used to develop toys that children loved so much.
To summarize in a few lines, it seems that Fisher-Price has gathered the most knowledgeable consultants about children's toys in the world, those are the children!
According to Mattel, the Early Childhood Development experts at the new Fisher-Price Play Toy Testing Laboratory have been working with children's toy testers for more than 60 years to create great toys. possible.
“ To celebrate 60 years of manufacturing toys and children's products, the Fisher-Price Play Toy Lab not only revealed a brand new look following a recent renovation, but also announced brand new product and an advertising campaign that shows a behind-the-scenes look at the production journey of a toy from concept to creation,” Mattel revealed.
A photo of a baby and a Behavior Specialist working together at the Fisher Price Play Toy Lab, aiming to develop better toys.
Introducing the Fisher-Price Play Lab
As an industry pioneer in testing prototype toys for children, Mattel says the Fisher-Price Play Toy Lab is at the forefront of toy development. To do that, they bring together children's toy designers and implementation experts to find what will bring the most joy to children.
Early Childhood Development researchers observe children from birth to eight years old to identify, evaluate and improve more than 450 toy models each year, a Mattel expert explains. .
" The Play Lab is the heart of Fisher-Price, because it's where the magic begins and where we gather incredibly detailed information directly from kids to ensure our toys and products are Our products are continually being improved and developed to better suit children's needs," said Senior Director of Early Child Development Research at Fisher-Price, Dr. Deborah Weber. “We believe that no detail is understated when it comes to the role the laboratory plays in creating exciting and enriching experiences for families around the world.”
Weber's team is at the forefront of creating play that spans multiple purposes, toys, media and parenting styles. They also work closely with designers, engineers, musicians, content producers and more to evaluate every detail of each toy. This essentially ensures that children's input is included in every Fisher-Price toy design.
Technology and innovation at the Fisher-Price Play Toy Lab
Mattel said recent renovations at the Fisher-Price Play Toy Lab have resulted in the integration of new research tools, technology and software, enhancing the play experience for “employees.” tiny experiment”. Since then improvements in toy production have improved significantly. Exploiting modern technology allows Fisher-Price experts to better research and observe the toy experience through children's eyes.
Some new technologies are applied by Fisher-Price
Follow your eyes
This technology has proven to be extremely important for helping gather feedback from child testers, who are not yet able to speak. The device uses a specialized headgear and continuous imaging software, allowing researchers to record and analyze eye movements as well as synchronized images and sounds. This technology and analytics data allow the Fisher-Price Play Toy Lab to literally see a toy through a child's eyes.
Viso technology
The laboratory is like an art studio that records sound and images using state-of-the-art microphones and camera systems, focusing on the smallest details. Comes with event annotations and instant playback of perfectly synchronized, high-resolution video data.
Child Emotion Analysis Technology™
An automated tool for measuring facial expression parameters in infants aged 6-24 months. This is the first and only tool to automatically measure a newborn's emotional index, and detect and analyze signs on the baby's face to help solve questions raised in mental development. psychology in children.
Observer XT software
The software helps analyzes and annotations to be estimated and displayed on a timeline. This allows experts to easily integrate, synchronize and visualize multiple data streams to provide answers to research questions by discovering patterns of play, outliers , deviation amplitude or abnormal point if any.
These new technologies have enabled Fisher-Price to develop a completely new line of “ Play Lab Approved Products ” and launch them into the market with a greater chance of success than before. These technologies are basically the latest tools that make toy development more creative and approachable. Thereby encouraging children to develop language, shape their personality, perceive and increase their cognitive level when playing with Fisher-Price toys.
Some examples of new Fisher-Price toys
Calm Mouse Toy
The Calm Mouse toy includes three soothing modes. This Fisher Price toy was created by observing families with children ages 2-5 participating in meditation and brain development exercises. Subsequent research indicates that the timing, breathing rate, and pace of meditation exercises need to be adjusted to be more optimized for children.
Linkimals Toys
Fisher-Price Play Toy Testing Lab studied how children interact with connected toys using Eye Tracking technology and Observer XT Software. The findings show that associative toys provide a new and completely different way to help children learn through play. At the same time, connected toys will help children and caregivers bond closer together.
Linkimals technology allows the toys to recognize when people are nearby. Children will relax and enjoy playing with synchronized music and colorful light shows.
Classic Fisher-Price toys
Play Lab continually revisits previously released toys to develop and enhance its products, including the classic Rattle Stacking Toy, the fan-favorite Batbot, or the 77-year-old brand Thomas & Friends.
The team has grown the size of the classic Stackable Rattle , making playing with it a novel fine motor experience. The research team also observed that children always tried to make the Batbot fly. Therefore, the team designed additional small wheels below to help the Batbot Battle Armor tilt forward and soar around the room. The Thomas & Friends toy line has been improved many times over the years, most recently with improvements to the characters' facial expressions to appeal to children of all ages.
As part of Fisher-Price's anniversary event, the company created a website to showcase how the Play Lab operates, including a short one-minute promotional video to help viewers understand more behind the scenes of what's going on at Fisher Price.
The video is set to run on various digital platforms, with extensions included. Using stop-motion effects, the commercial introduces the Giant Stackable Rattle toy taking a new Fisher-Price employee on a tour of the Play Lab, introducing She talks about how all the toys here have been inspired by kids - the real experts at Play Lab.
