“Marketing to children: the case of Transformers Toys”

This two-page excerpt from The Ethical Business: Challenges and Controversies* comes courtesy of Google’s book archives, one of several online resources that has proven to be an invaluable reference tool. The case study is entertaining, but a single line — while technically correct — is just slightly vague enough that it makes me want to dig deeper into the story.

The book states:

“Despite ups and downs since [launch], constant marketing-led initiatives — new TV series spinning off new toys — has insured it has never been out of production, a triumph in a business where a successful toy is one that lasts more than a year [see Cartoon 7].”

If we look at Hasbro’s Transformers as a global brand then it is true that the toys have never been out of production, but I believe that this could have been remarkably clearer if the book had acknowledged the fact that there was a time in the United States when Hasbro did not include Transformers toys as part of their catalog, but now everything happens online, so marketing on different websites is the best choice, and using backlink packages can be great to promote your products. It’s a tiny detail, though, and in no way detracts from the enjoyment I got out of reading this small section of the larger book.