Design Manager Proposal Project
StarDusties
The goal of this project is to go through the steps of a project manager who is developing a pitch for a toy inventor. The toy inventor is seeking to build a relationship with a recognizable toy company to help produce their toy. We need to be able to show this toy inventor why they should trust us with their product and how we can expand their toy beyond a simple line of collectibles to a long lasting and profitable franchise.
The Project Goal:
Project Summary:
The current line of products needs to be analyzed for the target market and examined for the best cost-effective solution. The end goal is to pitch the product adaptations to the inventor to gain their trust in working with them and have them choose our toy company over competitors. We need to show why our toy company is the best at what they do.The inventor of this specific toy has sent the project brief and rough prototypes to the toy company in hopes of seeing if the toy company could take their idea and bring it to life. In this instance the toy is a line of collectible blind box figurines called StarDusties. The StarDusties have fallen from their corresponding constellations to be your friend. The line of products includes 12 character options. They come ingeode-like packaging designed to be cracked open. Once opened, the character is revealed along with a crystal stand structure and character bio card. The entire line is designed to lean into the modern astrologist by incorporating elements of tarot reading, crystal healing, and fortune telling.
I am taking on the role of the design manager and need to determine if I can develop StarDusties into a working product and prove to the inventor that we will be the best company to handle their product.
The creative brief was filled out by the client and returned to the design lead prior to the kick-off meeting. The below information was discussed in detail at the initial client meeting.
The Creative Brief:
The Creative Brief:
Title: StarDusties
Description: A collection of 12 blind box collectible figurines targeting the needs of the typical astrologist, but now marketed towards children. Each collectible channels the typical astrologist, but in an easy to understand kid-friendly format. The toy comes in a blind box packaging solution that the child lightly breaks open like a geode. Inside the geode, which represents a fallen star from the corresponding constellation, you would find a crystalline throne pedestal, a collector card that predicts fortunes and provides friendship advice, and most importantly the collectible character.
Strengths: This will be the first blind box collectible focussed on astrology. The first to incorporate the main pillars of the typical astrologist: tarot card readings, fortune telling, compatibility readings, and crystal healing. Because there is nothing like this on the market, the concept itself will be its greatest strength.
Weaknesses: This has many components to the design and it will be necessary to look into the manufacturability. What aspects of this project are necessary and needed for a competitive edge. We do not know if we are including too much in the overall product. As well as if there were a reason as to why astrology was never marketed towards children of the desired age range. Research conducted into this shows that some parents do not believe in astrology and so they would rather purchase other types of toys with their money. There is favorability towards STEM toys. To solve this weakness, attention should be put on friendship being the primary feature and it just so happens the characters align with astrology.
Opportunities: Because this is a new concept exploration, there is the potential for franchise and licensed applications if done correctly. Is there a way to make astrology readily available to children in an aspiring way?
Threats: Astrology and astrologists are typically 18-25 year old women. The intended market is far younger than the proposed and mixed gender. The design needs to be appealing to the intended target market. In addition, the blind box experience needs to be inspiring, because the market can already be considered saturated. We will need to do something more with an added level of interaction.
Goals: The goal of this project is to pitch a proposed redesign of a toy line called StarDusties to the toy inventor in hopes they chose the toy company to partner with and produce their toys. These toys need to be examined for manufacturability as well as marketability. The designs need to meet the needs of the consumer in a way that inspires and delights. They need to exceed the expectations of the toy inventor.
Communication: The goal of StarDusties is to connect children with each other by boosting friendship in the form of astrology compatibility. The toys are intended to help answer questions based on personality interests. The tarot cards focus on how to build lasting friendships. The personalized astrology characters should be cute enough so that children will want to collect all 12. The blind box packaging creates a new experience that will aid in the collectability.
Objectives: The goal is to win the design pitch competition and then ultimately sell the products. The designs however, need to be worth selling. They need to be at a competitive price point and be appealing enough to purchase more than one. They need to be compelling enough to become more than a one-hit-wonder toy line that could push into future years of toy development.
Competition: The biggest difference from competition is that while blind box packaging is existing, there has not been blind-box astrology based products. More specifically there has not been a toy design that incorporates tarot reading, crystal healing, friendship compatibility, and fortune telling all in one. By having unique features all-in-one the toy will certainly beat the competition.
Reinvention: This toy line is new. There is nothing currently existing that incorporates all components of the typical astrologist. If this line of product is to be merged with an existing product, it needs to maintain some aspects of its unique identity, such as the main component being astrology-based characters with a focus on friendship building.
Audience:
Age: 8-12 year olds
Gender: 60% female 40% male
Income level: SRP should be considered measurable for middle class affordability
Education level: marketed towards children who can read
Values: a unique experience that delights and inspires
Interests: friendship building and imaginative based toys. At this age group they are understanding fundamentals of the real world, but are learning more about imaginative play. They are developing social skills and will lean towards toys that can build upon friendships.
Brand Guidelines: Bright. Fashionable. Colorful.
Messaging: We are bringing astrology to children. While the typical astrologist is 18-25 year old women, we need to cater our messaging to a younger skewed audience of mixed genders. The overall design needs to be colorful and appealing to all. Since this would be an introduction to astrology for many users, it needs to be structured in an easy to understand way. There should be no focus on relationship advice, but rather friendship compatibility. Instead of focusing on why two characters do not get along, there should be a focus on strategies to be able to understand your friends' communication strategies. This should be a friendship guide for children everywhere in a fun inviting setting. Astrology is only secondary to friendship. This should be a toy about social responsibility that happens to also cater towards those interested in astrology.
Tone: The tone should focus on magic and friendships. We should look to existing friendship-based toys such as My Little Pony and Care Bears. What are the positive tones that these successful products were able to achieve? What can we do to match this tonal energy in a compelling product line?
Assets and Deliverables: The results of this project should be the proposed redesign of the existing toy in order to win the rights to produce the toy line. Part of this will be the analysis of the existing 12 StarDusties and each of the product components. The existing designs should be re-examined to determine which components should be improved.
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Analysis of existing 12 characters
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Look into characteristics of each astrology sign and ensure personality is aligned
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Research into toys most often purchased for children by parents
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Research impulse price points
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Determine appropriate target age range
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Conduct consumer research and case study testing
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Look into play patterns of specific age ranges
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Look at safety requirements for children of specific age ranges
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Determine proper marketing techniques to reach children of the desired age range
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Look into the successes and failures of other toy lines of products for comparison
Research Questions to Consider:
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Is the story behind the StarDusties compelling enough? These characters fell from the corresponding constellation to be your friend.
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Is the blind-box packaging still relevant or necessary? Because the StarDusties fell from the constellation they have arrived in geode-like structures that need to be broken open to reveal the characters within. Is there another way to approach this? What is a satisfying packaging reveal?
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Are the characters appealing to the intended audience? Are the characters cute enough and constructed in the right way? Is all over plastic the correct solution? Should the characters be constructed differently? Should they have varying materials?
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Do the character cards make sense as is? Should the character cards be more along the lines of collectible cards as included in Pokemon collector cards? How can there be less words included with more information?
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Are the crystal pedestal stands necessary? Should they be more of a playset? Are playsets appropriate for the age range?
Stakeholders:
Design: 1x product designer who will look at the look of each character and determine if they are appealing to the desired age group
1x brand designer who will work on developing the character cards and brand attributes. This designer will be in charge of the lifestyle and all contributions to the overall packaging/artwork
Engineering: 1x mechanical engineer will look at the construction of the components and determine the best materials/construction process
1x cost engineer will look at the most effective materials to use and provide guidance on the mechanical engineers overall construction
1x packaging engineer will look at the packaging solution and determine the safest and cost effective form of packaging
1x safety engineers will look at the age range of the desired product and determine what safety testing needs passing. They will also help determine what warnings need to be included on packaging.
Marketing: 1x brand manager will oversee the intention for the brand in general. They will determine how to place the product on market as well as determine which retailers and which locations the product belongs
Timeline:
Creative Brief: 2/19
Kickoff: 2/26
Final Creative Brief: 3/10
Initial Design Analysis: 3/17
User Persona: 3/26
Focus Group Development Testing: 4/11
Client Presentations: 4/18
Distribution Process:
Find children influencers to promote the StarDusties. Have them do blind box reveals on their social media platforms. Purchase commercial spots and advertisement campaigns for the product to have high visibility on children's highly trafficked platforms (youtube channels, tiktok channels, television channels, etc).
The kick-off meeting with a client is about reviewing the brief with the client, and getting agreement on its contents, establishing boundaries, and agreeing upon processes and points of contact.
This phase of the design process sets the stage for the success of your project. If you take the time to plan well for the meeting, invite the right people, make sure you acquire all of the important information at the meeting, and leave the client confident in your leadership ability, your kick-off meeting will pay dividends throughout the entire length of the project.
Project Kickoff Meeting:
Project Kickoff Meeting:
Goals: The goal of this meeting is to introduce StarDusties to the team tasked with generating proposed concepts for the toy inventor pitch. In this meeting we will get a gauge of first reactions to the existing product, go through the creative brief (including timeline, budget, etc) and allow time for initial questions and thoughts.
This meeting was attended by a designer and engineer who would be on the team working on the product proposal pitch.
The Meeting Agenda:
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Introductions with the team (have time to get to know each other and their backgrounds)
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This is important to have and build trust between the client and the team working on the project. A good relationship will help the process become easier and build better connections throughout the time working together. There needs to be a level of trust, to ensure communications go smoothly.
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Review the Creative Brief in its entirety
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Allow the team opportunity to ask questions and get to know what is expected of them in this product pitch proposal. It is important to have clear expectations and standards for the pitch right away. This is also beneficial to set the standard for any future communications and check-ins leading up to the final pitch.
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Product (go back through the current product offerings)
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After going through introductions there is a big importance in reviewing the actual product. This is a walkthrough of the product that has already been shared in order to refamiliarize with the products. By going through Stardusties live questions are able to be asked, and new features and ideas may be revealed that do not currently exist on paper.
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Opportunities to ask questions (once the product has been pitched again this presents time to clarify any questions that need to be answered)
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Once the product is reviewed there should be time to ask detailed questions about the product. This allows everyone the opportunity to have clear lines of communication about anything that has surfaced. These can be questions, concerns, or areas that need clarification. Hopefully with introductions, the team would feel comfortable reaching out to the client throughout the entire process.
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Final thoughts (this is the opportunity to ask any questions that come to mind beyond the questions already asked, a quick recap of any initial concerns)
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Again, to help build team confidence between the client and team we wanted to create an opportunity for both parties to recap any concerns, comments, etc one last time to ensure all are on the right page.
Interview Questions:
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What does success look like for the StarDusties? What are the overall goals and intentions?
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Can you describe the StarDusties in your own words? If you had to describe it in only adjectives what comes to mind?
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Do you feel like the age group is appropriate? Do you think the elements are appropriate? Anything that should be included or not included?
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What do you feel will hold the users attention?
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Stardusties are all about collectibility, what makes this collectible?
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How could you drive user focus? How will kids be interested? How will you motivate them to collect them all?
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What feature is the most important? If you had to lose one, which would you pick?
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What feature would be most important to children?
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What will get the most usage from children?
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What play pattern is more appropriate for children of the desired age range?
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What do you see as the most challenging part of this item?
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What is the overall vision for the product?
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How should this be promoted?
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What do you see as the future of this toy? Is it a one-hit wonder or a long running franchise?
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Is there anything existing product wise that you see as a source of inspiration, or competition?
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What do you think parents would think of the toy line? Have you considered the perspective of the ones controlling the purchasing?
Meeting Notes:
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Product packaging is part of the experience as a whole
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There needs to be a well thought out manner as to how the packaging works
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Should the portion of the packaging that is purposefully broken be reused in a way?
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Is there a way to reincorporate the packaging into the design?
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How tall exactly should the characters be?
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Is the scale appropriate for the age range? yes
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For collectibility, the scale should be smaller
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It would be better to have a smaller scale character in blind box packaging, the crystal throne could be separate to purchase
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If the line was more established, the characters could then be larger and have a crystal throne stand
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There could be a throne stand/playset just for the water characters. For example each sign element gets a unique playset. Characters of each element have unique stands that could attach to form a playset
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Right away the light in the throne stand is not necessary at all
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They should have a tv show tie in. This way the personality of each character could be showcased. Or in some way there needs to be an animated tie in to get the children hooked.
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This has a potential for multiple year tie ins. A franchise.
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These characters landed on earth, we need to explain why they have come to earth. Is there a reason? Is there a villain? Is it darkness?
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The tarot cards make the concept feel whole. The cards should have gender removed and speak just about the characters themselves in 3rd person.
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There should be more of a connection on the cards. Motivate the kids to want to collect all cards. Perhaps the cards can interact and reveal something between characters?
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Is there a way for two characters to reveal compatibility?
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Will need 12 skus for sure. All astrology signs need to be included.
Reflection:
This was a very insightful meeting. It was good to give the client the opportunity to present their toy in their own way. This gave the team to ask questions honestly in response. While presenting there is always information not mentioned or expanded on in the project brief. And with the team providing comments right away allows information to be explored further. It also allowed the client to dig deeper into their motivations behind the design and really think as to what is a priority in the item.
The client and team were able to come together on the priority of the item.
The highest priority is all 12 characters to be included. In order to reduce cost it was recommended to have the same body structure shared between the majority of the characters. This would allow interchangeable limbs and heads. For production this will make the characters more affordable especially when including all 12. The character sizing should be looked at closely in order to maintain a lower blind box price point. The astrology based portion of the toy needs further research conducted. This feature may not be attractive to parents. There should be a case study conducted on this. Instead focus on friendship for now with astrology being secondary.
Packaging was the next important feature and seen as an extension of the product itself. With smaller characters, the blind box should be achievable. The unboxing experience and blind box aspect will enhance the collectibility aspect of the toys. You want a unique experience unlike existing products and there should be thoughts around the experience itself. If the crystal throne is removed, there should be some type of crystal/glitter magic.
The tarot card is essential, but needs to be rethought. The information included needs to be examined for what is more appropriate for the age group. Right now it is static and not personal. If the card should have a personal connection to the children, it needs to be reworked to read that way.
The crystal throne is a great idea and loved, but not necessarily something that needs to be included when being introduced to a new product line. With the conversation about possible longevity, this is something that should be explored further down the line of products. Not only that, but it should be seen as an extension of the collectibility. A playset based on elements rather than just crystal thrones makes sense. This will want you to collect the characters not just on the individual, but as an elemental family of form. A study should be conducted with parents on the unboxing experience and how comfortable they are with purposeful breaking and potential messes.
The most surprising information was the idea to build the story up further. There should be more background to the characters themselves. What are the motivations? How will this impact the collectibility aspect? Part of this spin off was the suggestion of a tv-show marketing tie-in. One of the inspirations for this product line was My Little Pony. My Little Pony had a tv show tie-in that gave the product long life. It is what set the toy line apart from competition. This is a big consideration in order to not only set Stardusties up from external competition, but also internal competition.
In total, the kick off meeting has already introduced new ideas for the future of this product. The trust built up has already opened the opportunity to explore these ideas further. I am excited to see where this will go.
The timeline presented showcases the time frame agreed upon leading up to the design pitch proposal. This includes receival of the project brief to then sharing the updated product with the client/inventor. In most cases the typical timeline for a toy from idea to shelf is 2 years. This timeline is going to explore the initial phase as it is handled by the design team to prepare for the design pitch.
Project Schedule:
Timeline:
Creative Brief: 2/19 (1 week time period or shorter, designers will typically want to start the kick off as soon as possible)
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Design manager assigns a primary designer for the project.
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2 hours to analyze the product and the current offerings. This includes any initial prototypes.
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A meeting with the inventor could occur typically 1 hour in order to give the design manager and primary designer the opportunity to ask any questions after reviewing the product itself.
Design Manager: 1-2 hours
Primary Designer: 2-3 hours
Brand Designer: N/A
Mechanical Engineer: N/A
Cost Engineer: N/A
Safety Engineer: N/A
Packaging Engineer: N/A
Brand Manager: N/A
Kickoff: 2/26 (2-3 week time period)
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Designers host a kick off meeting with the extended team who will be working on the project.
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Designers will go through the objectives of the project and discuss with team members the guidelines.
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A group brainstorm session will occur with selected teammates and other outside departments for a variety of opinions and ideas. This will be to explore any other ideas for a solution to the product itself. Outside opinions are of great value.
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Mechanical engineers review existing products with cost engineers to get the overall breakdown of the project as is.
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Brand designer and brand manager will work together to go over what the product's message is and how it will be shared. This will then be shared with the designer to help inform product decisions.
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The design manager will check in and attend a few of these meetings.
Design Manager: 2-3 hours, includes check in with designer
Primary Designer: 40-50 hours, this will be a design intensive period where the kick off is of their highest priority.
Brand Designer: 8-10 hours, this will include the kick off meeting, the brainstorm meetings, and meeting with the brand manager
Mechanical Engineer: 8-10 hours this will include the kickoff meeting, the brainstorm meeting which is typically optional, the meeting with cost engineer to breakdown the cost of every aspect of the current ask, and any other small check in’s with the designer
Cost Engineer: 3-5 hours, this will include meeting with the mechanical engineer to go over the current product offerings. They are typically hands off the majority of the work and act as a guide for the mechanical engineer as needed.
Safety Engineer: 2-3 hours, this will include meeting with the brand manager, designer, and mechanical engineer to go over any safety information that needs to be taken into account.
Packaging Engineer: 10 hours, this will include the kick off meeting, the brainstorm meeting, and additional work analyzing any existing packaging offerings
Brand Manager: 20 hours, this will include the kick off meeting, the brainstorm meetings, and meeting with the brand designer.
Other designers and coworkers: 1-3 hours, this will include brainstorm meetings and the collaboration of new ideas
Final Creative Brief: 3/10 (1 week time period or shorter)
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Designer will meet with the design manager to discuss outcomes of the kick off meeting. This will include aligning on the proposed design direction.
Design Manager: 1-2 hours
Primary Designer: 2-3 hours
Brand Designer: N/A
Mechanical Engineer: N/A
Cost Engineer: N/A
Safety Engineer: N/A
Packaging Engineer: N/A
Brand Manager: N/A
Initial Design Analysis: 3/17 (1-2 weeks)
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Between the Kickoff and now the designer would be working hard to revise the design based off of the outcomes of the kick off meeting and other meetings with team other members.
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Designers work on the initial designs. After reviewing with safety engineers, designs should reflect any changes needed.
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Mechanical engineers look at the cost to make each item.
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Initial prototypes will be shared with outside vendors or manufacturing teams to begin the development of the product.
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Brand managers look at the retail space and quantity required to get the biggest return.
Design Manager: 1-2 hours, this will include attending any high importance meetings and checking in with designers
Primary Designer: 20-30 hours, this will include working on initial prototypes, either with themselves or other outside vendors. This is a design intensive week.
Brand Designer: 10 hours, for this specific project this will include working with the primary designer to align on the specific look of the Stardusties.
Mechanical Engineer: 20-25 hours, this will include meeting with the designer to help analyze initial prototypes. They will assist in the creation of the prototypes.
Cost Engineer: 1-2 hours, they will assist as needed
Safety Engineer: 1-2 hours, they will assist as needed
Packaging Engineer: 5-10 hours, for the Stardusties in particular they will be more hands on to develop the new packaging solution.
Brand Manager: 10-20 hours, will work on finding potential retailers with a collection of meetings to go over the new brand objectives.
User Persona: 3/26 (1 week or less, this will be a continual step that occurs throughout the initial design phase)
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Designers and brand managers determine the proper age group.
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Marketing efforts begin, if not already during the kick off phase
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Engineers and designers continue to work on getting initial prototypes created.
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QA designer will inform the team what safety restrictions are needed as well as product marking is required on packaging. (confirmation as needed)
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Packaging engineers will look at the sizing and marketing materials to create white box packaging solutions for initial product development.
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Brand manager will work to get an appropriate focus group together and arrange for product testing
Design Manager: 1-2 hours, this will include check ins
Primary Designer:10-15 hours, they will continue to work on this project, but will be more hands off. They will focus on prototype development to be made ready for testing with users.
Brand Designer: 2-5 hours, they will continue to work on a more hands-off phase
Mechanical Engineer: 10-15 hours, primary focus will still be on prototype development
Cost Engineer: 1-2 hours, as needed
Safety Engineer: 1-2 hours, as needed
Packaging Engineer: 1-2 hours, as needed
Brand Manager: 20-30 hours, this will be the brand managers most intensive process
Focus Group Development Testing: 4/11 (1 week long process, if intensive safety testing is needed that will be longer and further down the phase)
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With initial prototypes and marketing materials, toys are presented to users to get early stage testing.
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From feedback, further prototyping is worked on.
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Testing will be conducted with the direct users to get early feedback on designs
Design Manager: 1-2 hours, this will be for checking in and attending the testing session
Primary Designer: 10-15 hours, this will be for prepping for the product testing meetings and ensuring all prototypes and any additional materials are ready
Brand Designer: 2-5 hours, this will be to assist in any prototyping that is needed
Mechanical Engineer: 5-10 hours, this will be any assistance for prototyping needed
Cost Engineer:1-2 hours as needed
Safety Engineer: 1-2 hours as needed
Packaging Engineer: 2-5 hours as needed
Brand Manager: 20-30 hours, this will be an intensive time with a lot of hands-on arranging and organizing for testing
Client Presentations: 4/18 (1-2 weeks as needed after the focus group development testing)
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Designers and team will make any last minute adjustments to the product after the results of the focus group development testing.
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Once the next round of prototypes are revised, concepts are shared with the client for review.
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This will include at least a few looks-like and a few works-like models.
Design Manager: 1-2 hours, check in as needed, attending the client presentation meeting. Will potentially run the meeting to assist the designer
Primary Designer: 10-15 hours, arrange for revisions to prototypes as well as prepping for client presentation
Brand Designer: N/A
Mechanical Engineer: 5-10 hours, will assist with any last minute prototype adjustments. Attending client presentation will be optional, but highly recommended
Cost Engineer: N/A
Safety Engineer: N/A
Packaging Engineer: N/A
Brand Manager: 5-10 hours, will help to prepare for the client presentation meeting
At this time the team will have decided on if they will be able to make a product that is manufacturable or not. They will present this idea to the client. If the client approves the team will continue to produce the product. They will kick off all necessary materials to their manufacturing team and essentially move to the next phase of the process, which will be the creation of production-ready prototypes. This will take approximately 6 months. After this mass production will be kicked off and toys will be making their way to shelves. It will be more hands off for the designers and design manager, as their main role will be to approve samples as they arrive.
Meet the Team:
As established from the project schedule the following roles are expected to be a part of this specific project: Design manager, Primary designer, Brand designer, Mechanical engineer, Cost engineer, Safety engineer, Packaging engineer, and Brand manager.
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Proposed Budget:
I broke down the budget based on Labor costs and Materials Costs. I chose to organize based off of project milestones.
To calculate Labor costs I broke the salary by hour of work. If more than one individual shared the task, then the budget was split between the total number of people. If there was a time estimate, the medium of the time estimate was used to calculate the total. For the entire project, the salary estimate amongst all team members was $17,700.
For materials this included the direct and indirect costs. This includes the cost for use of software licenses such as photoshop and rapid prototyping software programs. Prototype development is also kept in mind for all the raw material fees as well as estimated fees of vendors/manufacturing teams to develop high-quality prototypes. Communication licenses were also accounted for, this would include costs of email and zoom communications. Travel expenses were also included for the meetings that required travel as well as the shipment of prototypes/goods. Office supplies and rentals were kept in mind as well as employee benefits and general administration salary. With all this estimated the estimate comes to $22,460.
In total the overall budget for this project will be closer to $40,160
User Personas:
Based off of user research and analysis personas were developed. Each persona represented a different possible user and purchaser of the StarDusties product line.
MoodBoards:
I developed two mood boards for the client presentation. One focused on packaging which was to be the external brand representation. The other focused on character design that would fit within the brand itself.
The moodboard above explored the packaging components. The overall packaging and brand will be colorful with a galactic styled color pallet. Images from astrology websites and tarot cards were used. Packaging similar to the Disney 100 capsules are ideal. The look and feel of the brand needs to be out of this world!
The moodboard above looks at the style of the individual characters. Unique looking figures with a variety of material exploration. The characters need to look otherworldly and mythical. The color pallet can be broader than the packaging, but needs to still fit in the overall look and feel of the brand itself.
Focus Group Reporting:
Meeting Goals: The goal of this focus group meeting is to gain insight from parents as to what they believe their children would like when it comes to the StarDusties line of collectibles. The structure of this meeting will include introducing the product (the overall look, feel, and components). I will gain feedback on the current direction. This will also allow for feedback to be gathered as to what is and is not working. What they feel is most compelling and what price they would be comfortable paying for.
The Participants:
Participant A: Mother of two, high school diploma, prefers dramas, relaxed parent style, 1 child has adhd. Children are an 8 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. The children often steal each others toys.
Participant B: Father of two, law school graduate, self-proclaimed nerd, active parent style. Two seven year old twin girls.
Agenda:
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Welcome participants
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allow for introductions between myself and participants
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Allow the parents to introduce their children if present and speak on their background/parenting style
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Introduce the product
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Go through the history of the product and its offerings. The current components and goals of the toys.
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Share competitive offerings and where this product would line up among them.
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Ask parents to unbox the competitor products with their children present (one parent had their children present). Observe their children open and interact with the toys.
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Share prototypes and inspirations. No samples of StarDusties were sent to the children. Images were shown for blind reactions.
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Ask participants questions about what they have seen. Have open feedback from children and adults.
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Give participants the opportunity to ask questions in return. Have any questions they have clarified.
Questions:
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Would you buy this for your child?
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What is a motivating story that would compel you to purchase this product?
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Does the current look excite and inspire?
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What would you change about this product?
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What are the current strengths of this product?
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What are the current weaknesses of this product?
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What is one thing you wish the product could do?
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What is the most important aspect of this product to you?
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Is there anything I should know about your expectations for this product?
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Are there any other points you would like to make?
Responses:
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Would you buy this for your child?
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Yes, if they wanted it. If they cry for it I will get it.
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I would prefer a low price of $4.99
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What is a motivating story that would compel you to purchase this product?
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Happy characters. Friendship is magic.
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Think care bears. It is in the name. Current name is cute
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Does the current look excite and inspire?
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Current characters are cute. Packaging is scary. Maybe add stickers?
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Could they have more sparkles/star/crystal look? Tarot is not necessary. Could this be a comic book instead? I want more stories.
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What would you change about this product?
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Change the packaging for sure. Sounds messy and dangerous
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Packaging as well. Can we also add stickers?
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What are the current strengths of this product?
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Looks sellable.
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I would probably buy it if it was currently on market.
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What are the current weaknesses of this product?
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The packaging.
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Change the package for sure.
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What is one thing you wish the product could do?
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A good media presence. Comic book/movie/tv
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If the intro is a comic book can you include panels as part of the tarot card
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What is the most important aspect of this product to you?
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Make the kids happy
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Happy kid, happy wife, happy life, until something breaks
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Is there anything I should know about your expectations for this product?
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Need a good price point
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Variety pack only if you got something extra, otherwise low price point
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Are there any other points you would like to make?
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Want a tv show
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Yes a tv show!
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Meeting Notes:
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Both individuals arrived to the scheduled zoom call on time
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One participant had their children in the background providing input when called upon
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Both were active in their conversations, the parent without the children was less distracted and asked questions more often
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Both remained engaged throughout the process and actively asked questions, the parent without children asked more questions.
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The parent with children had their children pop on the screen often. The children were distracted until it came for their unboxing experiences.
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They had good input when it came to the overall design and related it back to their own childhood experiences
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The unboxing of competitor items experience with children was a good way to examine the household experience. I sat silently observing how the children interacted with the competitors as well as how often they needed assistance from their parents. The most engaging was the Disney 100 Capsule in comparison to the Hatchimals Colleggtibles.
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Kids seemed more interested in characters they knew and loved, which may have led to the Disney 100 being more compelling
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There was more of a struggles for the Disney 100 Capsules, but they proved more rewarding
Key Data Points:
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$4.99 is the ideal price point at a small scale
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Current name works, but there should be a tie in in the product itself, stars and clean sparkles
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Tarot cards can be simplified and less obvious, added feature but not necessary
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The friendship built may not have to be in the toy itself, but a tie in
Observations:
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Nostalgia comparison to Care Bears and My Little Pony, need to look at what was so magical and long lasting about these toys
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Loved the ideas of including stickers, one parent had stickers all over their walls
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Kept asking if there was some sort of tie in, would this be a comic book, movie, tv series, etc
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Parents are invested in a compelling story to keep their kids occupied
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They liked the current character design, but wonder if the characters could have crystal chest pieces or sparkles to make them seem as though they were stars themselves
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Sending over a competitive product I asked them to unbox with their children, I observed their experience opening and gauged their reactions. Of the competitors the easiest and most engaging was the Disney 100 Capsule.
Takeaways:
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Price is the biggest factor when purchasing a toy
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Second to price is the child's insistence in getting their desired toy, and how loud they can be especially in stores
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Children learn about their toys through television marketing, but if there were a tv show tie in they would be even more compelled
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Parents do not want messy packaging, package structure needs to be redesigned and simplified
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Blind boxes can be fun and not messy
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Parents are invested in a story, what is the message beyond the tagline? Are these heroes? Who is the villain? How do they solve their problems? Why are they here?
Project Recommendations:
The Characters: Characters are cute in current design, but should have more star-like qualities. The idea here is to add some sparkle, or fake colored crystals of some kind. To do this I need to look at the current scale of the characters and the way they would be manufactured. There could be a better way to create these characters in a way to reduce cost while also enhancing the look of the characters.
The enhancements to be explored: placement of crystal-like features, addition of sparkle either molded into the character or flocked on the outside of the character.
The Accessories: Currently the only accessory is the tarot card. Could this be simplified to be more informal and a 4 page panel with overall brand story, character tarot description, collection pieces, and other vital information. With this change the idea is to look to see if other accessories should be included. One parent suggested stickers and how little kids always seem to be obsessed with them. Perhaps a low cost sticker/accessory should be included as an added bonus if overall product cost allows.
The Packaging: The current packaging scares parents. They would prefer a much more simplified form. They suggested something similar to the competitor product I ordered for them to have in hand, Disney 100 Capsules. They agreed they would like a more simplified offering. It can still resemble a geode, but worry about small pieces and asking children to break the current packaging open.
The Brand Story: Parents enjoyed the story of these characters falling to earth and they like the idea of promoting friendship. The recurring question is if there would be a media tie in to support this story. The toys themselves do not need to tell the story, but be aids in reenacting the story. The suggestion suggests the solution here is to develop a storyboard and pitch the media tie in as a small comic strip on the 4 panel tarot collector page, or present to a company to get television series tie in.