Toy Fair New York 2022 — originally scheduled for February 19th-22nd at the Javits Center — may be cancelled due to Covid concerns, but parts of the event will be moving online, including panels with metaverse experts and an afterparty in the metaverse.
Before the unfortunate cancellation, the in-person trade show was going to include a Metaverse Hub, spearheaded by Robin Raskin, founder of the Virtual Events Group (VEG), and her team. The purpose of the metaverse programming was to introduce the toy industry to the exciting opportunities of the growing digital world by facilitating connections with metaverse industry players, as well as showcase what some companies, such as Hasbro and Mattel, have already been doing with metaverse activations.
“Toys are an old industry, and over the years they’ve incorporated toys with chips, but nobody’s really hit on a ‘tech toy,’” explains Raskin, “However, everybody knows that their kids are playing more and more online. Every parent understands that their kids see as much value in a digital sword as they do in a real sword.
“There's a shift taking place, and the toy industry needs to figure out how to tell their stories, both in real life and in the metaverse. So we thought we would bring a number of metaverse companies to Toy Fair and create the partnerships that they need to forge ahead.”
Given Toy Fair’s decision to cancel last month, Raskin and the VEG team have been working with the Toy Association to build a virtual program to continue the momentum and get the toy industry thinking about digital experiences. They will be hosting a variety of panels with metaverse thought leaders next week and have recently announced a virtual afterparty in the metaverse following the Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, being held on February 18th.
The virtual experience will be powered by NewSky XR, an immersive event platform that utilizes “webcam heads” on top of digital avatars, so that participants can turn on their video and actually see each other face-to-face while still being about to explore and interact in a 3D environment.
Raskin adds that part of the issue around the metaverse when it comes to engaging children is that “so much of the metaverse is predicated on a wallet with money in it, that somebody's got to set up for you,” she notes. “My own worry, having seen this rodeo a couple of times, is that kids will get left out when they should be included.”
These types of issues around accessibility and safety for minors in the metaverse is something that kid-focused industries like toys, along with metaverse organizations, are going to have to confront, and it’s a conversation that will hopefully be kickstarted by new connections and partnerships at this year’s virtual sessions.
“Toy companies are pretty stretched, so why not find the best company to help you build your metaverse?” says Raskin. “This is about creating B2B relationships, educating, and having the conversation about thinking authentically and organically about your brand. What should Hasbro look like in the metaverse? What should Barbie Land look like in Decentraland? People need to think out of the box, and I think that by mixing these people, you're going to see a whole new way of thinking about toys — if we can build a new world, what should it look like, and what should people do there?