The Energon Pub

We had a great presentation from Hasbro in 2017 showing how they cut the market into different segments and their core market was boys aged 5-10. At the time, the toys on shelves advertised as targeting this market most were the Robots in Disguise line. It did indeed have toys for kids aged 5 or a bit lower, like the three step and one step toys, but it also had the warrior class that had some terrific toys that could please kids aged more than 5 (waaay more). Since 2017, things have changed on shelves. Simplified toys became the norm, as we see with the Cyberverse line which didn't even have deluxe class toys at first. Same with the previous movie line which was targeted just to kids. This ties into current news since some were surprised that our first look at the Rise of the Beasts toyline was of a toy for young kids.

Now, we have proof of this internal change in the brand and it's core target audience. Now, instead of Hasbro labelling it's core market as boys aged 5-10, it has reduced the range for 5-8. This would be why the War for Cybertron lines were 8+, showing the break between toys aimed at kids below 8 and toys aimed at kids that are 8. And since they deem the 5-8 age range as their core audience, that is why you would see more simplified toys on shelves, they are making more of those than any other line. The title of "fan" went from being people aged 10+ to 8+.

While this is not earth shattering news, and we could have guessed it by seeing the shelves, it's fun to get these internal slides to see their inner workings. And now you know exactly what "core boy" refers to in the listings for the upcoming Rise of the Beasts toyline (which will be released in Cyberverse packaging) like Core Boys Deluxe Class (Assortment UPC: 5010993983308).

This is good news though, in the long run. The fact that Hasbro is concentrating on a younger audience means that they believe kids still like Transformers toys

The slide also shows that there was quite a bit of internal changes with the released dates. This slide is only a few months old and Rise of the Beasts is still labelled as coming out in 2022, showing how much of a last minute call the change was. And we see that the BotBots show was delayed while the Nickelodeon show is being released early. We don't get these slides often, so take whatever you want and can from it.

2017


2021

Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

Brokebot wrote:Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

Nope Somehow, that vague emphasis on “more” makes it more so.

Seeing this stuff is pretty cool, though. It looks like… video views have grown a lot? Does anyone have any insight as to what the “+113% YOY” means?
(Also, it’s kinda funny that it’s 113%)

Well it's only natural, kids who grow older can get way more value just getting a phone/tablet/game console than they can with any toy.

Hydrargyrus wrote:

Brokebot wrote:Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

Nope Somehow, that vague emphasis on “more” makes it more so.

Seeing this stuff is pretty cool, though. It looks like… video views have grown a lot? Does anyone have any insight as to what the “+113% YOY” means?
(Also, it’s kinda funny that it’s 113%)

YOY stands for year over year, so it's comparing performance from the previous year.

I can't help but think that this is less of a change in market and more of them realizing it doesn't make sense to say fans are 10+ when the Generations toys made specifically for fans say 8+ right on the package.

Brokebot wrote:Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

All he's missing is a Chainclaw skin rug.

Emerje

Hydrargyrus wrote:

Brokebot wrote:Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

Nope Somehow, that vague emphasis on “more” makes it more so.

Seeing this stuff is pretty cool, though. It looks like… video views have grown a lot? Does anyone have any insight as to what the “+113% YOY” means?
(Also, it’s kinda funny that it’s 113%)

It means the amount of youtube views doubled in 2021 compared to 2020.

I am so glad that Transformers appeals to the next generation.

We who grew up watching G1 when we kids can now watch the new cartoons with our kids

For the topic itself,it's always interesting to see how Hasbro tries to reach people.

Day 781 of waiting for Transformers Armada Masterpiece news

Brokebot wrote:Am I the only one that finds the posing of Optimus Prime kinda . . . . off-putting?

I've no problem with it. It's just Optimus lying down. There are similar poses for female Transformers, at least in fan-art, and there's nothing off-putting about that, right?

Ok, I'm not doubting them. They have the data. But I have to add this anecdotal story/experience...

My son, in the "Core" category by age, could not care less about Transformers. None of his friends at school or even playground acquaintances show any interest whatsoever. He has no real curiosity about TFs despite wanting to do almost any other activity that dad does.

I never see kids evaluating TF toys when I'm shopping.

Like I said, I'm not doubting them, I am just super curious about where these kids are and how Hasbro is getting this information.

Counterpunch wrote:Ok, I'm not doubting them. They have the data. But I have to add this anecdotal story/experience...

My son, in the "Core" category by age, could not care less about Transformers. None of his friends at school or even playground acquaintances show any interest whatsoever. He has no real curiosity about TFs despite wanting to do almost any other activity that dad does.

I never see kids evaluating TF toys when I'm shopping.

Like I said, I'm not doubting them, I am just super curious about where these kids are and how Hasbro is getting this information.

They might just be looking at sales figures.
What story do your shelves tell? Has any Cyberverse Toy sold or is every release since 2018 (like the ones below) still sitting there accumulating dust?

Well, if you go by what Scott Neitlich (Toy Guru of Spector Creative) says, the number one buyer of toys is parents buying for other kids' birthday parties which I've always found fascinating but a little dubious. Apparently this is pretty well known in the industry but I have to wonder how they know this. I know I've never answered this question on a poll before so how do they know an adult buying a toy is buying it for a kid versus themselves?

I have seen kids buying Transformers including one loud kid I could overhear from the next aisle over trying to decide what to get and settling on a Siege Mirage. They're out there, though if you go to a store any time other than late afternoon the chances you'll see kids in the toy aisle at all are pretty slim. I really see more adults there than anything.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Well, if you go by what Scott Neitlich (Toy Guru of Spector Creative) says, the number one buyer of toys is parents buying for other kids' birthday parties which I've always found fascinating but a little dubious. Apparently this is pretty well known in the industry but I have to wonder how they know this. I know I've never answered this question on a poll before so how do they know an adult buying a toy is buying it for a kid versus themselves?

I have seen kids buying Transformers including one loud kid I could overhear from the next aisle over trying to decide what to get and settling on a Siege Mirage. They're out there, though if you go to a store any time other than late afternoon the chances you'll see kids in the toy aisle at all are pretty slim. I really see more adults there than anything.

Emerje

I don't doubt you,but currently,COVID might also influence this.

TulioDude wrote:

Emerje wrote:Well, if you go by what Scott Neitlich (Toy Guru of Spector Creative) says, the number one buyer of toys is parents buying for other kids' birthday parties which I've always found fascinating but a little dubious. Apparently this is pretty well known in the industry but I have to wonder how they know this. I know I've never answered this question on a poll before so how do they know an adult buying a toy is buying it for a kid versus themselves?

I have seen kids buying Transformers including one loud kid I could overhear from the next aisle over trying to decide what to get and settling on a Siege Mirage. They're out there, though if you go to a store any time other than late afternoon the chances you'll see kids in the toy aisle at all are pretty slim. I really see more adults there than anything.

Emerje

I don't doubt you,but currently,COVID might also influence this.

This isn't a recent observation.

Emerje

Emerje wrote: I really see more adults there than anything.

Of course, they are buying them for a kid's birthday

Hasbro has further explained that they are going to keep targeting kids with the Transformers brand and putting out content to increase toy sales, same way they are doing with My Little Pony. But I will not be newsing that because:

1. It offers 0 news, we already know hasbro has another show and toyline aimed at kids coming out soon
2. The discussion that resulted from that non news sparked what is probably the worst discussion I have ever seen on a discussion board over at TFW: https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/ ... t.1231512/
It's just people insulting eachother and trying to own eachother.