When you're running around, always busy, you
may feel like you need eight arms like an octopus.
Octopus Energy certainly have been busy and
that's in large part to their promotional toy Constantine, an Octopus.
During the early days of promoting Constantine
as a giveaway to their customer base it was working well using an independent
machinist making the plushies by hand.
And the early days worked well.
In fact the campaign took off, it went very
well.
“Our octopus toys (also known as Constantine) were
initially handmade by a lady in Wales... However, as we grew, the demand
for our octopus toys also increased and understandably this quickly became way
too much for one person to handle. With that in mind, we began searching for a
new supplier and came across Custom Toys UK. One of the most important
things to us when considering a new supplier was that we wanted to make sure we
were working with a supplier who could ensure high ethical standards and meet
all toy licensing rules and regulations. Thankfully, Custom Toys UK do just
that”.
While Custom Toys UK can also do small batch
runs of merchandise, it had become clear that their ability to adapt to popular
campaigns would provide the level of scope and support that Octopus Energy
required.
Christian at Custom Toys explained that this
was a slightly unusual case as Octopus Energy had already got a character that
they wanted supplied to them.
"Most people don't know where to start
when trying to create a character so stop short of developing those ideas for a
marketing campaign, Octopus Energy had already developed a solid brand
idea"
It is more common that a customer would work
with a designer at Custom Toy UK to come together and create a character.
1. Who's it for? Which audience are you trying
to attract?
2. What do you hope your toy will achieve?
3. Where will it be used?
4. Do you have branding guidelines that you
would like followed?
5. Sketch out a few ideas with a designer and
work with them for a while as you get to know your custom toy
Octopus Energy successfully developed
Constantine from a set of illustrations so much of the design phase could be
omitted, this saved a few days in the early stages of the process.
Constantine the Octopus made her debut
appearance for a TV ad. Then, ever since the debut, Octopus Energy have been
getting requests from viewers for their very own Constantine.
Demand has been strong.
Teaming up with Custom Toys UK meant that the
demand can be met.
With a character that popular, the next area
to get right was the quantities, ensuring stock levels for the twelve weeks
that an order typically takes to fulfill. Balancing supply and demand is
completely possible and a customer can order the exact amounts that they
require.
It's gone well, As Jess Hunter, Marketing
Executive at Octopus Energy says,
"The octopus family continues to grow
with help of Custom Toys UK"
And the unexpected benefits of adding a
character toy to the marketing campaign continues to this day?
"People absolutely love the toys and love
to share images on Twitter and Instagram.... The amount of hype we get from
them has done wonders for our brand"
Perhaps there’s more Constantine merchandise
to come?
Following the five strategic steps to creating
your own branded custom toy is certainly worth a look for anyone wishing to
promote their offering. Perhaps you already have an idea? Or, maybe teaming up
with the right supplier will help deliver similar results to Octopus Energy.
For more information visit www.customtoys.uk/ or call 01304 806 960.
