Kim Miller Olko Talks Toys”R”Us Evolution

Kim Miller Olko, global chief marketing officer at Toys”R”Us and president of Toys”R”Us Studios, showcased the toy retailing giant’s new strategy and highlighted how it boosted engagement with brand mascot Geoffrey via a YouTube series at MIPJunior today.

“Kim is reimagining this iconic brand for a new generation with a strategy that embraces content, AI, early testing on YouTube and TikTok, alongside initiatives around mental health,” RX France’s Lucy Smith said in introducing the award-winning producer and marketeer.

The retail giant hit a rough patch, filing for bankruptcy in 2017. “Now, we’re back and we’re growing,” she said. “We have 1,560 stores in 35 countries and growing by leaps and bounds” under new owners, WHP Global.

“The former Toys”R”Us big-box store model was no longer working,” she said. “It was an outdated business. WHP Global takes brands that have names that resonate with consumers. But this was a business issue. So, it wasn’t that the name and the brand weren’t loved; they needed a new model. So, this is a licensing model. WHP licenses the brand to companies throughout the globe. All these different partners have the brands, get the products, run the stores and then we support them on a global level.”

Miller Olko added: “It’s the same magic, new method.”

As an example, the song, “I’m a Toys”R”Us Kid” was “modernized with more of an R&B sound,” she said. “It’s said that every millennial was a ‘Toys”R”Us Kid,’ so now these millennials are Toys”R”Us kids for every age, but they also have the joy of sharing this brand with their children.”

Miller Olko discussed brand mascot Geoffrey the giraffe, seeing its potential thanks to her deep entertainment and content heritage. “He is a star on TikTok. He has 1.1 million followers. He was in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At Comic-Con, the first year I brought Geoffrey, I saw a bunch of grown men crying when they went to hug him. I said, We have to build him out as a character.”

The company provided him with an age (9 and a half) and a birthday (October 17), which can be linked to marketing campaigns and stunts, with Geoffrey’s World Tour available on YouTube.

“When it comes to content and building out from the new method, it’s not super juvenile. We have made Geoffrey and his brand relatable for children, but also cooler and more relatable for adults. One of the reasons we’ve done that is the ‘kidult’ trend. More adults are consuming toys than ever before.”

Miller Olko added: “The old Toys”R”Us had millions of dollars to put into marketing and content. Right now, we’re building the plane as we’re flying it, so it’s been really important for us to align with the zeitgeist,” including via marketing partnerships with the likes of MrBeast.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey’s Vision is a new digital-first series for YouTube that has 48 episodes available and voiceovers that are easy to translate, she said.

“In bringing back the brand and this character, we’re always looking for opportunities to partner. Storytelling is a major part of marketing. And we also have Toys”R”Us Studios, which is a content part. What’s the difference? Marketing’s ultimate goal is to sell. So, when you look at storytelling related to marketing, you’re looking to sell. Get people in your store and online. When we’re doing content, from that perspective, we’re looking to have the consumer and the viewer looking at the brand’s soul, feeling the brand and really being inspired and understanding it. As we’re building up Toys”R”Us Studios, we’re separating it that way.”

Via a range of brand alliances for Geoffrey, “it’s kind of free testing as we’re deciding who the character is and how he’s built out and what he does,” she said. “These are other opportunities at low cost or no cost to get a wide press campaign.”

Miller Olko and her team executed a social media campaign around the release of the feature film The Roofman, a feature film based on a true story about a prison escapee who lived in a Toys”R”Us store for six months.

“The whole thing was that he wasn’t going to be able to hide out in today’s Toys”R”Us. It got the attention of Paramount and the team doing The Roofman. We were able to do a stunt with Channing Tatum, the star of the movie, in our store. Great brand awareness. The promotion we’re getting for it is incredible.”

All the major toy companies now have studio operations, she said, “so how do you distinguish yourself? The umbrella of Toys”R”Us Studios is play. And we’ve put it into three buckets: human development, mental health and togetherness.”

The venture created Geoffrey’s World Tour, meeting kids around the world in Toys”R”Us stores. It’s planning a “2.0” extension, she said. “Meeting kids from all over the world, talking about their food and their interests and connecting the world through children. We’re also creating a kids council where there’s a child from each one of our 35 countries that comes in and teaches us and each other about their lives now.”

Toys”R”Us also aligned with Nickelodeon on the digital game show What a Mess. “It was a fun little combination of Toys”R”Us taking the content that we made globally and then adding all that Nickelodeon has to offer, including the slime and being on their YouTube as well.”

Miller Olko also highlighted the brand’s AI-created brand spot, made with OpenAI’s Sora technology, which went viral, she said.

Plans are in the works for a live-action feature film, with collaborations with other content companies high on Miller Olko’s agenda.