#111: 3 Ways Wordle Taught Us That Play Could Go Viral

Making It in The Toy Industry with The Toy Coach

English - February 02, 2022 11:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MB - ★★★★★ - 32 ratings
Design Arts Business Entrepreneurship toy industry how to design a toy how to make a toy toy design fit toy design make my own dolls entrepreneur small business Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: #110: Why You Can Only Sell A Toy Idea When It's R.i.T.E. with Dan Klitsner

Next Episode: #112: How To Get Started In The Toy Industry When You Have ZERO Contacts

Whether or not you’re completely addicted to Wordle, the simple online word game that recently got bought by the NYTimes for 7 figures, you’ve probably heard of it. Even if you haven’t heard of it, you’ve probably seen people posting cryptic social media statuses about it with green, grey, and yellow squares. It’s the latest viral fad that everyone is talking about.
But, this isn’t the first time a toy or game has had it’s moment in the sun or 15 minutes of fame.

In today’s episode, I examine 3 toys and games that went “viral” Wordle, Pokemon Go, and Silly Bandz. In just 2 months, Wordle had 300,000 players. Pokemon Go saw even more exponential growth with over 100 million users the month after it launched. Shortly after they launched, Silly Bandz were so popular that they got banned from many schools because kids played with them too much. Besides getting a little jolt of nostalgia for the fads of the past, in this episode you’ll learn about 3 of the toyetic principles that helped these products succeed with such a big burst of energy. Even though these products are very different on the surface, they actually have a lot in common.

EPISODE CLIFF NOTES

Find out the history of Wordle, who made it, when, and why.Learn how bringing a scarcity element to a toy or game can help with success.Find out the “joke” commercial that went on to become a game that earned over $1.2 billion in revenue.Find out the 3 toyetic traits that Wordle, Pokemon Go, and Silly Bandz share, they’re similar to our toyetic principles!Learn how building authority and community can play into the longevity of a toy or game.Find out what other than timing contributed to the success of these three products.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/111

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the Show.

Popular Masterclass! 5 Foolish Mistakes 🚩 New Toy Creators Make and How To Avoid Them. >> https://learn.thetoycoach.com/foolish <<