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SPIN MASTER COULD BE THE GREATEST CANADIAN COMPANY YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF.
Behind the name is a whirlwind of activity aiming to please disloyal customers, battle giant rivals for top talent and be first to market with the next toy wonder. There are also three young partners trying to stay human against the odds
It's the first week of November, and Christmas is coming fast. Santa's elves are working overtime, and why not? His toys have guaranteed distribution.
Things aren't so simple at Toronto-based Spin Master Ltd., Canada's largest toy company. This afternoon, in the high-ceilinged Marshmallow Room on the third floor of its hectic downtown headquarters, the three founding partners are leading a 10-member marketing team through a tension-packed media meeting. The goal is to fine-tune their TV ad schedules based on the latest sales data. Lacking Santa's magic sleigh, Spin Master relies on television to propel its toys onto kids' wish lists and into their homes. The three 30-something partners are rarely found on the same continent, much less in the same room, but the stakes are as high as Barbie's cheekbones. Over the next eight weeks Spin Master will spend almost $20 million on TV ads, so it's vital to know which products need support-and where to pull the plug.
The latest results are sobering. Aquadoodle, the no-mess drawing mat that won Activity Toy of the Year last year, is responding strongly to the new ads. "Retailers are delighted with our sales," says president and co-CEO Anton Rabie. But other products, such as the Bella Dancerella dance-studio kits, are falling short of expectations. (The new Cinderella and Popstar editions seem to be cannibalizing the ballet version that leapt off store shelves last year.) "We're 40% behind on Ballerina and Popstar," complains co-CEO Ronnen Harary. There's even a frown on the face of product development chief Ben Varadi, who is normally the most lighthearted of the partners. And when Rabie reports that some products never made it onto store shelves in the cities where their commercials were shown, Varadi explodes.
"How much did we spend on that?" he demands. "How much money did we waste?" Larry, the media planner, adds it up over the speakerphone from New York: $90,000 in all. Varadi...