Promoting Play: The Genius of Play’s 2018 Successes
December 18, 2018 | The Genius of Play continued on its mission to elevate awareness about the importance of play, reaching new milestones with all of its audiences, including parents, grandparents, caregivers, educators, and media.
“The Genius of Play had an extremely productive year sharing research, play ideas, and inspiration with families and opinion leaders everywhere,” said Anna Yudina, director of marketing initiatives at The Toy Association. “By promoting the value of play to the public and positioning toys as the tools of play, we help communicate the critical role of our industry’s innovative and fun products in raising the next generation. We look forward to building on our successes in 2019.”
Key highlights in 2018 include:
- Consumer awareness of the program continued to grow, with more than 1 billion impressions secured through media coverage at top-tier publications and parenting blogs including Associated Press, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, CafeMom, and Red Tricycle.
- Genius of Play public service announcements (PSAs) delivered over $16 million in donated media value, generating more than 400 million audience impressions.
- Social media engagements surpassed 1.5 million, and with the addition of the Genius Play Pix program, we were able to showcase members’ products via The Genius of Play’s social media channels during the critical holiday season.
- The Genius of Play had several new and successful partnerships including Scholastic, the National AfterSchool Association, and retailer Learning Express.
- Collaborated with the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation to host a special panel, “Fostering innovation and Creativity through Play,” at the National Museum of American History, to explore how play serves as a catalyst for creativity and innovation, followed by a panel report.
- Genius of Play experts were featured as part of engaging conference panels including the Family Tech Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- Visits to The Genius of Play website increased by more than 42 percent, while traffic from organic search jumped by 125 percent.
- The Genius of Play’s “Tag, You’re It!” social media campaign, which invited families to share photos of their children having fun and expressing themselves through play, received more than 2,500 user-generated images via Instagram and Twitter.
Click on the link for an infographic that sums up the program’s 2018 successes at a glance.
The Genius of Play is a national movement spearheaded by The Toy Association to raise awareness about play’s critical role in child development and encourage more play in children’s lives. The Genius of Play’s website offers expert advice from play and child experts ranging from child psychologists to play community activists, play ideas, and play-inspired resources for teachers. Follow The Genius of Play on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.