Deadline Extended: TOTY Nominations Now Due September 4

September 2, 2020 | The deadline to submit nominations for the Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards has been extended to Friday, September 4. The Toy Association’s TOTY Awards recognize the industry’s top toys, games, and properties while celebrating the philanthropic work of the toy community and The Toy Foundation.

“We recognize that these are unique times and the more time toy professionals have to put together their information, the more exciting the pool of TOTY candidates will be for 2021,” said Ken Seiter, executive vice president of marketing communications at The Toy Association.

The TOTY Awards has evolved into not just an opportunity for toy companies to have their products recognized by industry peers, retailers, press, and toy experts but to further boost exposure for their brands among families through the holiday shopping season and beyond.

Each year’s impressive slate of finalists, selected by a panel of experts from a pool of hundreds of applicants, goes on to be featured on toyawards.org and promoted by The Toy Association as “must-have” gifts for the holiday season. Last year’s promotional efforts resulted in the 118 TOTY finalists receiving 52.8 million online and social media impressions during their reveals by top toy and game content creators. Additional 2020 TOTY promotions included 20 broadcast segments reaching nearly half a million viewers across major markets. Finalists were also featured on Target.com as top holiday gift ideas.

Nominations must be submitted by 11:59 pm (Eastern) on Friday, September 4.

Finalists will be revealed by leading online influencers the week of October 26. Voting will then open to retailers, media, and Toy Association members through January 5, 2021. Voting will also open to consumers on ToyAwards.org. Last year’s TOTY Awards received more than 146,000 consumer votes.

One winner in each category, as well as the “People’s Choice” award (based solely on consumer votes) and the prestigious overall “Toy of the Year” winner (chosen by a panel of experts), will be announced during the 2021 TOTY Awards virtual ceremony, which will also honor industry icons being inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame and support the philanthropic work of The Toy Foundation.

For more information on the nomination and selection process, visit the TOTY website or email toty@toyassociation.org.