Hasbro Family HotSpot

Got an opinion on gendered marketing to kids? Have your say by joining Hasbro’s Family HotSpot community

**This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Hasbro**

I’ve written a lot about toy maker Hasbro in the past. They are the master licensee of Star Wars and Marvel toys – two of my favourite fandoms since childhood, which I am now passing on to my daughter.

Given how much our little girl enjoys these brands, I was always frustrated that these toys were traditionally classed as for boys. Hasbro are also the home of My Little Pony, a fandom my daughter has picked up on her own. I know many parents of MLP boy fans (Bronies) have also been frustrated at this being seen as a girl brand.

But Hasbro is changing. They more frequently use boys and girls playing together in their promotional photos (see above examples). Internally, they have also stopped referring to these brands in gendered terms.

This is all positive – but you, as a parent of a child that defies simple marketing categories, can reinforce this revised view of the toy market.

Hasbro have created a private online community of parents to serve as advisors to their brand – called the Hasbro Family HotSpot Community. Previously aimed at US parents, Hasbro are now inviting UK mums and dads to sign up and have their say.

What do you get? Well, it gives you direct access to the departments who help shape how their toys are created and marketed. You can share your observations about your Star Wars obsessed girls, My Little Pony loving boys, and your family’s general experience of buying and playing with Hasbro toys – knowing the people who matter will get to read it. I can write all the grumpy blogs I want, but that doesn’t compare to the power of being able to contribute market research data and commentary that will help drive many decisions made at a corporate level.

Hasbro are taking this seriously, relying on this special group of parent advisors to provide relevant feedback. They appreciate that this group of parents will enable them to get a better understanding of their consumers. Perhaps, any remaining incorrect assumptions about what boys and girls are interested in can be challenged.

Also, in exchange for signing up and engaging, UK parents will get a monthly $10 Amazon US gift card credit. This may sound useless to a UK based parent, but I continue to buy many things much cheaper from US Amazon than UK – even after including international postage. If you sign up now, you could build up a decent credit by Christmas shopping time.

For me, I signed up to this as soon as I heard about this. Sharing with Hasbro how my daughter embraces the likes of Star Wars and Marvel could make a big difference to how they approach marketing these and other brands to children – and parents – in the future.

If you fancy joining the Hasbro Family HotSpot community too, please sign up here.

(Reminder: UK residents only)

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