The construction category has continued to evolve over the past few years. New products continue to provide children with new ways to play, while also providing retailers with opportunities to refresh product categories and profit from increased sales and revenue.
As building sets grow, competition in the magnetic tile market becomes increasingly fierce. Now, Moose Toys is venturing into this space with its new brand, Tile Town. To learn more, toy book I caught up with Joe Smith, Vice President of Global and U.S. Marketing for Moose Toys Licensed Brands, to get some insights.
“We had been tracking and brainstorming about the architectural space for quite some time, and in early 2023 we locked in on the Tile Town concept,” Smith said. Launching this fall, the brand brings fresh ideas to the game mode.
Architecture: Evolution
“Given the competition, it’s important that we innovate in this space,” Smith explained. “We aspire to create a brand that adds play value to kids through our magnetic action tiles, magnetic characters and figures, and unique builds based on kids’ favorite themes and top licensed properties.”
Licenses in the tile realm are rare, and at launch, one of the first residents of Tile Town was the familiar blue heel Bluey. Moose Toys works with licensed brands to find inspiration for new shapes to unlock more play possibilities.
“We liked the idea of taking the idea of the Tile Town brand and applying it to licensing,” Smith said. “With our licensed packages, you’ll see unique custom tiles that bring iconic structures to life. The chimney of the Bluey Heeler family home is a great example of this.
The Moose team also created ownable looks for its characters, styles and form factors that can be applied to licensed characters. Bluey and Bingo are the best examples.
“We worked with our licensing partners to create the most authentic tile-based playset possible,” Smith said. “BBC Studios has a long-standing relationship with Moose and is an excellent publishing partner for Bluey.”
action block
The main difference between Tile Town and other products on the market is the inclusion of Action Tiles in every set. “Action tiles are magnetically activated functional tiles that are unlocked by our magnetic characters,” explains Smith. “This opens up some really cool action and reaction moments that expand the ‘play’ aspect of the playset.”
At the Bluey Heeler Family Home, children can use Bluey’s signature New Zealand rug, allowing up to four characters to twirl and dance on it.
Reinvent and expand
It’s only natural that children tend to cross-pollinate their toy chests, and Tile Town is built with this in mind. Retailers should be familiar with the oft-used label “Compatible with major brands,” and Tile Town certainly is. “We think it’s important for parents and kids to get the most out of their tile play,” Smith said.
Building retail success
Moose Toys is partnering with Bluey to launch Tile Town, but that’s just the beginning. With the launch of Moose’s 360-degree marketing campaign “Click, Build, Play” and strong media support, other licensed and original IPs such as “Jurassic World” will join in the coming months.
“This fall, we will welcome retail partners from around the world to our Los Angeles showroom,” Smith said. “In addition to our launch lineup, we’re looking forward to showcasing the products we have in the pipeline to the industry. We can’t wait for kids to start building their own tile towns.
A version of this feature originally appeared in the Toy Book’s 2024 Action & Adventure special issue. Click here to read the question.
