Public Relations Plan by: Ashley Seymour

Public Relations Plan for: Tonner Doll Company

For the Period of: February 1, 2013 through May 17, 2013

Introduction: Starting up in 1991 and with a mission statement of, “To Amaze &

Delight,” Tonner Dolls are a wide variety of dolls and figures from collectible fashion

and fantasy cinema to creative re-imaginations of classic tales, Hollywood glamor and

popular culture, and they are the inspiration of designer Robert Tonner.

According to Jack Kralik, Vice President of Tonner Doll Company, they are the

“only collectible doll company whose owner is also the primary designer and sculptor

and collector, which gives a very unique and highly artistic perspective to [their] product

and company culture.”

Tonner characters represent licenses with studios including Warner Bros., DC,

Disney, Paramount and Sony Entertainment bringing collectors Tonner’s finely detailed

vision of Wonder Woman, Superman, Harry Potter, Chicago, Batman, The Wizard of Oz,

Gone with the Wind, The Muppets, Twilight, all the Marvel heroes and Pirates of the

Caribbean—each figure a unique reflection of the art and artistry of Robert Tonner and

design director Joseph Petrollese. Robert Tonner also purchased the Effanbee Doll

Company, Inc. in 2002, thus expanding their business and gaining a vast opportunity to

gain a larger percentage of collectors. As a response to the expansion, Robert Tonner

opened his first retail store in the heart of New York’s historic Hudson Valley in 2007.

The Tonner Company Store is a destination for collectors who are invited to line

previews and private parties, allowing Tonner Doll Company to keep in constant contact

with their loyal customers.

Much of the basic information about Tonner Doll Company can be found on the

website, as well as their Facebook and Twitter pages. In addition, Tonner Doll Company

has a blog that prioritizes in keeping their customers satisfied and “in the loop” ideally

with the latest happenings on their release front, conversing with their fans and collectors,

sharing ideas and inside looks into the doll making process. Robert Tonner's YouTube

updates are also one of the best up to the minute insights into Tonner Doll Company

events and releases, straight from their design rooms and offices.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths: Marketing to collectors deems to be one of Tonner’s main strengths –special FAQ pages, archives, private parties, and line previews. One of the strongest attributes of a company are their loyal customers, so catering to the collectors allows for a percentage of customers that will undoubtly continue to purchase more dolls. This becomes evident because of the tips and “special treatment” provided to collectors that is portrayed throughout the entirety of Tonner Doll Company website and their social media. Another attribute is the unique process used at Tonner Doll Company. Crafted of

the highest quality vinyl and hard plastic, all of Tonner products are known for features such as hand-painted details, rooted saran hair, and costuming. Each doll and character figure is created from a hand sculpted wax or clay form, which is cast into molds—every part is engineered for natural movement. Each doll and character figure design begins with a unique sketch, brought to life with meticulous hand details.

Artistry in miniature is revealed in finely executed accessories including custom molded gloves and masks created for action heroes, hand-crafted shoes, proportioned custom-knit knitwear and "movie authentic" costuming for licensed figures, all crafted from the finest fabrics from around the globe. Figures, outfits and accessories are sold in strictly limited editions. Continued support from a world-class Doll Hospital for repairs and replacement items is also accessible. As previously stated in the introductory portion, Robert Tonner is not just the owner of Tonner Doll Company, but also is the primary designer, sculptor, and collector – this is unheard of amongst their other competitors.

There is also a blog by executive assistant at Tonner Doll Company that is updated weekly titled “Confessions of a Dollaholic” – a place to share, discuss, come up with answers and even more questions, meet new people and learn all about collecting. Tonner Doll Company is also currently working with a social media consultant and believe the company has fairly well coordinated strategies for Facebook, their blog, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Tonner Doll Company also has two additional popular sites which include: www.dollduels.com and www.wildeimagination.com. Doll Duels is a site where customers can share pictures of their dolls, and other individuals can vote on which

photograph they like more. In addition, visitors to the site have the capability of viewing all dolls and accessing the “search box” which can be a great tool for getting more information and making connections. Wilde Imagination is another site that exhibits more exquisite designer dolls, fashions, and accessories from collectors around the world. This website contributes greatly to the consumer revenue. Wilde Imagination, owned by Tonner Doll Company, sells their exquisite products directly to collectors around the world since 2006. Since then, their dolls have shipped to over 67 countries around the world and continue to inspire and delight.

Weaknesses: Pertaining to the actual construction of the dolls, some customers wrote that they would like the “torso to be able to move forward and backward so [it] doesn’t have to sit so straight-backed all the time.” In addition, although Tonner Doll Company is involved with social media, they only have approximately 6,000 likes on Facebook and only 10% of those people are actually “talking” about the Company. As well, Tonner Doll Company only has about 2,000 followers on Twitter. Tonner Doll Company also recently cut back on their Google ad words campaign because, according to Jack Kalik, “it [doesn’t] seem too productive and costs a lot of money.”

In addition, according to Jack Kalik, some of the feedback received from customers has been negative. For example, several customers responded stating, “Prices are too high,” which also became evident when customers filled out survey responses. Two of the most important factors that the customers stated were price and quality – both which can become quite contradicting, which is true in the case of Tonner Doll Company.

Opportunities: Tonner Doll Company continually releases character figures that not only will gain Tonner Doll Company recognition from their collectors, but also the fan base that accompanies each movie when it premiers.

Another opportunity for Tonner Doll Company would be to focus on their social media and trying to gain more SEO. When searching on Google about Tonner Doll Company reviews, blogs, posts, etc., there were very few links that could be found. As well, the social media aspect is there, but it is barely there with few reposts and as stated above, only 10% of their followers are actually “talking” about it. We want to try to create a campaign that will increase Tonner Doll Company SEO and get their name out there more.

Much of the feedback received from customers pertains to the pricing of the dolls. When reviewing the survey responses, some of the pitches stated that would help increase revenue would be to implement a consumer catalog on the Tonner Doll website, a rewards program, and/or special promotions (if not discounts). If there are special promotions, this would allow customers to begin their collection at a decent price, which then becomes a “snowball” affect for the customers to want to buy more to add to their collection. A rewards program would also be beneficial because it gives customers an incentive to keep purchasing dolls.

Currently, Tonner Doll Company lets the public know of its merchandise primarily through online product launches, constant contact campaigns, press releases, blogs, print and banner ads, and some “snail” mail catalogs. Tonner Doll Company should also continually do annual survey responses to gain feedback and interpret said feedback to strategize as to how the company can maximize revenue and recognition.

Threats: The most direct competitor to Tonner Doll Company would be a company called Integrity Toys. Integrity Toys markets a fashion doll line called Fashion Royalty. Headed by designer named Jason Wu, who has designed some of Michelle Obama’s gowns, is very successful with promotion and their company conventions are done well. However, unlike Tonner Doll Company, Jason Wu is not a sculptor and doll design is not his strongest talent, heads integrity Toys. Both companies compete for the same convention audience, or at least a good cross section. Jack Kalik commented saying, “our toy product division is up against all the major players, many of whom are unknown to the general public – Jakk’s Pacific, Spin Master, etc.”

Needs of the Organization: More recognition is the key to their success. Tonner Doll

Company already has an association with many recognizable character figures, but a

majority of the consumers in today’s market have not heard of the company. Tonner Doll

Company should send post-cards out informing potential cliental about upcoming

releases of new dolls because you never know who will be in love with what doll. The

company is currently focusing the majority of their attention on collectors, but just

because a customer isn’t necessarily a collector, a specific doll based on their tastes may

fascinate them. Tonner Doll Company should get involved with Comic Con and other

conventions similar to that because it would expand the target audience and they would

be selling “up-scale action figures.”

There is a social media platform that Tonner Doll Company is working off of,

including Websites, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging, however it is not escalating as

drastically as the company would like. They need to get more “likes” and “followers” in

order to get the public more involved. In order to do this, they should initially start with a

competition auctioning off one of their dolls – after much research it has been found that

a vast majority of consumers will spend more money in a competition because of their

competitive nature. A competition could be, “first person to guess who this doll is,” or

“first person to create a new idea for a doll,” and the winner would receive a unique doll.

Another opportunity would be to allow their cliental to create/request their own

doll, similar to what American Girl Doll does now.

Currently, Tonner Doll Company has been attempting to fill a sales and marketing

position, but have not located the right person.

Goals of the Public Relations Campaign for Spring 2013: One of the goals for the

public relations campaign will be to maintain client base attention by implementing more

competitions and involvement throughout their social media sites. Sending out post cards

to cliental in the consumer market would also be effective and generate a larger target

audience besides just collectors. Tonner Doll Company will also get more involved with

additional blogs, thus gaining their company more recognition and giving Tonner Doll

Company more feedback.

According to Jack Kalik, Tonner Doll Company has a “specific financial goal, but

also wish to work toward nearly 100% direct to consumer revenue, which is now 70% of

[their] revenue. Wilde Imagination has contributed greatly to that number since it’s a

direct marketing company. Additionally, [they] have started a toy product division and

would like to make some major accomplishments in that category.” Jack Kalik went on to

say that, “obtaining a master toy license would be a fantastic accomplishment.”

Recognition, revenue, and promotion will be the main targeted aspects in the

public relations campaign plan.