Toy stories : the strategic use of narratives in the branding of traditional toys

It is well known in the toy entertainment industry that children have a strong relationship with the characters and stories of various well known entertainment property toy brands (e.g. Mattel, 2005; Pecora, 1998; Miller, 1998; Cross, 1997). This paper presents branding insights and findings from a content analysis of ten highly successful toy story brand narratives that featured in children’s television programs and movies. This study argues that a toy story’s character personality is related to their on-screen action performance. By implication in branding terms, this implies that narrative brands with relatively inferior product-based performance abilities or attributes can still take audience share by focusing heavily on developing a highly distinctive and likable brand personality that clearly narrates strongly supporting brand values within the plot of a television program or motion picture.