Month: November 2014

First Sessions Announced; Super Early Registration Ends This Friday

It’s that time already. Super Early registration for Digital Kids Conference ends this Friday, Nov. 14th (3 days). Super Early registration is the lowest possible price for DKC and we don’t want you to miss it. Just remember, because of our great partnership with Toy Fair, Digital Kids Conference attendees and All Access attendees gain full access to Toy Fair Exhibit Halls. This is a full $225 value if you were to purchase a Toy Fair Expo ticket separately. https://digitalkidscon.com/register/

The Digital Kids Con programming team and our illustrious advisory board are hard at work fleshing out the schedule, all of which will be posted soon. But in the mean time with Super Early Registration ending this Friday, Nov. 14th we thought we’d share a sneak peak of what is to come.

Early sessions announced so far include the case studies, market research and panel sessions listed below.

  • Connected Digital Devices: Understanding Interactive and Digital Kids Trends with a NEW Kidz Global Digital Kids Study: Results from North American and International Markets
  • Case Study: The Scandinavian Secret Behind the Success of Toca Boca
  • Case Study: Marrying Gaming Characters with Digital First IP
  • Case Study: The Partnership and Strategy behind Inspiring Students to Just Dance
  • The New Media Mash Up: Learning AS Entertainment

View these sessions in detail below

Stay tuned for the full 3 day schedule.

Digital Kids Con Schedule Teaser

Stay tuned for the full 3 day schedule. View the Schedule Teaser below.

Market Research:

Connected Digital Devices: Understanding Interactive and Digital Kids Trends with a NEW Kidz Global Digital Kids Study: Results from North American and International Markets
Dive into the latest trends, revealing digital device research from the Kidz Global Research team,. What is guiding the behavior, use and ownership of kids, families, and their digital devices? Gain valuable insights from this new ground-breaking research, fielded in November 2014, and gathered from North American and International families, measuring the Kids Digital device and usage landscape. Listen to the first-hand results of this investigative report on the ownership of devices, mastery of digital play patterns, and what Connected Play means, to consumers. See a visual cavalcade of these new devices and toys that are shaping the connected and digital toybox.

Reyne Rice, ToyTrends CEO, and leading Toy Industry TrendHunter, and Philippe Guinaudeau, President and CEO of Kidz Global Research, will team up to provide a fast-paced overview of the trends and statistics supporting this seismic shift in how today’s kids engage with digital for playing and connecting. Discover what, how and where they are integrating digital into their mobile lifestyle.
Speakers:
Reyne Rice, ToyTrends CEO
Philippe Guinaudeau, President and CEO of Kidz Global Research

Case Studies:

The Scandinavian Secret Behind the Success of Toca Boca
In just four years, Toca Boca has released 25 apps that have been downloaded over 75 million times in more than 160 countries. What’s the secret? Hear from Toca Boca Play Designer, Jens Peter de Pedro, on the importance of play, freedom and how everyone could learn from taking a unique Scandinavian children’s perspective.
Speaker: Jeans Peter de Pedro, Creative Director, Toca Boca

Marrying Gaming Characters with Digital First IP
Creating loveable digital characters with entertaining storytelling through video games and apps first with a TV component is what they did first. Billy Macqueen from Darrall Macqueen and Donnie Kerrigan from Chunk will explain how they used business strategy, marketing techniques and production styles to develop Digital First IP by launching a mobile brand instead of a TV show as well as offering characters and effective storytelling designed specifically with games in mind rather than the other way around. Come hear about this business model as they share their insight.
Speakers:
Billy Macqueen, Co-Director, Darrall Macqueen
Donnie Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director, Chunk

The Partnership and Strategy behind Inspiring Students to Just Dance
The landscape and demographics of the video game market has shifted opening up and delivering new games to those who may have never considered themselves a “gamer.” At the forefront of this movement is Just Dance, one of the first games to turn traditional sedentary gaming into active gaming. With more than 90 million players dancing around the world, it’s not only served as a fun game that brings together family and friends, but it also promotes long-term health and physical fitness.

Looking to find a solution for teachers who may lack the confidence to teach traditional dance, the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America) partnered with Just Dance to develop fun and standards-based physical education curriculum supplements centered on the game to keep kids actively engaged in class. From grade school to high school, nearly 20,000 students are dancing their way to physical fitness. Join Just Dance and SHAPE America as they discuss the partnership they have created around games for health, the brand integration of a consumer product into the school gymnasium and the strategies that have gone into the success of the partnership that continue to drive the business for the publisher and propel the digital fitness trend for kids.
Speakers:
Carrie Bischke, Director of Brand Integrations, Brand Marketing, Ubisoft
Andrew Mead, Program Manager, SHAPE America

Panel Discussions:

The New Media Mash Up: Learning AS Entertainment
Media designed for kids is often bucketed as “learning” or “entertaining” by marketers and parents alike. By siloing the two, we’re missing a critical opportunity to teach children from an early age, that learning IS entertaining! Starting at age 5, children often shift their attention to media purely for entertainment, abandoning educational media. This informative session provides development insights to foster innovation in children’s learning through digital media, current research on how digital media is affecting our youngest minds, and a parent’s viewpoint on what companies should strive for when creating an app for children. The panelists will also look at what makes great educational media for young kids by examining examples of apps chosen in the new Parents/Common Sense Media Best First Media for Kids guide, which will debut in February, 2015
Speakers:
Moderator – Dana Points, Editor-in-Chief of Parents and American Baby, and Content Director for the Meredith Parents Network
Other speakers to be announced

Finding the Natural Fit for Technology and Families on Game Night:
While the game board may have changed, Family Game night is still going strong in 2014. Scholastic is bringing families together around an All-in-One, large-format, multi-player device designed by Intel to play digital games that everyone enjoys. The company is also creating new technologies that allow kids to play games and access information differently with Vuforia technology that scans and recognize physical book covers as well as the I Spy Pirate Ship game developed using Intel’s perceptual computing SDK. Learn to notice where natural fit for technology is occurring and how to merge the physical and digital worlds.
Speakers:
Jennifer Contrucci is Director of Digital Production at Scholastic Media
Other speakers to be announced

Stay tuned for the full 3 day schedule.