Digital Kids Digital Kids Conference at Toy Fair - February 17-19, 2014 - New York City

draft schedule

Day 1

9:30 am – 9:50 am: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: Victor Lee, VP, Digital Brand Marketing, Hasbro
Digital Marketing Should Not Be A Pasta Spoon 
Pasta spoons serve only one purpose; why should your marketing channels do the same? With the increase in channels, ways to reach consumers and the speed in which consumers get information, it’s important to create marketing programs that not only reach your target consumers but also serve another business purpose.  Hear how Victor and Hasbro created multi-channel programs that re-ignited fans for iconic brands such as My Little Pony, Transformers, Monopoly, Furby, Nerf and Playskool.

9:50 am – 10:10 am: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: Craig Sims, VP Global Licensing, Spin Master
Embracing the Mobile Platform

10:10 am – 10:30 am: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: To Be Announced

10:30 am – 11:00 am: 1 -February 12, 2013Break

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Market Research: Trends, Numbers and Forecasts:
“Everyone has an iPad”: YouthBeat will share fresh-from-the-field data on youth and parents and tech. Amy Henry will help you sort the myths from the truths when it comes to the real habits and practices of today’s preschoolers through teens and their parents.

Toy Industry Financial Analyst Gerrick Johnson will share the latest numbers on Hasbro, Mattel, MegaBrands, JAKKS, Toys R Us and more.

Online and Virtual Worlds: Play is still very important to kids. Come hear form Nic, who has spent years providing analytics and trends on virtual worlds and digital marketing for global brands he is ready to talk numbers and share his charts with you.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Lunch Break

1:00 pm – 1:20 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment
Multiplatform storytelling via “Transmedia”
Learn how to build on character and taking brands to the next level.  This session will discuss how to maximize value of entertainment properties and consumer brands by planning large-scale expansion across various media platforms – online, narrative, toys, clothing, accessories, mobile.
1:20 pm – 1:40 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: Kent Johnson, CEO, Highlights
The “Hidden Pictures” of Keeping Brand Central and Letting Technology Follow
Kent will discuss how Highlights has put the child and the brand first and how the technology will follow where logical. He will share how Highlight has taken it’s iconic “Hidden Pictures” magazine segment to tablet and web, as a stand alone iPhone app, a game promoting “social play”, appcessories, and now more recently as a multi language, multiplatform app.

1:40 pm – 2:00 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Keynote: Caroline Hu Flexer, CEO and Co-Founder, Duck Duck Moose
Kids and Design: Keys to Success
Duck Duck Moose is the startup behind a series of educational apps for children with more than 2.5 million paid downloads. The company recently closed $7 million in Series A funding led by leading venture capitalists Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Stanford University. In her keynote, Co-founder Caroline Hu Flexer will share personal insights and details about how their unique design process has led to success in the digital space.

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Break

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Session To Be Announced:

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Break

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: 1 -February 12, 2013Just the Kids Please: An On Stage Focus Group with 100% Real Children
Industry leaders in toys and digital technology can only guess what kids really want until you go directly to the source – kids themselves.  In this Digital Kids Conference closing tradition and attendee favorite, we invite kids onstage to discuss their preferences, purchasing habits, and more.  We (and you the audience) quiz them in detail: Here, we ask the kids themselves onstage. How many electronic devices do you own? How many YouTube videos have you created? Have you made a digital film? What is more important to you in gaming (for example: Graphics? Storyline? Platform?) Come hear the kids share what they like and don’t like. Who pays for it and how?

Day 2

9:30 am – 9:50 am: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: Jesse Schell, CEO, Schell Games
Innovation

9:50 am – 10:10 am: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: To Be Announced

10:10 am – 10:30 am: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: Maria Bailey, CEO, BSM Media
Beyond Blogs: Connecting with Mom Influencers
Mommy bloggers have been the silver bullet for many toy brands but social media is changing at the speed of technology. What’s new in social media marketing and moms?  Maria Bailey, author of “Power Moms” and “Mom 3.0” will illustrate how innovative brands are connecting with the gatekeeper using video, pinterest, tumblr and other new social media platforms.

10:30 am – 11:00 am: 2 – February 13, 2013Break

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Session To Be Announced:

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Lunch Break

1:00 pm – 1:20 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: David Baszucki, CEO, Roblox
“Go in and play”:How ROBLOX crowdsourced almost 10 million online games (and counting), turned players into creators, turbocharged the online construction toy category, and sparked imaginations worldwide.

1:20 pm – 1:40 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: Colt Tippton, Director of Ideation & Strategy, Discover Bay Games
Appcessories are Changing the Way Kids Play
Discovery Bay started as a traditional maker of board games in 2006. Last fall, it began selling an iPad hardware accessory, a controller for Atari arcade iPad app games such as Centipede and Asteroids. Colt Tippton, Discovery Bay’s Director of Ideation & Strategy, will share how the company is bringing together digital devices and the physical, “toyetic” play with tactile accessories to games for all ages – from Atari arcade to Thomas the Train.

1:40 pm – 2:00 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Keynote: Björn Jeffery, CEO & co-founder, Toca Boca
Digital Toys.
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Break

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Monetization Strategies to Maximize Customer Acquisition, Retention and Revenue
From billing engines and analytics platforms, how do you monetize the digital kid consumer.  This session focuses on how to acquire new online paying players, monetization strategies, learn how to create digital games and apps that maximize revenue. Retain players over the long-term: keep players engaged, paying and generating revenue. From freemium, subsciption revenue to advertising and selling digital items, this session provides the details on how to generate revenue online and via mobile apps.
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013Break

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: 2 – February 13, 2013A Voyeuristic Peak: Industry Experts Discuss The Best Toy Fair and Digital Products and Coming 2013 Trends
It’s a tradition that has been going on for years behind the scenes at Toy Fair – and you never new it was happening.  In the wee hours of the last day of Toy Fair, leading independent industry experts, journalists, pundits, and analysts convene in a quiet corner of the Javits convention center to discuss what they saw, what products will be breakout run away successes and what will not. Now, for the first time, a light is cast on this discussion and you, the conference goer, has a front row seat to witness this private debate and discussion first hand.  Watch from the bleachers as the as the industry’s leading pundits in the toy and digital media space share their insights in what’s hot, what is trending and where it’s all going.