
As a kid, each year I’d know that Christmas had truly arrived from the Toys R Us advert arriving on TV screens – good old Geoffrey the Giraffe. The fact that a piece of marketing material can have such an impact on a young mind and still provide a feeling of nostalgia today is hugely powerful.
But what would Toys R Us be without the heroes behind the scenes? I am, of course, referring to the very human, non-Elven, toy inventors dreaming up the products that hit the stores in force throughout the year, every year. It’s said that creativity and inspiration can be found in many different environments, from the shower to dreams, but a business with a sole purpose of inventing is something else entirely. In a world where many children are glued to their parents’ smartphones and tablets, Big Monster Toys (BMT) in Chicago has continued to thrive. Operating over three decades, the company invents an idea and sells the IP to the corporate toy giants including Mattel, Hasbro and so on – but we’ll come to that in a separate interview piece. BMT’s CEO and president Don Rosenwinkel was kind enough to provide a personal tour of the workshop during my time in the Windy City – when in attendance at the Sage Summit – to offer insight on what it takes to continue running in a business in a marketplace that has seen great change over the years.Rosenwinkel made it clear that the territory I was now entering was not open the public and kindly requested I let him know if I wanted to take any pictures, so as to prevent any of the firm’s valuable secrets escaping. Continue the tour on the next page.
By Zen TerrelongeShare this story