Baby Einstein + Hape Collaboration

In a first-ever co-development collaboration for Kids II, I led a corporate initiative to partner with toy manufacturer Hape to produce an innovative new line of Baby Einstein toys to enter the toddler category. I drove development of 10 co-created products on an aggressive 9-month timeline that gained incremental placement in Target, Buy Buy Baby, and numerous new accounts in Europe and Asia.

Early in the process, I knew that we had the opportunity to bridge the worlds of traditional wood toys and contemporary content-driven toys. Exploring this crossroads led me to invent the idea of using capacitive touch to bring a unique interaction to traditional wood toys. This resulted in the Magic Touch Piano and Magic Touch Drum, two of the line’s flagship products (and most successful). This patent-pending technology has truly blurred the lines between old and new.

This project was truly a culmination of all of my skills, spanning insight synthesis, concept development, brand strategy, retail planning, financial analysis, technology, and customer presentations.

My Role(s): Project Leader, Creative Direction, Technology Inventor
Other Credits: Henrik Johannson, Adam Shillito, Marco Ho

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