NorthRaider Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 (edited) Minimates can be a bit of both actually, so why does this question matter? I think this distinction plays an important part in the way these are marketed. As it is I'm starting to get the impression that DST can't make up its mind on what kind of product Minimates are, so now they're torn on how best to promote them. And I've taken up enough Advertising in school to know how crucial promotion is to the success of a product... From what I'm observing in the States, DST appears to be aiming 'mates primarily at kids. However the "choking hazard" small parts and character/license selections in the line seem to suggest otherwise, and the sheer influence of the "periphery demographic" (read: adult collectors, a prime offender being this board) is obviously a major driving force as well. Not to mention that here in our neck of the woods literally the only place you can buy Minimates is comic book shops, and they've definitely taken on more of an "adult collectible" vibe here... Honestly I don't know how much longer DST can stay "on the fence" on how they're marketing Minimates, but I imagine it can't be long. Unless they're content on Minimates being stuck in toy limbo forever, they have to make up their minds sometime. Should they stick their guns on the "kiddie" aspect of the line and market Minimates more like Superhero Squad? Or should they just surrender to the "adult collectible" aspect and start marketing them more like Kubricks? Now I love Minimates with a passion and this is just an opinion of mine, but constantly insisting on the "middle ground" as far as their target market is concerned can't exactly be productive for the line in the long run, know what I mean? So what do you guys think? Do you see Minimates more as for kids or for *ahem* people like us? Updated with super decision-making action! Edited February 10, 2010 by NorthRaider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I think DST know they are an adult collectable. We wouldn't have so many 80s film licences otherwise! Toy stores/large retailers (TRU, Target etc) seem to go hot and cold towards Minimates at different times but the LCS waves have always been consistent and there has always been product available for them for years. Something like Battle Beasts will be interesting, to see where DST pitch it. For that line to succeed I feel they must get it on toy store shelves and that must be the focus rather than specialty stores. Kudos to you for giving us such a great, debatable question btw NR, I look forward to seeing what people think on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRGMann Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I think the Minimates should be marketed to the 8-14 age range. I think this is the group that will get the most overall play value out of them. If I had small kids, I’d be buying the SHS every chance I had. That line made for kids, with the added perk that they do some nifty characters that allows the grownups to introduce obscure characters to their kids (Iron Man 2020 and Deathlok first come to mind). I think Minimates are the same, but for the older kids, and the grownups who are either parents of these kids, or hope to have kids one day and introduce these characters to them. Mine are old enough now that if they don’t readily recognize a character, they’ll ask about him/her, who they are, their backstory, etc., and it’s a great way to share stories, and through creative play, make up new stories. Sure there have been peripheral licenses on a small scale, box-sets, etc. for adult collectors, but look at where the bulk of the product is targeted: Marvel, and its big hitters Spider-Man, Iron-Man, and Wolverine. Minimates have holes in their feet that fit with Legos (or C3). When C3 stopped, the holes could have stopped, too, but now they’re the norm, and they allow for greater playability with building block sets. I’m even okay with obscure figures being 2 packs per case if it means the sales from the Wolverine packs are keeping the lines going. Given the relatively low price point, the characters, the licenses, and of course, the compatibility across licenses and with other toys, I think the Minimate as a product has legs that can keep it going for a long time. They just need to get it in the hands of the people that may not otherwise think to want them, i.e. the kids. The adults (“We the Board…”) have already done drunk the kool-aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I kind of disagree. I think DST is developing a pretty masterful strategy of walking the line between the two. It's not perfect, but I think it's making both audiences happy most of the time. DST knows they have to diversify and try to reach both audiences to survive these lean toy-buying times. Collectors will keep buying whatever DST produces, but there aren't enough of us to carry the business on our backs. Casual buyers – the ones who would pick up the odd Moviemates pack like DSS on a lark – are cash strapped and most mainstream media/collectible stores are gone, so that audience has pretty much dried up. Kids, however, are precisely the voracious little plastic furnaces on which a toyline can thrive. They might not be collecting, per se, but they require (or have been trained to require) a constant stream of new toys to be entertained. DST figures, if they can dive into that river and start getting picked up as a comparatively low-cost, "value" alternative to $12 action figures, they have a better shot at longevity. By and large, I think they've managed to pull it off. DST is more and and more formulating character mixes that work both in a specialty and big box retail context. Consider the last wave: we collectors got our Ultimates and X-men favorites like Gambit and Psylocke, but they were able to repurpose sure-fire sellers like Iron Man, Hulk and Wolverine into kid-friendly packs for the TRU waves. Chase figures aside, the strategy has worked out well for all of us if it means keeping the Marvel mates (not to mention BSG, T2 and Ghostbusters) coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super spider piggy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 They started out geared towards kids, and then became more geared towards adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 DST were carefully straddling the fence.... selling Minimates to kids as toys & collectors like ourselves. The TRU deal has however re-arranged their 'tackle' which now seems to be hanging in the 'toys for kids' department . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gledzee Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Although i like the idea of mates being just for adults ,it makes sense it aim them mostly at the kids market theres more kids buying toys than adults at mainstream stores anyway .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirymate Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 How about "C"- an adult collectible that kids really enjoy playing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trekker 42 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Collectable to me. But to kids, it's a great little toy. Yeah, it's both. But I think better marketed as a adults collectable in the Comic Shop market and as a kids toy in TRU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambitron Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I, too, think that DST does a great job of making them appealing to both adults and kids. I like to be able to go, like just today, to TRU and pick up some new minimates and if these weren't appealing to kids I don't think that would be possible and doing as well as it has been. I think that with all the success of super hero movies in the last few years TRU is seeing that there is a larger interest from kids in things like minimates. Sidenote-when I see what my nephews have done to the minimates I have given them (ie destroy them) I find myself wishing they were only for us more "responsible" collectors but hey it just shows how much fun they have with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I think DST has done a great job meeting both markets, but I think ultimately "kid friendly" is an just an adjective that defines "collectible." Minimates have historically been collector focused with occasional forays into the mass-market toy aisles. Now with TRU on board, it's easy to assume that there is a kid-focus, but when you look at the product, that assumption gets twisted. TRU carries Marvel, T2, Ghostbuster, and BSG. Marvel- sure, kids like that stuff. Ghostbusters and T2? If you were alive when those came out, you are, by definition, not a kid. BSG is defintily adult stuff. So I think the primary focus is still on collectors, but the product is as kid friendly as ever. And it's clear that DST is trying (again) to break into the kid market, but they are smart and cool enough to not alienate their core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthRaider Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thread necro time! Because of some discussion over the recently-leaked Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose minimates (based on a very NSFW comic property), I've decided to bring back this controversial little nugget for the sake of newer members and/or newer developments in the Minimate world. And this time, I want everybody to have their say A few things to know about the poll: -"Kids only" means kids are the target market for Minimates; adults are the periphery demographic. -"Adults only" means adult collectors are the target market; kids are the niche demographic DST will try and aim for every now and then. -"Both" is for when you believe Minimates are literally for all ages. -"Somewhere in between (teenagers, geeky adults, etc.)" is the cop-out compromise option for when you really can't decide. This is also like saying you believe Minimates should be marketed towards hip crowds in a manner similar to designer vinyl and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRGMann Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Can I be the first to cop out? I think Super Hero Squad is good for the little, little kids, but minimates are good for 7 and up. They may not know all the characters without parental guidance, but how many kids are saying "oooh, a Super Hero Squad Deathlok... wait, is that the Luther Manning or the Harlan Ryker version?" Minimates are good way to introduce comic characters to kids that are old enough to be beyond the "kiddie toys". Using the blanket term "minimates" covers such a broad range of licenses now... some are kid oriented, some are adult oriented. Depends on the license and the maturity (or immaturity) level of the person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRedShadow Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) For me they are kid's toys AND collectible's I like to play with them and then put them on a shelf,and i repeat the process everyday with my 7 minimates.My 1 issue is that some of my minimates have too many accesories.and I have to go on a 1 hour hunt to find the little item I lost.I know most of the collector only people like allot of items on there mates just to make them look cool,but from a perspective in my eyes I would take away the million accesories and mak it 1 object like a sofa or tv and at the end of a wave you got a chill room with about 4 items which could be a sofa,tv,fridge and video game system. so that way the people that want to play without losin items are satisfied and the collectors are satisfied b/c of the little "house" Edited February 10, 2010 by darkredshdow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtd20_2000 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 It obviously depends on the person purchasing the items, and considering they are sold at TRU and collectable comic shops, I'd vote for both. If I had to lean one way or the other, since I'm 39, I'd go collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King MiniMate Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 A very famous question, really. I think of minimates as more of a collectors item, seeing as how they are really small and as HRG stated before, without somebody to tell them, most kids probably won't know who a lot of the minimates are. In my heart minimates will always be a collectors item, but ask some random person what they think it is and the first thought that comes to their head: "kid's toy." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Vox Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I think they have done a good job of marketing it to both.. I know it drives my sister crazy when her kids take apart the minis and loose all the peices and then ask her to find them. If it were a solid kids toy they would have made them so you couldn't pull them apart.. they would be more like Imaginext or Lego.. either no break apart peices or only 3.. as opposed to 9+. For me though.. they are collectibles and I keep a seperate set for the kids to play with.. my boy is still a couple years away from being able to play with them safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 An ought doesn't equal an is. They ought to be for kids. They ought to be for adults; it doesn't matter that they're for kids. See? Reality Vs World View (which is not a religious nor political thing. Just the way you personally look at the world.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 If these were really intended for kids, DST would have done something with www.minimates.com by now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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