Introduction to Leonid Shafir.

One of the most powerful things about LinkedIn is the ability to reach out and meet great people from all over the world. As I got to know Leonid and hear his story I was impressed with his thoughts on child development and play. He has been involved with children's charities in Israel and Canada, is developing his own product line and is thoughtful about the toy and game industry. Please enjoy this Q & A and thank you Leonid for sharing your experience and heart for growing the minds of kids worldwide.

Tell us about the origins of Play-A-Maze and the exciting addition of smartphone tech into puzzle and maze items.

Play-A-Maze is a family owned and operated toy company developing the world’s most innovative toys. Our educational and entertaining puzzle-toys combine traditional puzzles with mobile gaming to create a fun-to-learn environment for children of all ages.

In a sense, Play-A-Maze is my lifelong project. Building things is in my blood as I have been making my own toys since I was a child. I spent many of my younger years constructing things, with one of my favorite projects being the creation of working robots from assorted gears. My father, a mechanical engineer, encouraged my creativity and always challenged me to create something new and amazing.

I received practical experience in toy sales working in my father’s convenience store. It was one of the highlights of my life! In the toy section, I could play with toys, demonstrate them to our patrons, and learn more about what was needed in the toy industry by speaking with customers and listening to their feedback. 

Later in life, I combined this hands-on experience with educational endeavors through my study of psychology of play at a university. There I conducted independent research on toy design in different cultures, including medieval Europe and Ancient Rome. 

Several years ago, I noticed that there is an emerging trend on the market – hybrid toys. These toys combine the physical and digital worlds for a more interesting gameplay. In addition to being interesting, these toys can better develop and educate children that enjoy traditional or pure video games. 

At the same time, I noticed there too be a resurging interest in traditional toys (ex. cars) with new features that introduce new experiences into a seemingly well-known play. One example is InRoad, a that revolutionized the way kids play with toy cars through the creation of PlayTape: https://www.inroadtoys.com/

I discussed these trends with my father and together, we decided to share our knowledge, experience, and passion for interesting and original things with others. This is how Play-A-Maze was born.

You have worked with charity toy campaigns in Israel and Canada. Tell us more about that and why these charities are important.

I worked in a charity campaign in Israel in early and mid-nineties. The objective of this campaign was to provide toys to kids from poor families. At that time, I noticed that toys can help children improve their imagination, logic, communication and other vital skills. Interestingly enough, I also saw that parents also loved to play with toys and that having access to toys was a great stress reduction for the entire family.

 Since that time, I have considered toys as one of the main means of helping children succeed in life and foster strong ties between family members. It is my experience that through shared toy play, children of all ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds can acquire critical skills that are needed for lifelong success. 

In Canada, I launched a community-based charity campaign called Toys for Girls and Boys to provide toys to immigrant families to help children better assimilate to their new environment through play. Like my endeavors in Israel, this really worked! The educational toys and games that we provided helped immigrant children do better in school and make friends with their Canadian peers. We helped over 200 families in total between 2012-2014.  

There is a good bit of research to back up my personal findings as the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other North American groups claim that free and semi-structured play with toys contribute to children’s’ resilience and creativity while helping them develop physically and intellectually. 

What market trends are you seeing and how has play changed during your career.

Currently, I see three major trends: 

• Hybrid toys with balanced physical and digital (tech) features, such as AI
• Toys that teach key skills to succeed in school/life: STEM, STEAM
• Kidults: anti-stress and anti-loneliness toys for adults

The major change in how kids play is integration of new technologies such as AR, VR into traditional toys and games. This is creating more elaborate “experience-rich” forms of gameplay. I am looking forward to seeing tried-and-trued games mixed with technology such as AR-enabled Monopoly. Along with this, I see the introduction of innovative materials in the toy development that create toy products with new features. One really cool examples is Crazy Aarons Thinking putty.

There is also a push to move kids towards science and engineering through STEM/STEAM based toys. Through play, children are embracing the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math in a way that hasn’t happened before. Hot market toys like Snap Circuits Jr. and Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab introduce these concepts in a kid friendly way that is both educational and fun. 

But the most interesting trend is definitely anti-stress toys for adults. In the past couple of years, there has been a rebirth of coloring books, fidgets, and stress balls. However, this time they are being aimed at a new target: adults. Toy makers are finding that not only do kids love and need toys, adults do too. 

Looking forward, how will play continue to change and how do toy manufacturers adjust for a new generation of kids that are playing and learning in new ways.

To succeed, toy manufacturers need to understand not just children but also their parents. The most important adult group right now is Millennials. These are young parents and active consumers that use the latest technology to shop, share and obtain information about products. In general, they prefer products that embrace social responsibility, can be purchased online, and are a good mix of quality and value. 

Millennial parents want to know that they are making a difference with their purchases. According to the Exponential Advertising Intelligence Whitepaper, 92% of millennials report that they prefer to buy products that support charities or social causes. Millennial mothers are especially prone to purchasing toys from companies that that have a reputation of helping those in need.  

The size of toys is also a concern for millennial parents who are always on the move and tend to live in small apartments. Because of that, they like portable small toys that don’t require a lot of space. They also like products with clear value proposition (they need to know the benefits) and prefer genuine online engagement with the company whose products and services they consume. 

Millennials also like seeing new technology combined with old products (ex. plush toys with built-in AI). Such products carry sentimental value which is important for many modern adult consumers. Take for example the 2012 Furby craze. This is a toy that many millennials played with as a child. When it was reintroduced, it was a hit with many parents because of the sentiment as well as the updated features. 

Ultimately, new consumers like memorable experiences. This means that to succeed in today’s market toy companies must use different forms of engagement such as social media, Youtube, AR, VR, as well demonstrate clear value of the product. This also relates to marketing of toys and how it has changed over the last decades. The emergence of toy-based Youtube channels is influencing the types of toys that today’s kids are interested in. With millions of views and subscribers, “toy unboxers” are having a direct impact on which toys are being purchased.

Millennials also want to see toys that grow with kids thus offering extended value. Purchase price is important, but so is the extended life of the toy. For this reason, convertible toys are a hit with today’s consumers.