Day Two: Main Conference Sessions Wednesday, March 28, 2012

8:50 Chairperson’s Recap and Day Two Opening Remarks

9:00 How Cool Brands Stay Hot

How Cool Brands Stay Hot reveals what drives Generation Y (age 13-29) and how you can reach them. Gen Y are the most marketing saavy and advertising critical generation ever. Three times the size of the previous Generation X, they have a bigger impact on society and business. But what drives this generation? How do you develop the right brand strategies to reach this critical generation?

This dynamic co-presentation by the book authors will provide an overview of the CRUSH branding model, including: coolness, realness, uniqueness, self identification with the brand and happiness.

9:45 Marketing Strategies from an Inventor Dad that Created an Award Winning Product now in 50 Retailers!: First Toddle® Baby Gym: From Play Room to Retail Shelves

Our distinguished speaker was a work-at-home dad with twins who created something to help them safely learn to stand and walk that evolved into the First Toddle® Baby Gym. “There I was on e-mail and participating in conference calls, doing feedings and changing diapers, and trying to keep two 8-month olds safe as they increasingly explored the living room. I made the original parallel-bars prototype out of PVC pipe and fittings that I had in the garage, and tied on the babies’ favorite crib items with shoelaces. They enjoyed that rudimentary prototype more than any of the other play items we purchased for them; and they kept playing with it in creative ways that I hadn’t anticipated – and that’s how the accessories were created.”

Our speaker created a play and development system that grows with a child from 3 months to 3+ years and sells in 50 retailers in the U.S. and Internationally. The product won 15 awards including Creative Child Magazine’s 2010 Product of the Year Award and its 2009 and 2010 Toy of the Year Award. Walk away with marketing strategies for excellence from an inventor that took a home-grown product idea and developed it for mass markets.

• Defining your markets
• Leveraging social media including Facebook, Twitter and bloggers
• Conducting parent/child focus groups, market testing and protyping
• Telling a story with your compelling retail product packaging

Michael J. Monaghan
CEO, Founder
First Toddle, Inc
Winner 15 awards including Creative Child Magazine’s 2010 Product of the Year Award

11:15 Smart Kids Make Smart Consumers

Objectives: KIDS FIRST! will share the results of working with youth for 20 years. "Out of the Mouths of Babes" - may be a cliche but, kids don't lie. They really do say how it is. By listening to what they have to say, you can reap the benefit of knowing where this generation is headed, this year and into the future.

This presentation will highlight the findings of twenty years of media evaluation by youth ages 7 to 15. In the last year, KIDS FIRST! ramped up its youth involvement by recruiting a small group of kids to act as official film critics and spokespersons for the organization. These kids, ages 7 to 15 hail from Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, San Diego and Santa Fe and have demonstrated a keen ability to seriously review media content when given a public voice. Their media reviews are watched, read and listened to by more than 5 million consumers every month. Sponsors for this program include virtually all major entertainment companies and major media outlets.

In this interactive session, benefit from the KIDS FIRST! experience and find out how to involve kids in your publicity without breaking the rules! Make sure that your social media presence doesn't deliberately target kids under 13 while excluding parents! Recognize the responsibilities that parents are dealing with today when their kids are engaged in online dialogues. Be effective. Be pro-active. Keep everyone safe.

Ranny Levy
Founder and President
KIDS FIRST!

Ann Church
Senior Vice President Marketing
KIDS FIRST!
a program of the Coalition for Quality Children's Media