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BEHIND THE SCENES In the Land of the Toymen: Tales from the creation and marketing of the GI Joe Masterpiece Edition Back to BEHIND THE SCENES TABLE OF CONTENTS Order GI JOE: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action by John Michlig (Chronicle Books) Read an excerpt from the book. Back to THE GILL NET HOMEPAGE Contact John Michlig

MASTERPIECE EDITION: Marketing and Promotion This memo was prepared for a meeting with Chronicle Books just prior to the launch of the Masterpiece Edition. It is also the first place I propose the GI JOE ASTRONAUT MASTERPIECE EDITION for FAO Schwarz, designed to coincide with that year's NASA-based GI Joe Convention. GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION Marketing and Promotion Broad overview of ideas and suggestions for the remainder of 1996 4/24/96 It's important to make the MAINSTREAM audience our primary focus Stress to booksellers the fact that GI Joe has 40 million repeat customers waiting to get their toy back Reintroduce the image and character to males 20 to 40 years old in a manner aligned with their current sensibilities. The collector community should be made to feel that they have the inside track on the product. We should communicate to them through the internet, established clubs and newsletters, and direct mail. Also, it's important to construct promotions that utilize current clubs and organizations. Further, we can develop relationships with established GI Joe dealers (Cotswold Collectibles, Hobby Lobby, etc.) in order to have product at each and every convention and gathering without actually attending each one ourselves. We can encourage their participation by providing some promotional display art for their tables, etc. The dealers are positive about our GI Joe reproduction figure because they feel they are able to sell more vintage uniforms and accessories to enthusiasts now that original figures are more readily available. The actual figure should be used prominently in visuals to underline the fact that ONLY WE have the real GI Joe 1964 figure Use HIGH RECOGNITION FACTOR to our advantage Stress ACTION, ADVENTURE over WAR elements of the character Identify the GI Joe character as "an old friend" Break parity with Kenner/Hasbro by appropriating "the real thing" sort of themes Break into "edge" media like the internet and Wired magazine A PRODUCT PLACEMENT on any "20-something" show would be great (Ross, Chandler et. al. on "Friends" would surely buy this product; Tim Allen has a full set of Target GI Joes on his"Tool Time" set right now) Taglines "Old soldiers never die. Your mom just threw them away." " A REAL toy story...with a prize in the box." "For 45 million American men, this body is more recognizable than anything on 'Baywatch'." "Don't we all aspire to be a fully articulated man of action?" "This Christmas, get him what he really wants. Again."   GENERAL HANDLES AND FOCUSES for suggestion to media (most can belong to multiple categories) Business Marketing to baby boomers in the '90s Finding a successful mix of the publishing and toy world The toy industry: then vs. now from Levine's perspective Popular culture The Original 12" GI Joe figure: a perennial favorite, skinny legs and all Co-opt the new Nickelodeon classic TV network TV LAND (as examples of the return of our childhood favorites) The "Nick at Nite" demographic is the same as ours, and their magazine can be approached for an "Old GI Joe vs. New GI Joe" sort of feature that Kenner can cooperate with Human interest General Provide in press material the names and numbers of GI Joe clubs, collectors and dealers in the vicinity of local media for quotes and color Create a ready-made profile of one particular collector Alan Hassenfeld can be interviewed regarding his father, Merrill Local New England media re: Levine Local toy developer returns to his best known project New tricks for an old dog (a look at re-creating GI Joe for the Masterpiece Edition in the modern work-at-home business and marketing climate vs. 32 years ago in the corporate environment) Midwest media re: Michlig Typical "local author publishes book" MARKETING AND PROMOTION Media Magazines Collector genre magazines (Collecting Toys, Tomart's, White's Guide to Action Figures, etc.) are a prequalified venue for which we'll need to compete with Kenner Contests with prizes in exchange for entry blanks (for mailing list) and feature stories. Offer each magazine some sort of giveaway. These magazines enjoy "behind the scenes" sorts of profiles Mainstream magazines Serialization in Smithsonian Magazine in conjunction with an exhibit Collector MATT BABEK (310/544-3032), says he's recently donated a GI Joe to the Smithsonian2 Jeri Miller of Tunheim Santrizos Company (Target's PR firm) has initiated contact with the Smithsonian in conjunction with Target's successful WWII commemorative GI Joe figure set Men's magazines - their demographic is our demographic Any picture of GI Joe in a men's magazine is instantly recognizable Editorial idea: Humorously compare a present GI Joe (little version) to our 1964 version (Are we as men also becoming smaller and less flexible?) This works from a "they" perspective in women's magazines as well. Women's magazines (the main buyer of books) Use the gift-giving angle Potential ad: "Get him what he really wants. Again." Press for a spot in Holiday "Gifts for Him" features Elicit "why men love GI Joe" or "The chest and butt he knows better than anything on Baywatch" editorial bits in women's magazines Business magazines Entrepreneur angle: Don Levine as independent small businessman developing products Market angle: Lucrative rewards to be found in the nostalgia area Collector angle: enthusiasts are paying big dollars for original GI Joe's Collaboration angle: The publishing world and toy world combine for a new product success story (Chronicle can get exposure here as well) Seasoned toy industry professional sees his best-known invention, the 32 year-old GI Joe, through the eyes of his partner, a 31 year-old writer. Internet: create real-time interaction with enthusiasts America Online's "GI Joe Collectors" board Must have a web site in place as soon as possible Gather further names for mailing list Provide updates on product right up to release May provide a mail order opportunity Make GI Joe (the 60s toy) relevant to the computer age (the 90s toy) Television Key into a showing of the film "The Story of GI Joe" (Perhaps on USA's "Dinner and a Movie" feature) Nick at Nite Radio NPR (both "Fresh Air" and "Marketplace") Phone-in interviews with Levine on locals Newspaper Contact local paper of all kids pictured in our "kids and their GI Joe" spread ("Local collector featured in new book") Various Promotions (Cooperative and Otherwise) The Third Annual GI Joe Collector's Convention will be held in proximity to Cape Kennedy and have a "space exploration" theme A GI Joe figure may go into space on a shuttle flight ("When I was a little boy, GI Joe took me into space. Now I'm returning the favor.") The convention's organizers would be willing to buy 3,500 astronaut versions of the Masterpiece Edition We could run 13,500 Astronaut Masterpiece Editions and offer FAO 10,000 exclusives for 1997 The original Astronaut GI Joe is 30 years old this year Majic Productions has plans to fly in all of the sources used in our book; this is an expense we should budget for if asked! Collectors will use this opportunity to get their Masterpiece Edition signed by everyone mentioned in the book We will derive an enormous visual attraction for media if the creators assemble in one spot We (or TARGET?) need to set up at the convention to sell books Appearances Don Levine can make himself available for signings at bookstores and Target stores Mail Send coupon to postcard return addresses at least one month ahead of release date Send GI Joe icon t-shirts and review copies To buyers for large accounts To personalities who may wear one conspicuously on-air "E"'s Talk Soup Regis and Kathy Lee Tim Allen Network morning show personalities Conan O'Brien The male cast of "Friends" Cross-marketing Hasbro/Kenner Father/son combination promotion for the holiday (buy a Masterpiece Edition and get a Kenner Collector's figure) Dark Horse Comics Tie-in to their GI Joe comic, or place ad in GI Joe comic Create a special comic to insert in next year's version of Masterpiece Edition (for Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, etc.) Specialty Shops (those that sell comics, models, etc.) Create posters or POP's Get into their distribution catalogs (Capital City, Diamond, etc.) GI Joe (R) is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc. © 2002 John Michlig • HOME • ARCHIVE • CONTACT JOHN MICHLIG