Funko and Hot Wheels Are the Most Popular Toys Online, While Toy Manufacturers Little Tikes, Lego and Fisher-Price Generate the Most Offline Buzz

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 02, 2015) - Technology and data company Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL), creator of the eValue™ score, today released its Total Social™ rankings on the top U.S. children's toy brands for both social media and word of mouth (WOM) conversations.

Total Social combines Engagement Labs' proprietary eValue social media measurement tool and TalkTrack®, the leading measurement source of WOM conversation from the Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs company.

Top Ten U.S. Children's Toy Brands -- Online and Word of Mouth Conversations

Source: Engagement Labs eValue™ 2015 rankings of U.S. children's toy brands and Keller Fay's TalkTrack® 2015 rankings of U.S. children's toy brands' word of mouth conversation.

"The holiday season is fast approaching which has shoppers scrambling to purchase gifts for friends and family. With parents looking to find the hottest new toys for their children, toy brands and manufacturers have the perfect opportunity to showcase its latest and greatest items by taking the conversation online. Social media provides an excellent avenue for these brands to promote its new and exciting merchandise just in time for the holidays," stated Bryan Segal, CEO at Engagement Labs. "We are seeing many of the top brands leverage its social media platforms to spark the interest of parents and encourage them to purchase products for their children."

On Facebook, manufacturer Funko, makers of toys with licenses from Star Wars, NFL and Disney, had the highest eValue score, as well as the highest Engagement score of 96.06 out of a possible 100. The brand also had the highest amount of likes and comments per 1,000 fans demonstrating that Funko's content resonated with online fans. Additionally, the brand posted content of new merchandise and encouraged fans to like and comment on the post for a chance to win a free toy which resulted in frequent audience online interaction. Video game developer Bandai Namco Entertainment placed second overall, followed by PLAYMOBIL, a toy line of figures and playsets, placing third. Despite placing eighth, gaming console PlayStation ranked first for Impact with a score of 95.32, while tenth place finisher, LeapFrog, ranked the highest for Responsiveness with a score of 72.43.

Funko once again ranked first on Twitter, while also having the highest Engagement and Responsiveness score. Using a similar approach to its Facebook page, Funko posted images of new merchandise with offerings to win their toys by encouraging followers to retweet and follow their account. Nintendo placed second overall on Twitter, followed by PlayStation, with the largest number of followers and highest follower growth. However, it was fifth place gaming console Xbox, that scored the highest for Impact with a 97.6, indicating that its content reached more fans than other the brand's measured.

On Instagram, Hot Wheels placed first overall with an extremely active user base, while PLAYMOBIL and American Girl leveraged the visual platform to secure second and third place, respectively. However, fourth place finisher Bandai Namco Entertainment that ranked the highest for Engagement with a score of 82, while sixth place brand, PlayStation, scored the highest with respect to Impact. Interactive entertainment manufacturer, Mad Catz Inc., placed ninth for overall eValue score and ranked highest for Responsiveness with a score of 67.

"While certain brands like Funko and Bandai Namco Entertainment are demonstrating online success through unique content strategies, these manufacturer names are not as well known as some of the other brands measured, resulting in less offline discussions," noted Segal. "Therefore, we saw popular toy manufacturers Little Tikes, LEGO and Fisher-Price rank among the top brands for WOM conversations. These brands have maintained a long-term and well-deserved reputation for quality products, and continue to meet the needs of consumers, leading to positive offline conversation. However, based on their eValue rankings, it is clear these brands are not utilizing their social channels as effectively, indicating missed opportunities within the marketplace to attract new audiences and grow their business. It's not enough to depend on one medium to drive your sales. When emphasis is placed on both online and offline channels, it can positively impact both brand reputation and sales."

About Engagement Labs

Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL) offers intelligent Total Social™ data, analytics and insights for marketers and organizations enabling them to track, measure and benchmark the conversations happening around their brand or industry both online and offline. These conversations are proven to drive critical business outcomes, including sales, while Engagement Labs' tools provide data and actionable insight to help guide business decisions and power marketing effectiveness.

Engagement Labs' eValue™ Analytics tool is the global benchmark for social media scoring. eValue's proprietary data technology offers real-time analysis to measure a brand's social media and digital marketing efforts, distilling it down to a single meaningful number between 0 and 100 -- an eValue score. Composed of a series of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), an eValue score measures social media Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness which is benchmarked against 100,000+ handpicked and verified brands. The Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs company, is the only firm to regularly measure offline conversation via TalkTrack ®; independent research finds offline conversation is a significant driver of sales with twice the impact of online conversation.

Engagement Labs maintains offices in Toronto ON, Montreal QC, London UK and New Brunswick NJ.

www.engagementlabs.com / www.kellerfay.com

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