Home Smart 100 2012 Imaginabox (SMART 100)

Imaginabox (SMART 100)

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The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.

Imaginabox (SA)

This innovation initially came to life when…

We gave our eldest son a cooking set but he didn’t have a play oven to accompany it. With quick thinking, I turned the box the cooking set came in, into a cooktop by sticking some paper hotplates to the box — problem solved and he absolutely loved it! After spending some time watching him play, I started to think about what other inexpensive toys could be created from a cardboard box…then came the idea of moving plastic parts to make them even more realistic and interactive, some stickers to make it more authentic…and the Imaginabox product line was born!

WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Provide an inexpensive, practical solution that turns any cardboard box into a toy. The Imaginabox encourages craft making, stimulates children’s imaginations, promotes creative play and shows children that a toy doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun!

It does this by…

Providing visual instructions on how to assemble the product onto a cardboard box; the stickers are realistic in nature and reflect parts children can associate with; the plastic parts physically move making them interactive; and all parts can be removed with ease and placed on a new cardboard box or put away, promoting recycling and easy portability of a toy.

PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

It provides a cost-effective and modern approach to craft, as well as promoting imaginative play. Utilising moveable plastic parts and realistic stickers make the final product interactive for play, and with all parts being recycleable, children are encouraged to dismantle the toy and rebuild on a new box if the box becomes worn, rather than discarding the whole toy.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

A clear cost benefit to the end-customer as they are highly affordable; the offering of different and unique toys; the ability to make a normally large toy quite compact and portable; the ability to recycle the toys.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Consumers buying full-bodied, already-assembled plastic or wooden toys for their children to play with. The Imaginabox’s infrastructure is based on a cardboard box which is accessible and cheap to acquire. This makes each toy highly affordable, the assembly of each toy can be undertaken like a project, and each toy can be easily dismantled for storage or portability.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Rolobox, which places plastic wheels on cardboard boxes allowing them to be used as carts/trailers for toys, and Makedo, which turns cardboard boxes into animals or cardboard creations.

TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Toddlers between the ages of 2-5 years of age. The overall size of this target audience here in Australia is approximately 6.5% of the Australian population, equating to just over 1.5 million children. This number would obviously increase again once we investigate overseas markets too. Other target markets here in Australia include childcare centres/child facilities where play is important to children’s development but funding for equipment is low, as well as the retail world for gift purchasing.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

It is available for sale through…

My own company’s website, an ongoing selection of retailers here within Australia and some acquired distributors (which we are expanding) overseas.

Our marketing strategy is to…

Promote the product through online parenting and toy forums/blogs; sponsor online competitions providing the Imaginabox as a prize; social media campaigns through Facebook and businesses providing such services; trade shows in the children’s industry; expos in the children’s industry; fundraising campaigns through childcare facilities; as well as providing some marketing funding for our distributors to then onsell the product.

SUPPORTING IMAGES

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