A key component of toymaker Hasbro’s long-term growth strategy is unfolding at two malls in New Jersey.
The two Northern New Jersey malls, Westfield Garden State Plaza and American Dream, are launch pads for three in-person play experiences – Planet Playskool, The Gameroom powered by Hasbro, and Nerf Action Xperience.
These new experiences – two of which are now open, with the third to open soon – will be important test locations for Hasbro’s efforts to broaden its market with in-person entertainment venues.
Planet Playskool, a play space for little kids featuring Hasbro brands including Play-Doh, Tinkertoy. PJ Masks and Transformers, opened at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus 10 days ago. The Gameroom powered by Hasbro, an entertainment space for both kids and adults at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, with arcade games and food and beverages, soft-opened last week and is holding a grand opening event this week.
A Nerf Action Experience, where kids and adults can play games and engage in Nerf blaster battles, is expected to open sometime in the coming months at Westfield Garden State Plaza.
First Of Hasbro’s New Venues Open
Planet Playskool and The Gameroom are the first locations of these concepts to open. Hasbro previously has opened Nerf Action Xperience venues in England and Singapore.
Over the coming year, North Jersey will be a key proving ground for a brand-building strategy Hasbro has been working on for years. Hasbro is seeking to create new ways for consumers to engage with its brands, and to create new revenue streams through licensed partnerships with in-person entertainment properties.
“It’s a strategy that was put into place a long time ago and now we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor,” said Matt Proulx, Senior Vice President, Global Experiences, Partnerships and Music at Hasbro.
A “Multigenerational” Demographic
Northern New Jersey offers “so much to love about that market” for the launches, Proulx said, including a dense population base and attractive demographics.
“You have the right type of audience that we’re trying to reach in terms of the family dynamic,” he said. “Lots of families with children, and multigenerational families – grandparents and parents who’ve grown up with our brands.”
Each of the three entertainment experiences is designed to serve a different need and consumer, Proulx said.
The 20,000 square-foot Planet Playskool space is designed for a target audience of children ages 3-9 and parents or caregivers. Adults will not be allowed to purchase tickets unless accompanied by a child. Tickets for adults and children are $30, with children under 2 admitted free. Annual passes are $99.
The games and activities at Planet Playskool were designed to be educational as well as entertaining, leveraging brands like Tinkertoys, or Spirograph, to provide science, technology, engineering, and art lessons.
The Nerf Action Experience is intended to be “full-on action play” with lots of running around and physical activity. Proulx said.
The Gameroom powered by Hasbro is more of an “all-family entertainment experience,” Proulx said, with arcade games, and midway style attractions, as well as a GI Joe laser-tag arena and food and beverage offerings including a Candyland milkshake bar.
The goal of the location-based experiences, he said, “is we want to surround our guests and consumers with experiences that help engage them further into the brand.”
By creating natural extensions of brands, such as a place where kids can play with and create with Play-Doh, or a family entertainment center featuring classic brands, not only keeps consumers engaged, but creates new revenue streams for Hasbro, Proulx said.
Early Reaction Called Encouraging
The reaction to the opening of the first Planet Playskool has been encouraging, Proulx said. “Early reads are people are really happy with it,” he said. “Kids are the most important consumer for this and they are really having a great time and engaging with all the different experiences.”
Los Angeles-based interactive experiences developer Kingsmen Experience Inc. is Hasbro’s licensing partner for Planet Playskool. Brite Management LLC is serving as the operator of Planet Playskool in Paramus.
While no plans have been announced yet for additional Planet Playskool locations, Proulx said he is feeling “really bullish” about the concept based on initial reactions. “We do expect to have a robust rollout plan in the coming months and years,” he said.
Billions In Third-Party Capital Investment
Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, in the company’s most recent earnings call, said other Hasbro in-person entertainment properties around the world, such as the Hasbro-city theme park in Mexico, brought in over 55 million visitors last year.
Cocks said he expects “we will see those figures increasing significantly over the next couple of years,” as licensing partners open new attractions, fueled by “billions of dollars of third-party capital investment.”
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