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The
Adventures of Brainy Baby and Small Fry
By Timothy Dickey
Brainy Baby Right Brain
and Left Brain Videos |
Small
Fry On the Scene
Small Fry came onto the scene just at the right moment, when home-schooling
and early education were becoming fashionable topics. Dennis Fedoruk
had a production infrastructure that got him started early, and
a marketing approach that helped him outlast potential competitors.
Still, “The first year of business was a bit slow as our brand
name and product lines were entering a marketplace that was basically
untouched,” says Jill Pruitt, Sales and Marketing Director
for Small Fry Productions.
Sales began picking up after some good marketing efforts and a few
toy shows in following years, just as parents were eagerly feeding
their infants and toddlers liberal doses of classical music and
the new higher learning, e.g. concepts traditionally left until
preschool.
Recent
word on the street has speculated that this market segment’s
thrill is gone. But from 1998 to 2000 educational brain development
videos for children actually increased in revenues 115%, and that
trend is expected to continue. No wonder then, that Warner Brothers
and Disney have recently established distribution channels within
the pre-school video market.
Daring
Duo Meets Trio of Concerns
Small Fry and Brainy Baby seems to focus ever more tightly on the
three concerns of availability, product quality, and technology.
“No one had even heard of DVDs when we started in 1995, and
now we have retailers and consumers calling in all the time asking
if we have our tapes in DVD,” says Jill Pruitt. She adds that
specialty retailers and catalogs seem to do best with the product,
especially those who carry educational products, and infant/toddler
clothing and toys.
Brainy Baby Animals Video |
“But a very positive aspect about our
product is that it can be a great item in various types of retail
stores,” says Pruitt. “Who would have thought children’s
videos would become a consumer item in drug and grocery stores?”
With the consumer-favorite DVD format available on most of their line,
and prices ranging from $15.95 to $19.95, why not?
Just recently, the Brainy Baby line was picked up by ”big box”
stores such as Toys R Us, Babies R Us and FAO Schwarz. This bodes
well for Small Fry’s sister, Brainy Baby, since it was created
to provide branding opportunities for future video and non-video products,
including clothing, toys and more.
Brainy
Baby Spans the Hemispheres
The Brainy Baby Left and Right Brain videos are best-sellers, along
with "Talking Hands" and Spanish Bilingual Baby. According
to Pruitt, Small Fry is the only company to research, produce and
market a video on whole brain development for children.
So what’s next?
“There are so many great ideas for new children’s videos
out there, but eventually you have to determine which is the best
one for the company and clientele,” she explains. “Consumer
demographics and where and who our clientele will be in the next 3-5
years is our major consideration when determining new products and
subject matter…”
Small Fry Plush |
It’s clear to somebody on the outside that what’s good
for children is what’s really important to this company. All
of their videos are produced in-house, Pruitt and relates how the
staff enjoys seeing young “talent” come into the office
for shoots. They also crack up at the baby bloopers, many of which
are included at the end of their tapes.
(Closing Scene, Music Swells)
Are you ready for your close-up, Mr. Fedoruk? Small Fry Productions'
owner says for now he’s happy wearing the executive producer’s
hat, but dreams of flying airplanes again and someday making full-length
children’s movies.
But what about the secrets of Small Fry’s success?
“Hire and surround yourself with smart, loyal people,”
he advises. “Stay knowledgeable on changing technology, (and)
constantly work at creating positive, professional relationships
with buyers, distributors and outside vendors.”
Cut! It’s a wrap!
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