Brands Hoping To Attract YouTube Influencers' Attention At Holiday Toy Preview Event
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The holiday shopping season may be months away, but toy makers, distributors and social media influencers are picking their favorite toys now.
CBS News' Diane King Hall attended the Sweet Suite toy event in Manhattan to see the top toys hitting stores this fall.
Pop Pop's Snotz may be a parent's worse nightmare with its splattering slime, but it's expected to be a hit this year.
Baby Shark, Juno dolls, a new high-tech Pictionary and "PJ Masks" had a presence at the event.
There's also a growing number of toys straight from YouTube influencers themselves, like Ryan ToysReview. The second grader has more than 20 million subscribers who have been watching him unbox and play with toys for years.
"Kids are really plugged into YouTube. That's where they're getting their content, and so that's where we want to make sure you can see all of these amazing toys as well," Marissa Dibartolo, editor-in-chief of Toy Insider, said.
The Tic Tac Toy Family, another YouTube channel, is launching toys for the first time this year. The family produces skits for nearly 3 million subscribers and is now launching a toy line called XOXO Friends.
Not all influencers have products to peddle, however.
Eleven-year-old Lindalee Rose has been coming to events like Sweet Suite since she was 4 years old, reviewing toys for her YouTube channel.
Hall: "Do your classmates know that you're on YouTube, and how do they react to that?"
Rose: "Yes, they all know, and they're always like, 'Oh, are you famous? Oh, are you famous?' And I'm like, 'Ehhh, kinda, I don't know.'"
The brands hope the interactive toy preview will influence the influencers and help drive holiday sales.
