Fifteen years ago, Tickle Me Elmo took over Christmas.
TThe hottest toy of the 1996 holiday season caused shoppers to turn vicious, inspired a whole new kind of black market (the $35 dolls sold at a several-thousand-dollar markup) and sparked a salacious scandal. During Tickle Me Elmo’s epic reign, Tyco “the toy company behind the mega-craze” saw its sales soar from $70,000,000 to an astounding $350,000,000, all thanks to a simple plush toy.
Since that mania a decade and a half ago, Tickle Me Elmo remains the benchmark for products’ must-have status.
OPEN Forum has a list of some things that you can learn from the genius marketing behind the frenzy.