If I were Anki, I'd be prepping my IP lawsuit against Mattel, as the new Hot Wheels AI "borrows heavily" from Anki Drive. Actually blatantly copying would be more like it.
With CD and TW in charge of that brand, this is further proof they have no new ideas themselves and have crushed the creativity out of the team - or out the door. This isn't the Hot Wheels brand I knew from Mattel.
Sorry, and I'm sure you are deeply passionate about what you think but if you check the patent dates you'll see they are in parallel... but $200m of Silicon Valley investment can buy a lot of mind space and belief on social media ;-)
Thanks for chiming in there CD. That was about as lame as your leadership skills. hope your parachute doesn't deploy and you plummet to earth at break neck speed.
I don't work in HW. I'm just a LMOTP, but from where I'm standing, CD is doing a pretty good job.
Other signals that the Wheels team leadership has lost their creativity - Criss Cross Crash is back again, which means whatever track set they were designing tested horribly and they brought this back out. It's a good set - don't get me wrong - but the last time this came out a few years ago was when the HW track set crashed and burned in testing. Matchbox is TV advertising Stinky the garbage truck - great toy, but it came out in 2010 and this would indicate they didn't have better ideas.
I'm hoping the Wheels team turns it around, as while sales may be OK, the lack of creativity will catch up with them. I want them to get back to leading and innovating.
Umm, yes, Anki is making money - it's what funded the development of Cozmo and allowed them to expand distribution to full international. #4 best selling RC on Amazon, #4 best selling app-enabled on Amazon - they're making serious bank on the starter set and cars. Mattel won't make any money because of the overhead and it will be a 1 year item and won't recoup costs.
OP, keep your panty hose on. Anki isn't making any money and Mattel will make even less. The brand is in such dire straits that Tricky Dickson just filled the gallery with senseless techno-fluff so he can babble about "innovation". How about that $200 RC Batmobile that will never see the light of day? Our fearless leaders aren't fooling anyone, just deluding themselves and stalling for time, pocketing every dollar they can until the bottom falls out when the 4Q results come in next year.
Character cars were started way before CD and TW took over, so they can't take any credit. Yes, Hasbro did this before with Disney, and Matchbox did it back with their anthropomorphized figures. What the previous design team did was meld HW design aesthetic with the license, whereas CD and team basically made an X-wing fighter with wheels as a show car - it has no HW aesthetic or branding on it.
Ideas?
Don't rip off other brands IP and come up with your own ideas. The AI Racing is such a blatant ripoff of Anki Racing that it shows the lack of ideas.
Get leaders in wheels design that actually know design - and wheels. The only reason TW has the job is CD didn't want anyone challenging his design "prowess." Just ask AT.
If you're going to figure out next-gen play, then don't get stuck in the rut of it has to be '16. Spend a year longer than the normal BDO process and come out with something truly great vs. not as good as the original. Lead, not imitate.
As for the idiot asking to get more then $0.99 a car, you clearly never worked there. They have tried for years to show higher value and have tested basic cars at Walmart and Target, and sales go down significantly when prices are above $0.99. Figure out a play set and trackset strategy (wall tracks was driven by consumer insight and was great for this) that gives a better attach rate between diecast and accessories.
But none of this will happen with the current team asleep at the wheel. Can't wait to see who they'll rip off next.
Remarkable growth? Stop kidding yourself. If it weren't for Star Wars, Hot Wheels would be in decline. It's only the borrowed interest from true Brands that is lifting it. And the concept for die-cast cars that look like character heads, was first done by HASBRO when they had the Disney license years ago.
CD and TW don't have an original idea between them and having a design guy in charge of a brand is just insulting. You might just give the accolades to Disney for the increase in HotWheels.
As for ideas, here's one:
How about getting rid of CD and TW and bringing new blood (or past Mattel design staff) back into the company? New ideas and not warmed-over dreck is what the brand does. Oh, and stop being so proud of making .11 per car - it's offensive you can't get more than .99 for the "best brand in the world". Lowest cost of entry might keep others out (although every retailer has their own version of die-cast cars at the same or lower pricepoint now), but it's not driving profit.
Great point. Let's go with your idea. Wait - you don't have one. Only a complaint. Good thing you're not in charge of the brand! Also, CD and TW are leading the brand to remarkable growth. So WTF? Go ahead, let's hear all the b--ching and whining about how they s---... meanwhile, they're doing something. Are you? NOPE.