Playmobil returns to Stroom and wants to reach adults as well

"The story behind Playmobil is, I think, fairly exemplary of the market," explains the strategy director at Stroom .

The iconic toy brand Playmobil has chosen Stroom as its new media agency in the Netherlands. And that feels like coming home, says Martijn Jaartsveld, strategy director of Stroom. After all, Playmobil was already a client between 2005 and 2020.

After a relatively brief foray into an international agency, Playmobil is returning to Stroom for its Dutch media activities. No pitched process preceded this, says Jaartsveld. 'We started talking to each other again at some point. Playmobil was looking for toy market expertise and a full-service partnership.' He does not call the course of events unique. 'The story behind Playmobil is, I think, fairly exemplary for the market. Medium-to-large advertisers are placed in international agencies by international management. They don't get the attention, time and quality they are used to there, as they do with local players like Stroom. If the opportunity arises, they look for a local agency with local expertise.'

Playmobil and Stroom established the renewed partnership early this year and aligned for the long term, as did Playmobil's marketing communications strategy. The teams are now linked and, according to the strategy director, "integrate easily, both online and offline.

People in their 30s and older, say, have become a very enthusiastic and wealthy target group with warm feelings about children's toy brands.

Martijn Jaartsveld

Also addressing 30+

Playmobil's first work has already been shared by Stroom in the form of a campaign, via online and digital out of home (DOOH). The campaigns focus not only on the Playmobil brand, but also on themes that the parties approach as CEPs: Category Entry Points. Jaartsveld: "The strategy behind this is that the more CEPs associated with a brand, the stronger the brand grows.

The first three themes in this campaign are the worlds of horses, farm and city life. 'We give those themes attention in specific media and build pressure with a certain target group,' Jaartsveld says. And that target group is not just (more) young children. 'People in their 30s and older, say, have become a very enthusiastic and wealthy target group with warm feelings towards children's toy brands. Playmobil is responding to this by releasing classic Porsche, Mercedes Benz and Mini Cooper cars, for example. But also with collections from famous movies and series such as James Bond, The A-Team and Back to the Future. We see that competing brands like Nintendo and Lego have also started to focus more on older target groups. The market is moving enormously.'

Fire safety

Jaartsveld cannot yet say much about what we can expect from Playmobils media activities in the near future. 'The next big campaigns will be briefed this week and will take place during the school vacations. And of course the fourth quarter as 'gift season.'

In addition to taking care of campaigns, Stroom also thinks about Playmobil's brand safety , according to the strategy director. How necessary is that with (children's) toys? 'Well, Playmobil helicopters that look like Red Cross helicopters you don't want to advertise next to news about the war in Ukraine or an earthquake in Turkey,' he gives as an example. 'We don't want to disrupt the child's fantasy world, of course. So we want to make sure the ads appear on the right websites and in the right DOOH carousels. You have to pay more and more attention to this.'

About stroom

Stroom In addition to Playmobil, its clients include Decathlon, Dille & Kamille, Hero and PwC. By the way, do not confuse Stroom with HalloStroom, a solar panel rental company that announced yesterday that it has chosen Indie Amsterdam as its new full-service agency.

This article previously appeared on Adformatie