As this year draws to a close and we reach to unlock the door to a new year, the face of our country continues to edge closer to the multi-cultural appearance marketers have been tracking with bated curiosity and anxiety for decades. Gone are the days where marketers and retailers can blast out simple messages and bank on filling needs by default or through the law of averages. Our country’s tastes and preferences are splintered and individualized more than ever – and so are our needs within every market sector and product or service therein.
Jez Frampton, CEO of Interbrand, a world leader in the area of brand development, talks about what their company has defined as, “The Age of You.” Frampton says it’s not just about having a great idea or great identity – now days it’s about building a tight, synchronistic experience or “ecosystem.” He goes on to note, “We’re entering an age of true personalization where consumers increasingly expect products and services to be clearly geared around them as individuals.” He concludes by saying marketers and brand builders better get their heads around not just creating an “ecosystem” but an even more refined, “mecosystem.” In other words, something that’s from start to finish built around the individual customer.
The One World Doll Project, a subsidiary of One World Holdings, Inc., is a company that seems to have gotten Frampton’s message. The company endeavors to design, develop and market The Prettie Girls!™ – a multicultural fashion play doll in today’s competitive toy sector. The One World Doll Project is carving its niche as a leader in promoting multiculturalism and diversity within the fashion doll category. The company is making significant strides in its mission to appeal to not only cultural diversity but to little girls on a personalized and individualized basis. OWOO dolls also strike a chord with consumers through their thoughtful approach to attaching individual career aspiration and value stories which accompany each doll design. Company designer, Stacey McBride-Irby, took this into consideration when she went from developing the so In Style dolls, the first line of African American dolls by Mattel, to coming up with Prettie Girls! There are currently five dolls in the Prettie Girls! Collection: Lena (African American) and Valencia (Latina) who are available right now and Kimani (African), Dahlia (South Asian) and Alexie (Caucasian). And in what can only be termed perfect timing’ the company has recently announced its first order from WalMart just in time for the busy holiday shopping period.
McBride-Irby calls the principle behind the Prettie Girls! fairly simple. She notes, “I think it is important for children to be able to play with a doll that has features to which they can relate and with Prettie Girls!, a child will finally be able to say that the doll not only looks like her but acts like her too. Children have friends of many backgrounds and when they play with Prettie Girls, it is as if they are playing with their friends at school,” said McBride-Irby. “The world is constantly changing and the trends in children’s toys must keep up accordingly. Prettie Girls! represent the culturally rich world we live in along with a future of hope, change and empowerment which are positive messages that benefit parents and children.”
Founded four years ago by Trent T. Daniel and Stacey McBride-Irby, The One World Doll Project is focused on making a positive cultural impact through the creation, marketing and sales of their dolls. Each doll is a unique work of art created for a growing market clamoring with demand. OWOO dolls embrace contemporary girls of several races and symbolize the women they aspire to be. The Prettie Girls!™ doll line is unique in look, background and story, hopeful to embody the healthy values for each little doll owner.
To learn more, visit the One World Holdings website at www.oneworlddolls.com/
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