PlayCon ’18 News: Trend Hunter’s Armida Ascano and Courtney Scharf to be Session Presenters

February 6, 2018 | Looking for fresh insight into today’s youth or how to get consumers to notice your brand? PlayCon attendees will want to grab a seat for two presentations led by Trend Hunter executives who will share cutting-edge information for play professionals attending the May 8 to 9 conference in San Francisco, CA.

“Toy designers, inventors, and professionals are bound to be inspired by Trend Hunter’s ideas,” says Marian Bossard, The Toy Association’s executive vice president of global market events. “The team’s passion and expertise for cultivating the most innovative concepts and tracking what appeals to consumers is crucial fodder that companies can use to create the next great toy or game.”  

With roughly 60 million monthly views of its website, TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community. The company has helped brands, billionaires, and CEOs leverage big data and research to innovate.

Armida Ascano, Trend Hunter’s vice president of insight, runs workshops for top-tier clients focusing on research storytelling to not only inform, but also to engage and inspire the audience. Her session, titled “Millennial Myth-Busting and Gen Z: Destroying Assumptions of Millennials While Diving into the New Youth Generation,” will discuss misperceptions about millennials and critical subsegments of the generation, top priorities for Generation Z, and a comparison of the two generations.

Courtney Scharf, vice president of research, leads Trend Hunter’s team of trend advisors to help more than 100 brands like Hasbro, Starbucks, and Panasonic innovate faster. During her session, “Brand Love and Modern Entertainment: How to Create a Community Around a Piece of Content or Brand,” Scharf will discuss how brands can win with consumers, provide case studies on successful brand communities and content creation, and share Trend Hunter’s 18 megatrends and how they apply to the world of entertainment.

Nearly a dozen thought-leaders, industry analysts, toy influencers, consumer product executives, and other motivational speakers will lead PlayCon’s short “TED Talk”-like sessions, delivering ideas as diverse as their professional backgrounds.

PlayCon attendees will also receive access to customized Trend Hunter reports, be invited to participate in Trend Hunter-directed “trend safaris” (self-directed walking tours to showcase innovative trend-related experiences and businesses around San Francisco), and a chance to win free admission to one of Trend Hunter’s Future Festivals.

Each week Toy News Tuesday will feature a new and noteworthy name from the impressive roster of PlayCon speakers. Check back next week for another speaker highlight.  

Toy Association members looking for more innovative ideas are encouraged to view Trend Hunter’s customized reports on the Association’s website.  The members-only monthly reports share the latest ideas in a range of topics from emerging technologies to experiential marketing.