From humble beginnings as an intern at the prestigious shoe company Aldo to spearheading wildly successful marketing campaigns at WowWee, Jessica Kalichman has etched an indelible mark on the toy industry, proving time and time again that she's more than capable of defying conventions to generate record-breaking results.
Kalichman's impressive track record includes driving the Fingerlings brand press and content strategy, which saw sales more than double over two years and garnered three Toy of the Year nominations, of which two were successful wins. Her tenure at WowWee is a testament to her versatility. With her expert guidance, WowWee secured a partnership with Nickelodeon and scored a Kids & Family Emmy nomination.
However, Kalichman's brilliance shines brightest not in the glint of her achievements but in the dynamism of her approach. By pioneering the launch of over 160 TV commercials, YouTube ads, instructional videos, and YouTube mini-series episodes, she harnessed the power of new media platforms, even as traditional ones like TV faced an inevitable decline.
Top brands Kalichman has worked on, in addition to Fingerlings mentioned above, include Baby Shark, My Squishy Little Dumplings, Dog-E, and Call It Spring (ALDO). Her responsibilities encompassed a wide range of areas, including brand strategy, product launch strategy, public relations, social media, and content production.
These endeavors have yielded impressive achievements. Baby Shark earned two Toy of the Year nominations and wins, along with various industry recognitions, including the Parents Magazine Best Toys of the Year award, NAPPA (National Association Parenting Publications Awards), The Toy Association Plush Toy of the Year award, Licensing International Award for Best Toy Ages 0-8, Good Housekeeping Toy of the Year Award, and additional NAPPA awards.
Moreover, Kalichman's PR and marketing approach has allowed her to capture billions of impressions, as with the launch of the robot dog, Dog-E, at CES. Dog-E is only available for pre-sale but has garnered billions of media impressions from the launch announcement. Kalichman and the brand expect many industry awards and accolades this fall into next year.
In today's rapidly evolving media landscape, navigating the expansion of new platforms is a significant challenge. Kalichman's adeptness in partnering with media-savvy teams and strategic partners has been instrumental in her ability to successfully adapt and optimize content strategies each quarter to reach her audiences.
As a trailblazer in content creation, Kalichman views the creator ecosystem as a powerful tool for brand engagement and conversion. Witnessing a shift from large influencers to a more engaged and effective micro-influencer community, she implemented strategies to build a network of over 300 brand ambassadors that foster more meaningful conversations and relationships.
Kalichman's forward-thinking approach further comes to light in her initiatives to involve influencers as creative partners. One such venture was with Fashion Fidgets and the fidget authority queen Mrs. Bench. This collaboration enabled the brand to penetrate deeper into the market, tap into Mrs. Bench's dedicated audience, and enhance the product's credibility in an already saturated market.
This approach of using creative partners to diversify content and reach new and bigger audiences can be seen in Kalichman landing a partnership with Nickelodeon for My Squishy Little Dumplings. Looking for an innovative way to position a new product, her team had the imaginative idea of transforming our Squishy Little Dumplings into a musical band, "The Squish." After developing two original songs and a creative direction for the band, they joined forces with Nickelodeon to expand the brand and content opportunities. They had a vision and knew they needed to partner with an organization with the creativity and resources to achieve what they had in mind and bring it to the next level. The Nickelodeon digital team is first in class regarding kids' content creation and distribution. They not only met Kalichman's vision but exceeded all expectations. This has allowed Kalichman and her team to build a YouTube-first IP for Nickelodeon, hopefully finding its way into more Nickelodeon content and potentially a long-form series.
Furthermore, My Squishy Little Dumplings garnered a prestigious Emmy nomination for Kids & Family, in addition to being recognized as one of Today's Parent Canada's Best Toys of the Year and receiving NAPPA (National Association Parenting Publications Awards) recognition.
Beyond her intuitive grasp of industry trends, Kalichman advocates for a simple and passionate approach. She believes maintaining clarity in product features and messaging, sharing a genuine passion for the work, and infusing fun into the process are essential. She said, "We're not saving lives-we're creating products that bring joy and magic to kids." An innovative aspect of Kalichman's strategy is the "breaking of the fourth wall," where she involves customers directly in the product development and marketing processes. For example, the TikTok channels for recent marketing campaigns offer customers a firsthand view of what's in progress. This inclusion has transformed the customer-brand dynamic, fueling customer engagement and shaping product evolution, as witnessed in the relaunch of Fingerlings.
As she looks ahead, Kalichman envisions herself building 360 campaigns for globally recognized brands, exploring opportunities in movies, music, and books in addition to the family and kid's content. As she continues to shape brand identities and carve out engaging narratives, she proves that when it comes to integrating pop culture trends with meaningful brand messaging, Jessica Kalichman is a force to be reckoned with in the marketing arena.
