Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WiT) has announced that registration is open for its annual WiT Empowerment Day event, to be held on Monday, September 19, 2022 at Dallas Market Center, in partnership with The Toy Association’s Preview & Holiday Market.
Now in its 9th year, WiT Empowerment Day is held in collaboration with Walmart, giving women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs exclusive access to critical connections and mentors in the toy, consumer products and licensing industries. Participants will have the opportunity to meet privately with Walmart buyers and top toy company product acquisition executives to pitch their product/concept and receive valuable feedback, and be mentored by seasoned industry experts.
Pitch Sessions: Toy companies slated to take pitches at this time include Hasbro, Spin Master, Jazwares, PlayMonster, Basic Fun!, Crayola, Educational Insights, Melissa & Doug, Project Genius, Spin Master, TOMY, VTech, SkyRocket, Funrise and Jada, with more to be announced soon.
Panels and Mentor Roundtables: Event participants will also have the opportunity to attend an Inventor Relations Panel with product acquisition executives, and take part in a variety of Mentor Roundtables led by industry experts, where they’ll learn everything they need to know to launch a product. Topics include:
– Children’s Publishing & Related Products
– Digital Content & Advertising
– Ecommerce Readiness
– Intellectual Property
– Licensing, Deals & Negotiations
– PR & Partnerships
– Sales & Distribution
– Product & Packaging Design
– Product Testing & Safety
WiT Power-Up Pitch Prep: Leading up to Empowerment Day, WiT will help to prepare registrants with “Power-Up Pitch Prep,” presented in partnership with three-time patented Azhelle Wade, a.k.a. The Toy Coach. This comprehensive program includes on-demand educational webinars and three 60-minute virtual live Q&A sessions with The Toy Coach. More information and dates will be announced soon.
NEW! Empowerment Day Scholarship Program: In alignment with the organization’s mission of advancing women, WiT believes that every woman should have the opportunity to pursue their goals, connections to our industry, networking with peers, and a successful career path. To help with this, WiT is offering ten $1,000 need-based scholarships to women inventors and entrepreneurs who might not otherwise be able to attend the event in Dallas, to help cover their travel costs. Application deadline is July 20, 2022. For more information and to apply, click here.
Cocktails & Connections: Capping off Empowerment Day is WiT’s Cocktails & Connections afterparty, held in the 1st floor Atrium of Dallas Market Center on September 19 at 5:30pm. Click here for information and to purchase tickets.
Empowerment Day 2022 is a free event for WiT members only. For more information and to register or join WiT, visit www.womenintoys.com/empowerment. Registration is open until September 1, 2022.