The Story of Webkinz World™
At Ganz, we study the gift and toy marketplace to figure out what consumers want. We asked ourselves, ‘what do children love?’ Here’s what we came up with: • Dress Up. Kids have always loved playing dress up with dolls • Building Blocks • Nurturing a ‘baby’—both girls and boys like to be the ‘parent’ • Virtual worlds that mimic the real world • Memory games to challenge kids and adults alike • Collecting—cards, toys, music…you name it and kids will collect it We then asked ‘Where are young people spending their entertainment time?’ More and more, kids are going to the Internet. Why? It’s interactive. Instead of passively watching television, the Internet gives kids choice. They can play games, chat with friends and express themselves. They decide how to have fun. So the question now became how could we enhance the interactivity of the Internet for kids, to create a safe, challenging and entertaining site for both boys and girls, where they would feel at home. We started with a line of adorable plush toys that we called Webkinz®. They were introduced to the world in April, 2005. In Sept. 2005, we introduced Lil' Kinz, the younger and smaller siblings of Webkinz. Each Webkinz pet carries a secret code that can only be revealed after purchase. After logging into Webkinz World, (www.webkinz.com), kids enter the code, adopt and name their pet, and are invited into a virtual world where they feed and care for their new pal, dress it, take it to the vet, play games and do trivia quizzes, or visit with other Webkinz members. With the code as their key, kids can join Webkinz World without giving out any personal information such as their e-mail, last name or phone number. Adopting a Webkinz, naming it, feeding it and taking it to the vet…it’s like having a real pet! But there’s so much more to Webkinz World! There are loads of games, an Employment Office, and challenging quizzes. Kids can create unique spaces for their pets, choosing color, wallpaper, design Neutral Happy Excited themes, furniture and more. They can add bathrooms (that work!), grow vegetables in gardens, use the deticxE lartueN ypp musical instruments and even exercise equipment! functioning kitchens with appliances, buy books,aH
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The Story of Webkinz World (cont.)
Webkinz members can also safely ‘chat’, in our Clubhouse, using KinzChat™. KinzChat is constructed messaging—pre-written sentence options that are selected and sent from one member to a ‘friend’. Members choose from over 900 sentence options to construct their own questions, comments and conversations. KinzChat gives kids flexiblity and lots of topics! Our online post office, KinzPost, lets kids send postcards, letters and gifts to their friends on site, complete with wrapping paper and card! Everyone enjoys a little retail therapy, and we’ve got a lot of cool stuff to take care of your pet and decorate your room. We have our very own virtual store - the W Shop™. Kids earn KinzCash™ by playing games, doing small jobs and answering questions in Quizzy’s Corner™. Quizzy’s covers school subjects, so kids have fun and learn at the same time. And since Quizzy’s is THE best place to earn KinzCash, kids are encouraged to keep learning. We’ve mixed trivia, memory and general knowledge in a fun, all-ages format. Another way kids can earn KinzCash is by visiting our Arcade. The games in the Arcade are all kid-friendly and lots of fun. The Tournament section allows kids to challenge other members to games and keep track of their scores. Kids definitely love our games, and the best part is-we’re always adding more! To ensure that Webkinz World is a place that kids WANT to visit every day, we’ve created daily events that make earning KinzCash even more exciting. Our ‘Today's Activities’ page shows a day’s worth of special events. As well, we offer many collectible Webkinz accessories, including trading cards, charms, bracelets and necklaces, mouse pads, clothing for Webkinz plush pets, body spritz and lip gloss. All Webkinz accessories include a Feature Code to unlock special prizes online, and keep kids coming back to the site regularly. We have a large and very creative team of artists, writers, animators and game developers who are adding new and exciting features to Webkinz World regularly. We think Webkinz World is one of the best sites on the Internet for kids ages 6-14. It is highly interactive and kid friendly. Kids can learn to care for a pet, share time with their friends and most importantly, use their imaginations. Webkinz, The Hottest Toys With The Coolest Website!™