Our work

tonies:
Sleep easy

tonies was born out of the belief that audio has the power to ignite a child’s imagination and enable them to discover more. The intuitive design and combination of collectible figurines and speaker makes tonies a unique interactive audio system, transforming the way in which young children independently play and learn. To elevate the brand beyond just the product, we wanted to create a campaign that would resonate with and build an emotional connection with parents.

Insight & Idea

“How can I get my child to sleep?” – it’s one of the most common questions posed by parents. And for many, getting their child to sleep can be one of the biggest and most emotionally draining challenges they face each day. Adding to this, throughout the pandemic parents have sought to keep kids occupied by any means possible, which for many has included a reliance on screen-based devices.

With sleep being such an issue, we wanted to examine further the impact that screens have had on children’s sleep during the Covid-19 pandemic. With restful sleep being so important for little ones’ mental and physical development, this was an issue that tonies was keen to support parents with, helping concerned parents with its ‘Sleep Easy’ campaign.

Impact & Action

To support the product-led campaign, Diffusion commissioned a parent-based Sleep Easy study with toniest to identify insights to pitch to media, working alongside sleep expert, Lucy Wolfe, who partners with tonies on the campaign. The study revealed that during the pandemic screen time among children hit a huge 3 hours and 53 minutes a day, with over a third (35%) of children reported to have spent more than a staggering 5 hours per day on their devices. With sleep being so vital for young children’s mental and physical wellbeing and development, the study also revealed some ‘bad bedtime habits’ parents slipped into during the pandemic. The insights were pitched to media alongside expert comment with tips and advice from Lucy Wolfe.

To capture the attention of media and influencers, Diffusion created beautifully packaged ‘Sleep Easy’ kits in partnership with brands such as Peter Rabbit, Teapigs, Panda London and Bloom & Blossom, which were seeded to key media and influencer contacts. This was underpinned by a robust product seeding campaign to generate reviews and gift guide coverage for the brand.

Diffusion’s campaign for tonies has generated over 150 pieces coverage in under a year across national, consumer lifestyle and trade media including the Mail Online, the Metro, the Times, the Sun and the Evening Standard, with a total reach of +30 billion.