Ganz does it with its Webkinz Plush. Webkinz dolls were introduced by Toronto-based Ganz in the spring of 2005 and have quickly become one of the most popular toys among the elementary-school set. The company uses the stuffed animals as a roundabout way to charge for online content. Instead of asking parents to pay for the Webkinz site by entering a credit card number online, Ganz packages access codes for the site with stuffed animals and trading cards sold in stores.
Other companies, like Mattel and Russ Berrie, have copied Ganz's innovative approach. Traffic on Webkinz’s site grew by more than 800 percent over the last year, totaling 7.29 million unique visitors in October, according to Nielsen Online. Its closest competitor, Club Penguin from Disney, had 3.88 million visitors in that period.
So why does a company with a strong "avatar-brand" like Finland's Sulake press on with trying to sell HABBO T-shirts, stickers and mouse-pads when it could sell Plush HABBOs or better yet "Urban Vinyl HABBOS" - like the Gorillas line from KidRobot in the pic - and attach a secret code to the HABBO Vinyl ... VOILA! Oddly enough, HABBO and Gorillas did co-operate on a very successful ad campaign before: http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2005/08/gorillaz_do_hab.html
Payment Guy predicts you will see Plush Penguins at a Disney Store near you very very soon .... stay tuned.
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