At Generating Media we focus on providing a service of publishing engaging content that attracts the imagination of customers and media platforms. Advertising is extremely expensive and a vast majority of small to medium size companies can not afford to spend lots of money on advertising. We look for ways to reach out to target audiences with relevant content that is simply an extension of their efforts. If you want to increase market share… you have to increase “voice”.

One of our clients, Mud Puddle Toys, had been a toy store that had existed in the seaport town of Marblehead for decades. The owners decided they were ready to get out of the business. It would have been a shame if new owners had not come along and decided to save the store. They had no retail experience, but their hearts and minds were filled with passion to save this landmark store where their three kids loved going.

In addition to this major challenge of learning about operating a business, Covid hit and added even more challenges. In spite of everything, they have been successful. So successful, they even expanded their floor space to add more books to their inventory. Over the past several years more and more shops in Marblehead and other towns across the United States have closed their doors. We thought the Mud Puddle Toy story was worth telling. Our goal was to publish an engaging story of why they have been able to be successful where so many other stores have failed. Many stores blame the internet and large department stores for making it nearly impossible to be successful. Mud Puddle Toys decided to take a hard look at their strengths and focused their energy and resources in those areas.

We published our first article that was from our true experience on Feb. 3, 2022. Trying to purchase toys and books for young grandchildren is so difficult. No clue as to what to even consider as options. A visit to Mud Puddle Toys solved all this. The staff at Mud Puddle Toys asked all the right questions about the age and interest of the grandchild. Questions we never would have thought about. End result, the gifts selected were right on target. We knew right then this type of help and guidance can not be found on the internet or large department stores. Click on the link below and it will provide our first story. In tracking the analytics, we have discovered the average viewer has been spending 6 mins and 54 seconds reading the story.

https://www.generatingmedia.com/blog/picking-out-gifts-for-grandchildren

After spending some quality time with the owner and staff of Mud Puddle Toys, we put together our second story that included an in-depth look at the mission statement, strategy, business plan, and the Mud Puddle Team. We published our second story on March 8, 2022. The story was written to attract the attention and imagination of customers and media platforms. The readers of this story are spending on average 5 mins and 56 seconds reading the story.

https://www.generatingmedia.com/blog/mud-puddletoys

Our efforts were rewarded with some additional success. On April 8, 2022 The Boston Globe published a feature article on the story and success of Mud Puddle Toys. Encourage you to read it from the link below:

https:/www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/11/business/marblehead-toy-store-was-slated-close-then-local-couple-resurrected-it/

In addition, a major publication called The Toy Book published an article on June 12, 2022 that described in detail about the major transformation of some of the toy stores that have re-designed their strategy and business plans. They included Mud Puddle Toys in their article.

https:/toybook.com/next-gen-toy-stores/

Generating Media knew the word needed to get out of the differentiation, not just in their image, but in such a way the customers would have a totally different shopping experience. One that would be enjoyable and not just something they needed to get done. To succeed, Mud Puddle Toys needed to develop a sense of trust with the staff.