TAGIE Nominations Open - New Categories!
Nominations for the 10th Annual Toy & Game Innovation Awards
Open to Industry Professionals through August 30th
CHICAGO, Ill. (July 24th, 2017) – Nominations are now open for the 2017 Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs), an elegant and playful annual gala event during Chicago Toy & Game Week that celebrates the outstanding achievements of the innovative and creative people bringing toy and game ideas to life.
The tenth annual TAGIEs will once again honor the masters of toy and game innovation, design and marketing. The 2017 categories now open for nomination by all members of the toy and gaming industry include:
Toy Inventor of the Year
Game Inventor of the Year
Rising Star Inventor of the Year
Young Inventor of the Year
Innovative Marketing Team of the Year
Art and Design Visuals of the Year
Five finalists for each of the six categories will be announced on September 18th, at which time voting will open to the general public, media and industry.
New for 2017 is the Innovative Marketing Team of the Year and Art and Design Visual of the Year. These categories recognize the innovation in marketing and design to bring the idea and product to life and into the hands of our consumers.
A separate committee of industry experts will determine the honorees for the following closed TAGIEs categories:
Founder's Award
Inventor Advocate
In Memoriam Presentation
Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Lifetime Achievement
“The TAGIE nominations recognize the special individuals and teams from around the world who spend countless hours inventing, designing and bringing ideas for toys and games to life that everyone enjoys and that connects us to one another,” said Mary Couzin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Toy & Game Group. “The awards gala brings together everyone for an elegant evening celebrating these industry creatives for their vision, spirit of fun, philanthropy and humanitarianism.”
The TAGIEs ceremony takes place Friday, November 17th, 2017 with an elegant evening of entertainment that includes cocktail hour, a seated dinner and the awards program.
Winners and honorees of the 2016 TAGIEs (announced last year), presented by Hasbro, along with lead sponsors NBC Universal, Jeffrey Breslow, TIA, The Michael Kohner Corporation, and The Hassenfeld Family Initiatives were:
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - David Yakos, Steamline Design with Lionel Trains for Mega Tracks
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - Jeremy Posner, Big Monster Toys with FatBrain Toys for Coggy
RISING STAR INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - Alice Brooks, Roominate with PlayMonster for Cotton Candy Carnival
DIGITAL TOY OR GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - Phoebe Hayman, Seedling for Maze
The Inventor Advocacy Honoree was awarded to the UK Inventor Dinner Committee and accepted by Simon Skelton.
The Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award honored Special Olympics of Chicago.
The Lifetime Achievement Honoree was Reyn Guyer, who developed and licensed Twister game to Milton Bradley/Hasbro and developed and licensed NERF BALL to Parker Brothers/Hasbro.
About the TAGIEs
Founded in 2008, the Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs) celebrate the outstanding achievements of toy and game industry leaders from around the world, by honoring masters of innovation and invention. The evening also pays homage to industry professionals who differentiate themselves with their spirit for fun, philanthropy, inventor advocacy, creativity and humanitarianism. Inventors, designers, manufacturers, retailers, media and the general public come together for this prestigious annual gala event. The TAGIEs are hosted in the fall in conjunction with the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Fair, the PlayCHIC toy-inspired Fashion Show and Toy & Game Inventor Conferences. For more information, visit http://www.chitag.com/tagies.
About the Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc. 2015
The Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc. oversees toy industry initiatives designed to encourage and promote the power of play and invention in social, educational, and professional environments. Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Group initiatives include the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Fair, the PlayCHIC Fashion Show, the Toy & Game Innovation of the Year (TAGIE) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the New Inventor Conference, the Professional Inventors Conference, Games for Educators, Discover Games and the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Foundation. For more information, visit www.ChiTAG.com or email info@chitag.com.
