East Aurora, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the last three years, Western New York-based Fisher-Price has partnered with the Buffalo Bills, Wegmans and Oishei Children's Hospital to release special edition sets of the Little People Collector Series.
Every year, the popularity seems to skyrocket with members of "Bills Mafia" looking to get their own set of Bills Fisher-Price Little People to display or purchase for their kids.
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Given the success of the Bills' releases every year, Fisher-Price is now expanding their Little People Collector Series to all 32 NFL teams and fan bases.
"We really saw the fandom connect with Little People with our sets in the Buffalo market. So we really saw that as a proving ground, and that would be a great way to connect with all 32 teams with the NFL and our launch for this year," said Julia Maher, Brand Marketing Director for Fisher-Price's Little People Collector Series.
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Maher admits the wide-ranging popularity of the Bills Little People Collector Series was a significant factor in Fisher-Price's decision to go beyond Western New York.
"We saw 'Bills Mafia' show up in amazing ways. Arguably, we have the best fandom in the league, but we really saw the opportunity, and what we were finding is we were getting comments on our socials where people were asking for other teams," Maher said. "We really felt like there was that fandom within the NFL, and that could really connect with Little People collectors."
According to Maher, the Bills have been the powerhouse partnership between Fisher-Price, Wegmans and Oishei Children's Hospital. The local activation with Fisher-Price's "Let's go Buffalo Bills Little People" sets over the last three years will add up to over $3 million of being donated to Oishei.
"It's really an incredible local program that we've been able to activate an anniversary for the last three years, which we're so proud to be able to deliver to our local community," Maher said.
While the Little People Collector Series for all 32 NFL teams just launched this past Monday, Maher says there has already been plenty of buzz across all fan bases.
"I will say we're looking at the metrics and we are seeing the Bills fandom still show up in big ways, which is super exciting as we look at it across all of the NFL," she said. "But we're early in the season, we're not even in [regular season] kickoff yet. We're expecting really great things from this program."
So what is unique about each team's Little People Collector Series set? Maher says it starts with the packaging.
"Every set includes four figures, as well as a really amazing package display. We know that for fans, they generally like to keep these in package and put them on display. We've made sure that all comes to life, there's a lot of great illustration," Maher detailed. "There's really connection to the fandom with the slogan, and even celebrating the true fans as figures. So we really made sure there's something for everyone, but most importantly, it connects with the unique fandom of each of the teams."
Maher further says Fisher-Price is still early discussions about potential future plans for the Little People NFL Collector Series. She believes this year will be a great proving ground to see what's next for the company going forward.
"They are available exclusively at MattelCreations.com. Fans can go to the site and pick out any of their favorite teams, or maybe all of their favorite teams!"
Each collector set is available for $25.
To further celebrate the fandom, football enthusiasts can enter Fisher-Price's official fantasy league into the Little People Collector: FANtasy Frenzy Sweepstakes! for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to become immortalized as classic Little People figures.
The sweepstakes runs from Aug. 21 through Sept. 7, and will see one lucky fantasy football league with its very own custom Little People Collector set. Each league member (up to 12 maximum) will be transformed into their very own Little People "super fan" with a personalized jersey and custom collector’s box.