In the swiftly-evolving world of kids and family content, staying relevant requires an anticipatory approach, a surfboard ready to ride the trend wave. Jessica Kalichman, a marketing leader with a laser-focused vision, embodies this approach, transforming it into a strategy that’s making waves in the industry.

Jessica’s work revolves around leveraging pop culture trends to craft compelling brand narratives. Her methods have proven transformative, catapulting Fingerlings and WowWee’s My Squishy Little Dumplings into the global limelight. With her at the helm, Fingerlings sales doubled in their second year and earned three Toy of the Year nominations, bagging two wins. As for My Squishy Little Dumplings, Jessica’s dynamic strategies led to a coveted partnership with Nickelodeon and an Emmy nomination in the Kids & Family category.

The intersection of pop culture and the rapidly evolving digital landscape forms the epicenter of Jessica’s trend wave. She has choreographed over 160 TV commercials, YouTube ads, instructional videos, and YouTube mini-series, accumulating hundreds of millions of views. Each piece of content is a testament to Jessica’s acute trend-spotting skills and ability to translate that into an impactful narrative. Her most recent project, Dog-E, a robot dog launched at CES, exemplifies her adeptness at harnessing trends, earning billions of media impressions despite the absence of a dedicated booth.

Jessica’s early career, beginning as an intern at ALDO, laid the foundation for her approach. Her role expanded into copywriting and social media management, wherein she grasped the importance of authentic relationships, setting the tone for a new brand within the ALDO Product Services division. Further, at Call It Spring, she led global brand campaigns and oversaw partnerships with Disney and ME to WE Charity, ensuring her work resonated with audiences worldwide.

Amid the ever-shifting media, content, and influencers’ landscape, Jessica has consistently ridden the wave, adapting her strategies to maintain relevance. For My Squishy Little Dumplings, Jessica made an unforgettable impact with a dynamic media mix during its launch. This included a TV commercial with over 400 million impressions, a digital partnership with Nickelodeon resulting in 65 million views and 128.8 million minutes of watch time, and 8 original songs with 650K streams across music platforms. Influencer campaigns using the original music generated over 10 million views, while a collaboration with the Roblox game “Twilight Daycare” garnered millions of engagements and enthusiastic social comments. Jessica spearheaded the first My Squishy Little Dumplings lyric video by initiating a concert on Roblox, which Nickelodeon later featured on its namesake YouTube channel. Through Jessica’s effective PR initiatives, she garnered widespread coverage for My Squishy Little Dumplings for licensing announcements, product launches, and subsequent product offerings.

Despite the rapid shifts in the industry, Jessica keeps people at the core of her strategy, reminding us of the joy of inclusivity. Her recent marketing and public relations campaigns have opened up the product development and marketing process to customers, adding another layer of authenticity and connection. It’s about letting people in, sharing, and ensuring that the wave she’s riding isn’t exclusive but a collective journey.

With the original launch of Fingerlings in 2017, the emphasis was on PR, TV, and leveraging large-scale influencers. While these elements remain crucial for success in 2023, Jessica’s PR campaign has resulted in Fingerlings planning to introduce new characters to broaden their media mix. Key components will include a significant YouTube campaign, mobile gaming ads, mass micro-influencer gifting, and a holistic campaign theme that extends beyond toy sales. The tagline "Friendship @ Your Fingertips" lies at the heart of all Fingerlings products, reinforcing the message Jessica and the company aim to convey to parents and children alike. The brand will provide prompts, ideas, and opportunities for customers to demonstrate kindness and be there for themselves and their communities.

From shoes to toys, Jessica has consistently stayed relevant through trends across industries, skillfully surfing on her forward-thinking approach. As she looks to the future, Jessica hopes to continue building her legacy in the content production and social media space, with an eye on globally recognized brands and new projects that align with her passions. In the dynamic world of kids and family content, Jessica’s surfboard is ready for the next wave. And we can’t wait to see where it takes her.