A MAGICal Night at ToyCon with Peter Guber

Once upon a time, under a starry desert sky, more than 200 people gathered to hear a story from one of the entertainment world’s most noted storytellers: Peter Guber.

Guber, Founder and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and veteran Hollywood visionary, told his entranced audience that the key to success is to always remember that you’re a storyteller, and that everything you do and experience is a story waiting to be told.

According to Guber, the world of toys is no different. As digital play begins to evolve, the lesson to be learned is that you have to stay in the game even if you experience failure after failure. He recounted some of his own failures throughout his career, and pointed out the joy of success was always worth the pain.

Over the course of his career, Guber has been able to synthesize his experiences to develop a formula for success that he calls MAGIC:

M = Motivation

A = Audience

G = Goals

I = Interactivity

C = Control

The MAGIC of success is to get other people to do what they ordinarily wouldn’t do. Guber asserted there is no such thing as a customer. Instead, you are communicating to an audience that is hungry for an emotional connection. It’s up to you to move people’s hearts with your stories and with your products. Your business becomes “emotional transportation” instead of a series of transactions.

Guber certainly made an emotional connection with his audience tonight, as his speech was received with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

Goodnight from Day 2 of ToyCon. See you tomorrow!