Adventures in Deal Toys
By BankersBall on Mar 3, 2008 in Tools
The humble lucite commemorative deal toy is the latest American export.
Ever wonder what to get to commemorate that latest deal in Dubai? “[H]eavy glass and crystal deal toys are especially popular among clients from the Middle East, as they tend to view Lucite as a rather informal material. Americans frequently opt for the 25 lb deal toy that hints at excess or tells an inside joke,” reports the FT.
Besides cultural appropriateness, Dan Cummings, an MD at Merrill Lynch tells the FT that deal toys must be authentic. He relates:
“Not long ago, we did a deal toy in the shape of a duck for a floating-rate transaction. Afterward, we got a call from the bankers. They weren’t happy with the ducks, because they didn’t float. I said, ‘You know, we didn’t anticipate you taking the ducks into the bath with you.’ But these details matter.”
Deal toys are more popular across the pond, too. Global Design Network is planning on opening a London branch to deal with the spread of the deal toy idea across the pond. (Don McDonald & Son, who claims to have made the first deal toy ever back in 1974, is already operating out of London.)
Meanwhile, the roiling markets are hurting deal toy makers. Kim Russo, founder of New York-based deal toy maker GDN, may drive a Mercedes and lives in a $1.5m Wall St condo, but also says she keeps “CNBC on all day…When the subprime crisis hit, we felt it. And when Goldman Sachs reported positive earnings this fall and some of the deals started back up again, we felt that too.”
>> Check out our list of deal toys providers.
On Mar 6, 2008, John Mezzanotte said:
GDS pays attention to the details. Ms. Russo’s dedication to her clients is well established and the reason for the Company’s success. She lives the business and is involved in the deal world well beyond making deal toys.
On Mar 6, 2008, Marcel Omony said:
lucites are anything but humble! especially from GDN - they are extremely creative even with bankers tight budget constraints.
On Mar 7, 2008, phil said:
It is so painfully obvious that the last 6 comments left on this and the other GDN article are from members of the company. Enough shameless plugging, it’s like reading out of a badly written prospectus.
On Mar 9, 2008, Hank said:
Nobody who ever ordered a lucite would write something like “Ms. Russo’s dedication to her clients is well established” or “she lives the business and is involved in the deal world well beyond making toys.” You call the frigging deal toy company a few times to get something designed and you’re done with it. Its not that big a deal.