Global toy manufacturer Mattel has revealed details of how its technology tie-up with Google Cloud is allowing the firm to respond to customer feedback in real time and accelerate its product innovation and development processes.

During the opening keynote of the Google Cloud Next partner and customer conference in Las Vegas, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz opened up about how the company is tapping into the public cloud platform’s data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to enhance what he described as “one of the most iconic product portfolios in the world”.

“At Mattel, our mission is to create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. This year, we’re celebrating 80 years, and … Mattel today is a global brand management company, home to one of the most iconic portfolios in the world,” said Kreiz.

Specfically, Mattel is using Google Cloud’s data analytics capabilities to analyse customer feedback from a diverse array of sources in real time, and this has allowed it to reduce its data-processing time for this information from a month to a minute, it claimed.

“Our partnership with Google Cloud has helped us synthesise millions of points of consumer feedback from phone calls and emails to online reviews and social media comments, delivering insights and opportunities to deepen our relationship with Mattel fans,” said Kreiz, during the Google Cloud Next keynote.

“Before partnering with Google Cloud, teams identified patterns manually. Now we can analyse sentiment and consumer preferences in real time. [Now] we can instantly identify key issues and trends, improving both efficiency and innovation.”

The insights gleaned from its customer data has allowed Mattel to dig deeper into who its audience is so that it can cater to the distinct needs and wants of its customer base, which has generated customer loyalty benefits.

With Google Cloud’s assistance it is now possible for the company to differentiate between parents buying toys for their children to adults who might be interested in buying its brands from a toy collectors’ perspective and adjust its offerings to them accordingly, for example.

The company has also drawn on Google Cloud’s capabilities to automate the analysis of its customer reviews so improvements can be swiftly made to its flagship products. Including, as name-checked during the keynote by Kreiz, its Barbie Dreamhouse and the Fisher Price interactive Kick and Play Piano product for toddlers.

“These are two of our top-selling global products that have been made even better through data-driven insights. We see Google Cloud as a true partner in bringing the magic of play to life for every Mattel fan,” he added.

This year’s Google Cloud Next conference has, as in previous years, seen the public cloud giant shine a light on the various ways its technologies are enabling AI-focused digital transformation projects to proceed in a variety of industries, with a slew of new product enhancements announced in support of this. 

As well as retail, Computer Weekly reported earlier this week on how Google Cloud’s AI technology is being used by firms in the highly regulated legal sector to automate repetitive processes and assist with more complex casework tasks.

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