How CONNETIX Levelled Up Their Brand Protection Strategy

When you walk through Spielwarenmesse, it’s impossible not to feel the energy of the global toy industry.

New launches, bold creativity, and busy stands from every corner of the world; it’s one of the few places where the entire toys & games ecosystem comes together.

In 2024, a valuable conversation happened entirely by chance.

CONNETIX was about to start its journey towards a stronger brand.

Meeting CONNETIX at Spielwarenmesse 2024

Lean, ambitious, and growing fast, CONNETIX, the educational toy company behind the much-loved magnetic tiles, had a small and focused team attending the fair in 2024.

Their products have become a favourite in homes and classrooms worldwide, but with that success came an increasingly familiar challenge in the toy industry: lookalikes, imitators, and counterfeit products spreading across global marketplaces.

When CONNETIX’s Brand & Operations lead bumped into our Account Executive Stijn, it wasn’t a planned meeting. It was simply the right conversation at the right moment. Stijn listened as they shared the challenges they faced.

The challenges faced by CONNETIX:

• Persistent copycat products diluting hard-earned brand identity
• Factories producing unauthorised replicas
• Sellers ignoring reseller agreements
• Trademark-infringing listings misleading consumers
• Limited visibility into what is happening outside your home market

CONNETIX had already tried tackling the problem with a law-firm-only approach - but the team knew the scale of the online problem was much bigger than the handful of issues they were identifying manually.

Stijn recognised the symptoms immediately, as they were the same pattern that dozens of other toy companies and educational brands were facing. He explained, in simple terms, how a structured, cross-channel, automated brand protection solution could help them regain visibility and control.

It wasn’t a pitch. It was a conversation between people who deeply understood the risks of operating in a high-growth, high-copycat category.

That was the moment things began to shift for the better at CONNETIX.

Why CONNETIX Needed a New Approach

Magnetic tiles are among the most widely imitated toy formats globally.

Low-cost replicas appear on marketplaces, social platforms, and rogue sites, often manufactured in the same regions as legitimate products. These fakes undermine product quality, safety, and consumer trust.

For a brand like CONNETIX, which focuses on learning, play, and child development, the risks were too great to ignore.

The risks posed to toy manufacturers:

• Loss of distinctiveness due to copycat design and trade dress infringement
• Counterfeits coming from overseas factories
• Resellers affecting ‘Buy Box’ performance and brand consistency
• Difficulty spotting cross-border selling activity
• A growing volume of infringements that couldn’t be tackled manually

They needed more than takedowns - they needed visibility.

They needed a strategy.

And they needed a partner like Corsearch, not just a provider.

Moving From Visibility to Control

Shortly after Spielwarenmesse, CONNETIX partnered with Corsearch to build a holistic Online Brand Protection programme.

Instead of reacting to the few infringements they stumbled upon each month, they gained a complete, centralized view of all the aspects impacting brand protection.

Issues impacting Brand Protection:

• Websites misusing their brand
• Marketplace sellers copying their product
• Social accounts using their content
• Cross-border activity disguised through VPNs
• Leakage from their manufacturing supply chain

Our investigations team uncovered an unauthorized factory producing counterfeit magnetic tiles that were being distributed globally. For a company that prides itself on quality and innovation, this visibility was transformational.

The partnership also strengthened CONNETIX’s IP posture -with a clearer understanding of where and how infringement occurred; they began pursuing additional trade dress and patent protections to reinforce their brand for the long term.

At the end of the first full year, CONNETIX’s leadership described the impact as both immediate and strategic: greater control, clearer insights, and significantly more efficient enforcement compared to their previous model.

“Brand protection is essential to our growth. Corsearch didn’t just support us, they helped us build a stronger, more resilient brand for the future.” — Dave, Connetix

A Story Many Toy Brands Will Recognise

CONNETIX’s journey isn’t unique; at Corsearch, we’ve seen many toy brands forced to react to a volatile ecosystem of fakes and counterfeit listings.

Across the toy and game industry, fast-scaling brands face similar challenges that can be easily tackled with a centralized Brand Protection system

Brand Protection challenges in manufacturing:

• Copycat products appearing within weeks of launch
• Social commerce accelerating the spread of unsafe fakes
• Factories manufacturing unauthorised replicas
• Marketplace inconsistencies that confuse consumers
• Increasing regulatory and safety expectations

What made CONNETIX’s story different was timing -they met the right partner at the moment the challenges started affecting their growth.

The Spielwarenmesse event gave CONNETIX a place to ask questions, share concerns, and understand new ways of protecting their brand in a rapidly evolving market.

And it can do the same for others.

Corsearch at Spielwarenmesse 2026

Last year, it was just a handful of conversations. This year, we’re coming back with the cavalry.

“We met Corsearch at Spielwarenmesse and immediately felt understood. They knew our challenges inside out. Since then, they’ve helped us protect our brand, strengthen our IP, and stay ahead of the copycats. It’s been invaluable.” — Dave, CONNETIX

If you’re attending Spielwarenmesse 2026 and are facing any of the challenges CONNETIX described, whether it’s marketplace fakes, copycat designs, reseller issues, visibility gaps, or cross-border enforcement - let’s chat!

No presentations. No pressure. Just a real discussion about what’s happening in the toy industry and what practical steps can help you get ahead of brand misuse in 2026.

Stijn will be there again, along with additional members of our brand protection and investigations teams.

Sometimes, a single conversation can change everything.

Want to Meet at Spielwarenmesse?

We’d love to hear what challenges you’re facing.
Book a meeting with our team or visit us during the event.