The Snowball Effect: How Totter + Tumble Became a Name US Parents (and Editors) Know

Written By Kristina Godfrey

When Totter + Tumble set out to win over American families, it had everything a brand could want except the one thing money can't buy quickly: awareness. A beautiful, design-forward playmat — the kind that looks more like a considered piece of home decor than baby gear — entering one of the most crowded, competitive markets in the world, where even the best products can disappear into the noise.

Years later, Totter + Tumble is a brand US parents recognize, editors trust, and gift guides return to season after season. The growth didn't come from a single viral moment. It came from something steadier and far more durable: a snowball effect, built one placement at a time.

This is how it happened.

The Challenge

Totter + Tumble had a genuinely differentiated product — a luxurious, padded playmat in elegant, design-led prints that parents actually wanted in their living rooms. But "a great product" and "a known product" are two very different things, especially for a UK brand crossing the Atlantic into a US market saturated with baby and home brands all fighting for the same editors, the same gift guides, and the same parents.

The goal was clear: build real, lasting awareness with American families — and do it in a way that would compound over time, not fade the moment a campaign ended.

The Approach

GSPR built a PR program rooted in consistency and relationships rather than one-off splashes. Month after month, we pitched the product into the stories where design-conscious parents were already looking: gift guides, "best of" roundups, baby gear edits, and the home and lifestyle coverage where Totter + Tumble's aesthetic could truly shine.

We leaned into what made the product special — the fact that it didn't look like a playmat at all. One editor put it perfectly in a headline: a play mat that fooled everyone who walked into her living room, including her. That design-forward angle gave editors a reason to feature it not just as baby gear, but as a smart, beautiful addition to a modern home.

And critically, we played the long game. Every placement made the next one easier. Editors who covered Totter + Tumble once came back to feature it again. Awareness built on awareness. The snowball started rolling.

The Results

The numbers tell the story of a brand steadily breaking through:

Nearly 200 earned placements secured since 2022 — and counting.

Year-over-year momentum that mirrors the brand's own growth in the US:

  • 2022: 31 placements — the foundation

  • 2023: 42 placements — building credibility

  • 2024: 65 placements — the snowball in full effect

Coverage in the outlets that shape what American parents buy and trust, including Forbes, Parents, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Country Living, Apartment Therapy, Vogue, Glamour, New York Magazine's The Strategist, Babylist, Motherly, Reader's Digest, Woman's World, The Bump, and Tinybeans — reaching audiences in the hundreds of millions.

And the kind of repeat coverage that proves a brand has truly arrived: Totter + Tumble became a name editors at Forbes, Parents, Babylist, The Bump, and The Strategist returned to again and again, featuring it across years of gift guides, awards, and must-have roundups — from Forbes' best toys and parenting essentials to Babylist's "best baby gear you probably don't know about."

This is what earned media looks like when it's built to last: coverage the brand can leverage across its marketing, its retail conversations, and its credibility with the next editor, the next retailer, and the next parent.

Featured Totter + Tumble Coverage

The Takeaway

PR isn't a light switch. It's a snowball.

The brands that break through in the US aren't usually the ones that spend the most or shout the loudest — they're the ones that show up consistently, in the right places, with a story worth telling, and let awareness compound over time. Totter + Tumble committed to that long game, and the payoff has been a brand that American families know, editors champion, and the market takes seriously.

That's the power of a true PR partnership: not a moment, but momentum.

Ready to build your brand's snowball?

Godfrey Social PR helps baby, kids, family, and home brands break through and build lasting awareness with the parents and editors who matter most. If you have a product worth knowing about, let's make sure the world knows about it.

Get in touch → info@godfreysocialpr.com

Kristina Godfrey
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