Drew Vernon (MBA ’12) has talked to a lot of parents and educators over the years as a member of the tonies USA team.
What they’ve told him is this: The company’s Toniebox—the screen-free, sensory-friendly storytelling device children can control independently—is a valuable educational tool. It promotes early childhood literacy, reduces daily screen time, and improves children’s attention spans, comprehension, and creativity.
These are outcomes Vernon was certain of when he joined the company’s United States launch team as the marketing director in April 2020. And the more conversations Vernon had in his role, the more he knew he needed to use data to prove and effectively communicate the Toniebox’s educational impact, build brand awareness and trust, and increase accessibility for children and teachers.
In 2024, Vernon, who earned his MBA in marketing from the Wisconsin Full-Time MBA Program at the Wisconsin School of Business, partnered with researchers Dr. Peter Wardrip and Dr. Katherine Norman, both of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education.
Working with his alma mater was organic. Vernon was introduced to Wardrip before meeting him at a Madison conference on play-based learning.
“It was a bit serendipitous to be connected to my alma mater, but it has been a fantastic partnership from the beginning,” Vernon says. “It’s hard to describe, but there’s been a shared Wisconsin spirit that’s helped us build a relationship quickly. This commonality has benefited the quality of our research.”
Reading proficiency by third grade has shown to be a benchmark for future academic and life success.
inflatable Toniebox bounce house used at a
company event.
The study, published earlier this year, found children ages 3 to 5 years old who regularly used and listened to the Toniebox showed higher emergent literacy scores than those who didn’t. There was also a significant reduction in the number of children who exceed one hour of daily screen time. Children age 8 and younger spend an average of 2.5 hours a day on screens, according to a 2025 study by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that routinely tracks screen use for children ages 0 to 8 years old.
“To reach a kid in those development stages is crucial, and to give them the opportunity to listen, and to imagine, and to stretch their creative muscles is really imperative,” Vernon says.
The study evaluating the Toniebox’s impact has been a game changer in popularizing the Toniebox, he says, but it’s also done something else.
“It makes the Toniebox more accessible to more kids because teachers now have a published report from the University of Wisconsin that they can use to write grants,” Vernon says. “We’re starting to see more and more success stories of teachers that are getting funded to purchase tonies for the classroom based on the evidence that the report found.”
The idea to back up the Toniebox with research builds off Vernon’s marketing experience at Procter & Gamble and Lego and his time at WSB. The Wisconsin MBA gave Vernon the skills, experiences, mentorship, and network to excel in his first post-MBA job and his career growth since.
“My MBA prepared me academically by giving me a broad foundation in business basics and a specialized understanding of brand marketing,” he says. “More importantly, however, my experience helped me develop leadership and communication skills needed to succeed in the workplace. I will always be grateful for the opportunities that have been provided to me by the Wisconsin School of Business.”
During his time as tonies marketing director, he used his skills to help build the brand from the ground up in the U.S. He created communities through ambassador networks and Facebook groups for teachers and librarians, appeared on national television programs, and partnered with his childhood hero—LeVar Burton, who he watched on Reading Rainbow—to be the company’s first spokesperson.
Improving children’s literacy and fostering screen-free play aren’t just important to Vernon, who became the director of education at tonies in March 2024; they are values that guide every decision.
He puts the Wisconsin Idea into practice each day—driven by a vision where every child thrives through story and imagination.
“The least that we can do as adults, and educators, and parents is to give our kids the right tools to learn the skills that they’re going to need as they grow up,” Vernon says.