LEGO COMPANY

By GROUP 3

LEGO
COMPANY PROFILE
The name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play
well".
The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The company has
passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of
the founder.
It has come a long way over the past almost 80 years - from a small carpenters
workshop to a modern, global enterprise that is now one of the worlds largest
manufacturers of toys.
The LEGO brick is most important product. It have been named Toy of the Century
twice. The products have undergone extensive development over the years but the
foundation remains the traditional LEGO brick.
The brick in its present form was launched in 1958. The interlocking principle with its
tubes makes it unique and offers unlimited building possibilities. It's just a matter of
getting the imagination going and letting a wealth of creative ideas emerge through
play.
In year 2015 LEGO Group accumulate net profit 1.39 billion USD with 13,974
employees all over the world made it the second largest Toy Manufacturer in the world.
Soure: Lego Group Annual Report 2015; https://wwwsecure.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/management

LEGO

MISSION:
INSPIRE
DEVELOP
BUILDERS
TOMORROW

TO
AND
THE
OF

LEGO
PRODUCT

LEGO
HOW DOES IT APPLY CHARACTER CONCEPT OF
A C IN NEW WAVE MARKETING?

1. The rise in sales in 2014 credited to The Lego Movie, which was released
this past February and made $468 million around the globe while kids
flocked to the store to grab their toys related to the film. The adults
connect with the universal message of the film, which is that its
important to always have an imagination, no matter what age you are.
2. LEGO is crowdsourcing and empowering people to create their own
content, too. That way, people can feel like theyre part of the companys
legacy. In the end, brand loyalty is increased. LEGO Idea is a community
platform that encourages fans and fanatics alike to share their LEGO
creation photos and videos, download apps, and explore LEGO themes
through online games and story lines.

Soure: https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/; https://ideas.lego.com/;

http://www.lego.com/en-us/starwars; http://www.lego.com/en-us/club/member;
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/06/build-brand-content-empire-learn-from-lego/

LEGO
HOW DOES IT APPLY CHARACTER CONCEPT OF
A C IN NEW WAVE MARKETING?

3. Each LEGO story line has a dedicated micro site that features plot
and character explanations, online games, movies, polls and
quizzes and, of course, retail links. Some great examples:
LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Ninjago.
4. For each storyline release, LEGO produces a serial-style movie that
runs both on cable and, eventually, through the LEGO website.
Most recently, LEGO released its LEGO CHIMA series with a new
cartoon through
a partnership with Cartoon Network.
Overall, when ever Lego change their brand/logo,
customers will recognise the products of the Lego
company due to its consistency, and this what we
called character in new wave marketing.
Soure: https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/; https://ideas.lego.com/;
http://www.lego.com/en-us/starwars; http://www.lego.com/en-us/club/member;
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/06/build-brand-content-empire-learn-from-lego/

LEGO
HOW DOES IT APPLY CHARACTER CONCEPT OF
A C IN NEW WAVE MARKETING?

5. LEGO partnered with Merlin Entertainments Group to develop LEGOLAND

theme parks around the world (now six full parks and multiple discovery
centers).
6. LEGO asks users to sign up for a free online ID that allows them to play
multiplayer games, contribute to LEGO galleries, LEGO club and set up a
personal page on the My LEGO Network. This becomes an ideal subscription
strategy for LEGO.
7. Hundred events related to toys, creativity, education involves LEGO in it. Its
used as a enabler, media and stimulator for educational process, not as a event
sponsor.
Overall, when ever Lego change their brand/logo,
customers will recognise the products of the Lego
company due to its consistency, and this what we
called character in new wave marketing.
Soure: https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/; https://ideas.lego.com/;
http://www.lego.com/en-us/starwars; http://www.lego.com/en-us/club/member;
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/06/build-brand-content-empire-learn-from-lego/

LEGO
HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM LEGACY MARKETING APPROACH IN THE
CORRESPONDING CONCEPT?

LEGO
HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM LEGACY MARKETING APPROACH IN THE
CORRESPONDING CONCEPT?
LEGACY MARKETING Before
2008

NEW WAVE MARKETING after

2008

Build brand by opening up to 300

retailer all over the world directly
owned and operated by LEGO

Characterize the brand by intense advertising

the value of its product along with the
consistency related to creativity, education,
imagination, build a dream, and family such as
there is no idea that cannot be expressed by
LEGO, Creativity forgive everything, Kids
shouldnt watch too much TV, etc.

Build brand by develop adjacency and

diversification product software,
lifestyle product for kids (Clikits),
magazine, theme park (LEGO land),
books, and learning concept which
demand additional set of skills away
from the basic skill set within the LEGO
product

Characterize the brand by focusing on the core

which is LEGO brick. LEGO bring their product
into social media platform..

Build brand by developing various new

product done by in house team and tap
in to the movies were box office at that
time

Characterize the brand by end user customer

orientation, developed using focus groups,
crowd sourcing the ideas (LEGO IDEA) and
paying more attention to the AFOLs, the Adult
Fans of Lego using social media and various
events. Also LEGO fans develop their own word
in the social media such as: AFOLs (Adult Fans

Soure: The LEGO case study 2014 by John Ascroft

LEGO
HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM LEGACY MARKETING APPROACH IN THE
CORRESPONDING CONCEPT?

LEGO not just a brand, even Oxford put

LEGO word in their dictionary as a word
which means A construction toy
consisting of interlocking plastic
building blocks, nor microsoft or ford
did.

Soure: The LEGO case study 2014 by John Ascroft

LEGO
LOW-BUDGET
HIGH-IMPACT
MARKETING:
DOES IT REALLY APPLY TO THIS CASE?
1.

On social media, Lego taps into current events and puts their own spin on it. For example, instead of simply
posting Congratulations to Kate and William on their new baby, George, they built LEGO of them all to
commemorate the occasion.
2. Ceaseless Product Innovation. Anybody who is a LEGO fan knows how rapidly the brand introduces new
toy designs and concepts each year to cater to its market. They range from a wide variety of themes like
town and city, space, robots, pirates, Vikings, castle, dinosaurs, the wild west to more recently spinning
ninjas (Ninjago). To cope with the relentless competition, the company invests considerably in its R&D
initiatives and has some 600 United States granted design patents to its name. In fact, product innovation
helped it to avert a near-death experience in 2003. The biggest product innovation of the group is
of course theLEGOLand theme park a culmination of all things LEGO realised in a
human-sized sprawling thematic experience.
3. Interchangeability and Compatibility. While launching an endless stream of new toy products,
LEGO has also taken care to ensure that the basic modular nature of its bricks do not
differ. The ability to forward and backward integrate new product lines with prior
series of toys helps customers to grow and expand their collection without having to
shelve their older toys. The other feature of all LEGO toy sets is the ability to create
multiple options which can be plugged and played with other compatible sets. This
helps to ensure the longevity and play value of its toys while fueling the creativity of
their customers.
4. Crowdsourcing and Fan Engagement. From kids of all ages to teens and adults, fans are a big
reason for the survival of LEGO. In fact, the company embraces an active strategy of
crowdsourcing and community building to get their best customers into the act. One
of these customer engagement platforms is theLEGO Ambassador programmemade
up of 40 fans aged 19 to 65 from around the world, while the second isLEGO Clicks a
Soure: collaborative
https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/
website that encourages fans, artists, designers and inventors to share
their own LEGO creations.

LEGO
LOW-BUDGET
HIGH-IMPACT
MARKETING:
DOES IT REALLY APPLY TO THIS CASE?
5.

6.

7.

A Lego For Any Age, Ability Or Interest. Those familiar with the LEGO brand of toys would know that
there is a LEGO set for kids of any age from Duplo for toddlers, Fabuland for slightly older pre-schoolers,
to the engineering oriented LEGO Mindstorms set complete with motors, batteries and moving mechanical
parts. This focus on disparate segments allowed the brand to transcend different demographic and
psychographic segments, with the latest target group being the hugely lucrative girls market withLEGO
Friends, its latest $40 million marketing push. For kids like my 8 year old boy, the Bionicle and Hero
Factory series seem to resonate with the right mix of technical difficulty, cool heroic robotic designs, and
always awesome macho-istic array of death dealing arsenal.
Inter-generational Marketing. The other aspects of LEGO are its positive skill building qualities coupled
with its longevity as a heritage brand. This helps to brand in inter-generational marketing , reaching both
parents and kids at the same time. Many parents, including yours truly, was raised on an engineering and
spatial intelligence enhancing diet of LEGO, and were partial to its educational qualities (as opposed to the
latest action figure).
Tie-ins With Popular Culture. LEGOs movie tie-ins with cartoons and film franchises are legendary, and
they include Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Thomas the Tank Engine, Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince
of Persia, and the Harry Potter series. By capitalising on popular culture, LEGO is able to ride onto the
current wave of excitement in toys and related merchandising efforts.

Soure: https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/

LEGO
LOW-BUDGET
HIGH-IMPACT
MARKETING:
DOES IT REALLY APPLY TO THIS CASE?
5.

6.

SEASONAL ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS. To reach its customer groups of mostly primary
schooling kids with a heavier skew towards boys than girls, the toy giant also launches various creative
advertisements and promotions that are often linked to their products. Other than the more straightforward
shop & win contest below, LEGO has also launched various promotions tied to the seasons like
Christmas, school holidays and so on. These are often localised and done in partnership with their retail
channel partners.
CREATIVE DISPLAYS. Finally, what sets LEGO toy store displays apart from others is their creative use
of LEGO bricks to create large building structures which are eye catching yet thematic. The imprint of the
LEGO logo on every brick creates a brand identity like no other, and the characteristic shapes of LEGO
bricks moulded and built into different architectural structures always catches the imagination. Most of its
store displays and dioramas are also designed to accentuate the unique features of their
products.

Soure: https://insights.newscred.com/how-lego-builds-imaginative-content-marketing/