Lego: Back to the Bricks

I can remember going to my friend Fred’s house as a child and spending countless hours organizing, assembling, reorganizing and re-assembling our Legos.  We would take breaks and watch TV, play on Fred’s Nintendo, or occasionally dip into the G.I. Joe or the Matchbox cars, but we spent the majority of our time in Fred’s basement with our immense Lego collections.  I remember that Lego had some trouble in the early part of the 2000’s, but I was graduating from college at the time and I didn’t pay much attention to it.  By the time that I had kids and was looking to help them build a Lego empire of their own, the brand was exploding and the toys were everywhere.  Lego was a popular toy when I was a child, but no more popular than Matchbox cars or Starcom figures and fighters.  I found myself wondering what changed to make Lego a major global brand with the top grossing movie blockbuster two weeks in a row at the theaters.

A recent article from The Economist highlights the journey of Lego from a standard toy from a struggling toy company to the second largest global toy brand, overtaking Hasbro in 2012 and trailing only Mattel in the finicky global  toy market.  The article gives a great rundown of the history and origin of the company, and gives credit to current CEO Vig Knudstorp and his “Back to the bricks” approach for turning the company around.  It also points to the divesting of the Lego brand into clothing and apparel in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s as a desperate attempt to gain value, and a failed effort to re-enforce the brand recognition among consumers.

The article, however, fails to highlight the brilliance of Lego to engage effectively the integrated approach to marketing that so many brands are failing to fully implement.  I was at Target a few weeks ago looking for some household items when I saw a Wii video game that featured the Marvel action heroes on the cover.  They weren’t just Marvel heroes, though, they were Lego Marvel action heroes.  I almost bought it, and would have except that the last instruction that I got from my wife when I left the house with my son was “No toys this time.  Just get the shampoo and come home.”  So, we skipped it, but put it on the list for the next time that we are out and about and looking for something to kill an afternoon with.  Between the video games, the major motion picture, and the collaboration with educational institutions like MIT, Lego has built brand recognition and legitimacy across platforms and has engaged a narrative for its products that has connected both with Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL – yes this is a thing) and a new generation of Lego admirers.

Lego has successfully integrated its marketing strategy into the right kinds of media and networks to give it a major global advantage in the market for children’s toys.   Engaging foreign markets will be key to the long term growth sustainability, and keeping pace with a market that shifts almost constantly with new technologies and demands from parents for more intentional educational materials for their children will be a constant challenge.  Lego, however, is developing a knack for walking the line between tradition and development, and though sales have slowed a bit, I see Lego as having the potential to provide my grand kids the same opportunity that they have provided the previous generations:  the opportunity to play well.