Subject:
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Juniorization Lives, and comments on marketing strategy
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.dear-lego
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Date:
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Fri, 2 Feb 2001 14:37:31 GMT
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Dear LEGO -
From what we've heard we haven't seen the last of Juniorization. I'm very
disappointed about the news re: the Jack Stone line. I wasn't too excited about
the line to begin with (because it isn't my thing), but to hear that its
Juniorized AND Creator figs makes me cringe.
I've had many a phone conversation with friends who are all passionate about the
brick, across the spectrum here on LUGNET. In most of these conversations, we
discuss LEGO's marketing strategy and how it relates to the market, what our
feelings on good strategies would be, etc.
You know our take as a community on the decline of the product line over the
past 5 years or so. 2001 looked like a bright light for us, with less
Juniorization, but the Toy Fair revealings seem to shoot our hopes down.
I feel that for LEGO to survive in the current toy market, it is imperative that
it remain true to its roots - Only the Best is Good Enough, and making sure
EVERY piece is compatible in a complete system of play. Juniorization defeats
the purpose of having a construction toy. DO NOT MARKET IT for your entire
range of products. If you are to keep Juniorization, keep it in the 4-6 age
range and after that provide more challenging, stimulating products. Take for
example the Town of 6+ years ago - it was very well done. I have a Truck Show
yellow Limited Edition truck on my desk which to me embodies what Town should be
built like.
Its my strong opinion that kids should rise to the bar of the stimulating system
of play LEGO provides, instead of LEGO stooping to their level. With the
latter, the kids do not develop, and they fall further victim to the mindless
pop culture and video game generation. You can still sell intellectually
stimulating construction toys to kids and turn a profit, you don't have to make
your product mediocre to move it.
Pump LEGO in education. You have Dacta already, but how many people know Dacta
exists, really? Market Dacta on Saturday morning and prime time sitcoms - do
short segments (similar to NBC's The More You Know) as educational tidbits
integrating LEGO Dacta products - so the parents and kids know its out there,
and the teachers are encouraged by it and want to use it in the classroom. The
parents and the kids will go to the teachers asking about it, and the teachers
will know what they're talking about.
Pumping Dacta and getting it distributed to a wider range of schools will
increase LEGO sales across the board. Kids play with LEGO at school so they
want to play with it at home. The stuff at school is challenging so they are
challenged to build better models at home. Once kids reach school age, this
eliminates the percieved 'need' for juniorized models.
Give the kids something they can be creative with - don't rely on all licensing.
Licensing is good for companies now, but if you rely too heavily on it you lose
your distinct identity which you claim to want to protect. Balance.
Another good strategy is create products for the older kids which will ensure an
AFOL market 10, 15, 20 years down the road. You don't want to make products so
bad that when adults look back on the toy they had when they are kids they don't
see the possibilities like adults do now. You want the AFOL market because even
though small, it is substantial. And you want the AFOL market to grow in
numbers, these are the biggest spenders.
Leave no one out - but keep your product educational and stimulating. Strive to
bring people to the next level of difficulty product, instead of providing
ready-made solutions with one-purpose parts - such as that hideous car base for
Town Jr.
When I read the Children are our Role Models announcement:
http://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=27
I became sick. I quote this paragraph:
--
Within very short time, the LEGO brick has twice been named Toy of the Century.
Fortune Business Magazine was the first in November 1999; then in January 2000
came the award from the British Association of Toy Retailers (BATR). We are
naturally proud of the honour, which imposes on us an obligation to continue to
do our best in the new millennium to strengthen the famous LEGO brand and to
stimulate children's imagination, creativity and enthusiasm through play and
learning.
--
You market dumbed-down products while claiming to be stimulating kids
'imagination, creativity, and enthusiasm through play and learning.' And
further down...
--
The basis for all LEGO products and activities is our belief that children and
their needs must be taken seriously. We see it as our most important task to
stimulate children's imagination and creativity and to encourage them to
explore, experience and express their own world - a world without limits.
--
A world without limits - provided it remains limited by Juniorized products
which you must market. I'm sorry but I don't see how single-purpose parts
stimulate imagination. Just how many Juniorized sets can you take and create
something you see posted on LUGNET with? That's imagination, not pre-fab toys.
Go back to your roots, the concept is sound and it will not fail you if
implemented correctly.
--
We see children as our role models. They are curious, imaginative and creative.
They embrace discovery and wonder. And they are natural learners. These are
precious qualities that should be nurtured and stimulated throughout life.
--
Are you nurturing and stimulating this with a Juniorized product line?
I hope you understand my point. This is only the tip of the iceberg on my
feelings about LEGO's marketing. One last thing - involve the AFOL community
more. We're amazed at the involvement you've given us this far, but lets
increase that. You can get fresh enthusiasm and creativity to enhance your
ventures in the toy market and in your displays and events worldwide. I'm sure
that many an AFOL would love to be involved with the company on some level.
--
Tim Courtney - tim@zacktron.com
http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
http://www.zacktron.com - Zacktron Alliance
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Message has 10 Replies:
 | | NY Times article on strategy
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| The New York Times had an article on TLC today focusing on the Bionicle line and TLC's positioning of this product as a form of "interactive" type "action figure" geared toward the 10 year old market - the age at which kids traditionally abandon (...) (24 years ago, 3-Feb-01, to lugnet.dear-lego) !
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