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This is the text of Jake's speech. It is not verbatim, it is his speaker notes
(shared with me per preagreement) but he didn't say this word for word. However
it's what he said, in essence:
- start -
What an amazing event! Once again, you’ve pulled off an incredible experience. I
have a unique opportunity to see many of the fan events. Each time, there is a
huge leap forward both in event enjoyment, MOC quality, international
attendance, you name it and it’s growing! As Steve mentioned Friday night, there
are people here from all over the world. There are three standards coming
together in the MOC room – Moonbase, Classic Castle, and Trains.
2003 was an amazing year. Every year the LEGO Community has continued to grow,
but 2003 was even more notable. Every morning when I turned on my computer, I
wondered what it was that was going to make my jaw drop that day. Very few days
went by where I didn’t go home more impressed than I was the day before.
Events got larger. Displays got more complex and detailed. Clubs picked up a
continual stream of new members. New clubs formed regularly. Online sites and
tools continued to be created and improved upon.
Let’s recap some of the biggest events in 2003:
• ILTCO formed
• Sci-Brick formed
• Classic Castle formed
• Europeans start working on EuroBricks, a potential organization of organizations
• Moonbase and Classic-Castle building standards moved far
• First German public event took place with huge numbers and amazing detail
• LEGOWorld – a partnership between LEGO Company and fans
• Kjeld attends LEGOWorld showing support
• Fans Meet Kjeld and have a chance to talk and share their LEGO moment
• Fans win Search For Master Builder
• Number of AFOLs working in Brand Retails stores gets huge
• Pick-a-brick hits numerous stores
• LEGO Stores hooking up with LEGO fans
• What Will You Make? Road Show draws 20 clubs from North America to work side by side with LEGO Company
2003 also saw a huge leap in the way that the LEGO Company approaches and thinks
about community.
At the very end of 2002, Brad pulled together a group of 10 community minded
people to dive into the question “What is Community” and how the LEGO Company
should approach it. Brad called it the “Launch Crew” in respect for the pending
Mission To Mars.
After nearly 10 weeks locked in a room together, we had a definition of
community we were pleased with, as well as a road map for how we could “infect”
the company with the concepts of community.
The way we now define the “LEGO Community” is:
The LEGO Community is a group of people who form relationships over time by
interacting regularly around LEGO experiences, which are of interest to all of
them for varying individual reasons.
Basically, we mean that the LEGO community is made up of anyone that has a “LEGO
Moment” – a moment in time when a person connects with the brick. This includes
people both inside and outside the company.
As you heard Tormod talk about yesterday, another outcome of the Launch Crew was
the creation of a team specifically dedicated to community related programs and
support efforts. You’ve probably seen the new group name in my LUGNET post
footer: LEGO Community Development.
As of January 1, 2003, our group now owns a number of community related programs
such as First LEGO League, LEGO MINDSTORMS Centers, and of course our AFOL
support. As of January 1, I moved from my full-time Senior Web producer role for
LEGO.com, with part-time AFOL support, to full-time AFOL support.
We’ve accomplished quite a lot this year. One of my main 2003 priorities was to
work with colleagues internally to start to inject community thinking into more
and more of our activities and thinking.
The What Will You Make road show was an amazing example of this. After many
weeks of discussing the concept of not only including, but integrating the AFOLs
into an official event, it was set.
It was an empty tent! We said, here is the space, do something cool. And you
DID!!!! It was ALL cool, every stop!!!! AND it did what we wanted.... lots of
people came, the fans were ultra reliable, hit their times, hit their
committments. Doubting Thomas colleage said "I was completely wrong!!!"
And after 20+ weeks, the concept proved wildly successful. 2003 brought
countless inquiries from colleagues asking about ideas for including AFOLs in
projects and concepts. The fans hit the intranet home page at least once a
month, and every issue of our quarterly internal newsletter.
I’ve just come back from 10 days in Europe talking to LEGO colleagues. I put
together an internal tour, of sorts, to talk about who that odd beast the AFOL
is. Who are they? What do they do? Why do they do it?
The tour went over wonderfully, and I have a great many leads for some really
terrific things coming soon. In fact, several design teams have asked about
getting a select few fans involved. One is a future technology product, and one
is a future system building concept. Both are incredibly cool.
The amazing thing here is that after years of discussion, prodding, and poking,
my colleagues are actively seeking out AFOL involvement! It’s wonderful to see
this change, but I’m not stopping here. I’m going to continue to push, poke, and
prod!
In 2004, LEGO Community Development, also known as LCD, is focused on one main
goal: help build and maintain relationships with our core consumers. You. But
why?
I have a saying I used very often. If you’ve ever had a conversation with me
about community, you’ve almost certainly heard me say it. If you stand within 10
feet of me at the office, you’ll hear me say it. It’s my mantra, and my mission
statement.
Everybody goes home happy!
Like it says in our definition of community, we’re all in this for varying
individual reasons. You’re here because you love building with LEGO. You put on
large public events because you love to do it. Some clubs might work together
with employees at a LEGO Store to get a product discount. And of course, LEGO is
here to sell product, no secret about that.
The important thing for all of us to remember, especially all of you, is that if
you aren’t happy, then the relationship is setup wrong. If we work together on
an event like the WWYM road show, and you didn’t enjoy being there, something’s
wrong. If we develop a product discount program that doesn’t move any product,
something’s wrong.
But this is a relationship, and relationships are long term. In order to do
anything long term, you’re going to have hits and misses. Together, we’re going
to fall but not fail.
Something else you hear me talk about a lot is this idea of an “open and honest
relationship”. Sure there are things I can’t tell you, just like there are
things you won’t tell me. But that doesn’t mean you’ll ever hear me make things
up.
A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
kids. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a quality issue, or at least the design
lab’s vision of quality. There isn’t anything I’m hiding, it wasn’t a cost
issue, and it wasn’t anything to do with being able to get the ABS.
Brad has said in the past “We trust you with our brand”. The more we work
together with you, the more you do amazing public events, the more positive
media coverage you get, the more that trust grows.
By the same token, I hope that your trust in me continues to grow. I’m your
advocate, and I’m your voice in the company. I fight daily, literally daily, to
get your questions and requests answered.
It’s no secret that 2003 was a rough year. But I have great faith in the
direction for 2004. You’ve heard that we’re changing Explore back to the DUPLO
name, and are going to fight to regain lost ground. The new products this year
are amazing – the Hagrid’s Hut set, one I just built a few nights ago, is jaw
dropping cool. The Star Wars line is very nice this year. And even though I
can’t announce it, there may be a product in the pipeline that will make you
scream.
For 2004, I’ve dubbed it the year of activating the sleepers. We all hear
stories all the time about LEGO builders who are fans but don’t realize it.
People who buy sets, build creations, and even have national cable networks
rebuild their LEGO themed rooms. But these folks often haven’t even had the
synapses fire that make them wonder if there are others out there like them. I
call them the sleepers.
So how do we draw them into the community? How do we pull over these energetic
new faces?
First off, I’m working with the one and only Greg Hyland to create a comic book
about the LEGO fans. Something you can use to help tell the world what being an
AFOL is all about. We’ll work on getting these distributed out to places where
potential new AFOLs frequent.
As you hear this week, we are working closely together to help support the
LEGOFan.net project this year. As you may have read, this site is meant to help
provide, among other things, a clear picture of the entire LEGO fan landscape,
both online and offline. This should help new fans become better acclimated and
much faster at that.
And lastly, I’ve just started to work on a concept together with a very small
group of fans to develop a challenge, the purpose of which to find and award the
best efforts from LEGO fans across a broad range of subjects., past present and
most importantly: future.
Have an idea for a new piece of software? A new Web site? A new club in your
area? Well get cracking! The rewards will be big and the glory will be bigger.
So to conclude, 2003 was an amazing community year, but I truly believe 2004 is
going to put it to shame!
Open for Q&A
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Here are the first few questions
Colors:
A:
Jake is answering the color qiuestion: We had to (see text) but we did not
communicate right. They are NOT coming back. but...
we are going to try to produce some old colors in bulk... 10000 bags of each of
several SKUa and when they are gone they are gone.
Q: mosaics"
A: everything produced in 2004 will be new.
Q:Jason Krish: CC: Would any (new) Classic Space/Castle Legends be with the old
or new light grey??
A: New production, new gray
Q: Nik Pieniazek: Skin tones, saw them in HP? The brickswest Q&A said only real
people get skin tones...
A: yes, HP has skin tones... we thought long and hard about this at NBA time...
We do not yellow to mean white. We want it to be generic. So ANY thing with a
real person, or a character will be flesh tone... but alpha team and world city
will be skin tones... duplo has had skin tones, remember.
Q: Chris Giddens: AIM: Is Lego continuing it's relationship with Nasa, and is
SPACE (pause... wait for it) coming back?
A: Tormud: we are not sure about NASA, we hope so... maybe.
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Grr. I lost the rest of the questions that I was going to post and we are out of
time.... this was a pretty short question time.
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Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> Let’s recap some of the biggest events in 2003:
[...a lot of positive things...]
• We lost some of the primary building colours.
> 2003 also saw a huge leap in the way that the LEGO Company approaches and thinks
> about community.
A "leap off the cliff", in some regards.
> A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
> on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
> the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
> kids. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a quality issue, or at least the design
> lab’s vision of quality. There isn’t anything I’m hiding, it wasn’t a cost
> issue, and it wasn’t anything to do with being able to get the ABS.
Regardless of how honest your answer (and the whole affair) was, it was
communicated in a way that left way more questions than answers. Taking
into account how deep into the core of the very idea of LEGO this change
strikes, a "some kids liked the new colour better than the old one"
sounded very, very much like a "these are not my drugs, officer" kind of
excuse.
I dont't blame you for the change, and I don't blame you for not warning
early (you propably did not know before you were told about the change
by AFOLs/customers). But from the moment the issue reached you, you
should have communicated it better (besides fighting with claws and
teeth against the very idea).
> It’s no secret that 2003 was a rough year. But I have great faith in the
> direction for 2004. You’ve heard that we’re changing Explore back to the DUPLO
> name, and are going to fight to regain lost ground. The new products this year
> are amazing – the Hagrid’s Hut set, one I just built a few nights ago, is jaw
> dropping cool. The Star Wars line is very nice this year. And even though I
> can’t announce it, there may be a product in the pipeline that will make you
> scream.
Yeah. like in "give us our colours back!". I will not invest
(significant) money into new sets this year, but will increase purchases
of old sets and bricks instead. Luckily, the horrible misdesign of the
new castle sets eases my losses.
> As you hear this week, we are working closely together to help support the
> LEGOFan.net project this year. As you may have read, this site is meant to help
> provide, among other things, a clear picture of the entire LEGO fan landscape,
> both online and offline. This should help new fans become better acclimated and
> much faster at that.
This "LEGOFan.net" is still nothing but a newsgroup-invading thread.
> So to conclude, 2003 was an amazing community year, but I truly believe 2004 is
> going to put it to shame!
Like in "Look, more colours got the boot!" and "The 2x4 is gone for
good!"? Or more like "Our new super product: a BobTheBuilder Mecha
following the Bionicle and Knights Kingdom line".
Sorry for sounding pessimistic, but all Jake could do was to confirm my
worst fears.
sad, Christian
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> Here are the first few questions
(all snipped)
Thanks for your efforts, Larry! Always extremely kind of you to spend time
bringing this to everyone unfortunate enough not to be able to attend.
--Dave
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Hello!
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• Europeans start working on EuroBricks, a potential organization of
organizations
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Huh? Never heard about this before.
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• First German public event took place with huge numbers and amazing detail
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That I am aware of :)
Though the 1000steine-Land in Berlin has not been the first event. But that’s a
different story.
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In 2004, LEGO Community Development, also known as LCD, is focused on one main
goal: help build and maintain relationships with our core consumers. You.
...
But this is a relationship, and relationships are long term. In order to do
anything long term, you’re going to have hits and misses. Together, we’re
going to fall but not fail.
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In my case it’s a relationship over 25 years, if I count Duplo in ;)
I’ve been a LEGO fan, a supporter and a promoter for almost all my life. Even
if some products grew worse, the models grew less appealing and the piececount
get smaller and smaller due to bigger and bigger parts I never lost faith in the
LEGO company. LEGO was my love.
And then you (TLC) shattered it all to pieces. With one silly decision you made
me lose my trust in the evergrowing relationship between me and LEGO. And yes,
I’m speaking of the grey-change. How am I supposed to trust you anymore? You may
develop great AFOL bounding programs and awesome community features. The
community is nice and I like how things turn to good account. But it is only the
hull. The more important core is the brick, and THAT you changed. I may sound
pathetic but I honestly feel like this:
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So to conclude, 2003 was an amazing community year, but I truly believe 2004
is going to put it to shame!
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Yeah. Probably you are going to change red and green as well.
Ah, and make all white parts glow-in-the-dark. That would be appealing to kids.
Am I going to get a LEGO Oscar for this idea?
Bye
Jojo
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> Q: Nik Pieniazek: Skin tones, saw them in HP? The brickswest Q&A said only real
> people get skin tones...
> A: yes, HP has skin tones... we thought long and hard about this at NBA time...
> We do not yellow to mean white. We want it to be generic. So ANY thing with a
> real person, or a character will be flesh tone... but alpha team and world city
> will be skin tones... duplo has had skin tones, remember.
One thing to add to this, Jake passed around a couple of the new Harry Potter
minifigs. This was the extent of the "new set revealing" that was done. I
suspect we will not see as much of the new set revealing. In one way it's a
bummer to not get to see a new set in person. On the other hand, this revealing
has been replaced with much more open previews hosted by various fan sites,
which provides an opportunity to see more sets, and for all of us to see them.
Frank
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> One thing to add to this, Jake passed around a couple of the new Harry Potter
> minifigs. This was the extent of the "new set revealing" that was done. I
> suspect we will not see as much of the new set revealing. In one way it's a
> bummer to not get to see a new set in person. On the other hand, this revealing
> has been replaced with much more open previews hosted by various fan sites,
> which provides an opportunity to see more sets, and for all of us to see them.
>
> Frank
That is a let-down. It might mean less incentive to go to the
Brick Convention, especially for those who are sitting on the fence on whether
to go or not (if they haven't been to one already).
However, (having been to two Brickfests already), just hanging out with fellow
enthusiasts is such an amazing feeling! And there's bound to be someone else
to share similar ways of building with the brick.
Ben
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Frank Filz wrote:
> One thing to add to this, Jake passed around a couple of the new Harry Potter
> minifigs. This was the extent of the "new set revealing" that was done. I
> suspect we will not see as much of the new set revealing. In one way it's a
> bummer to not get to see a new set in person. On the other hand, this revealing
> has been replaced with much more open previews hosted by various fan sites,
> which provides an opportunity to see more sets, and for all of us to see them.
>
> Frank
Ack! Did not expect this...
Previous unveilings at similar conventions:
Santa Fe Super Chief
MOC Santa Fe Cars
Wright Bros. Plane
Train Engine Shed
Designer Sets
Space Shuttle Discovery
Lunar Lander
Cloud City
etc.
etc.
Brickfest PDX:
a couple skin-toned mini-figs
Doh!!!!
Bad Paul for getting hopes up!!! Bad! Bad! Bad! (smacks self in head)
:-P
-Paul D.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> Here are the first few questions
>
> Colors:
> A:
> Jake is answering the color qiuestion: We had to (see text) but we did not
> communicate right. They are NOT coming back. but...
> we are going to try to produce some old colors in bulk... 10000 bags of each
> of several SKUa and when they are gone they are gone.
> Q: mosaics"
> A: everything produced in 2004 will be new.
> Q:Jason Krish: CC: Would any (new) Classic Space/Castle Legends be with the
> old or new light grey??
> A: New production, new gray
Had I beed at BF PDX, I would have wanted to ask the following questions:
1. How many staffers lost or will will lose their jobs as a result of this
color chage fiasco??
I know if I were KKK, I would discharge the entire marketing team, the research
team, and any outside firms or contractors involved with the color change
fiasco. I would proabably also fire those who authorized this monstrous mistake
and the engineers who developed the horrible new colors.
2. How low are first-quarter sales in 2004 worldwide and how much is attributed
to the color change disaster?? What is the expected finacial loss as a result
of the color change??
3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their formula,
lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original formula. It
seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at TLC.
4. Why has this color change NOT beem marketed?? IF it is such a good thing,
such as "New and Improved Colors" then why is it not presented as such??
This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means to me,
personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either that, or
their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during Marketing 101.
5. How are AFOLS who put on public events suppoed to answer or comment on the
color changes??
I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have trouble
in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don't even want to do
public events with Lego anymore because I don't want to be put in that
situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say anything at
all, which means I stay home!
Most sincerely,
__Kevin Salm__
LUCNY
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> Here are the first few questions
>
> Colors:
>
> A:
> Jake is answering the color qiuestion: We had to (see text) but we did not
> communicate right. They are NOT coming back. but...
>
> we are going to try to produce some old colors in bulk... 10000 bags of each of
> several SKUa and when they are gone they are gone.
Well, at least we'll all have a chance to get at those 10,000 bags.
One question I've been wondering of and no mention was made of it(?) was what
will happen to 9V track? Will they also be of the "when they are gone they are
gone"?
Adr.
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<snipped>
> Had I beed at BF PDX, I would have wanted to ask the following questions:
>
> 1. How many staffers lost or will will lose their jobs as a result of • this
> color chage fiasco??
I would be willing to bet not a single one. The ones that will lose their
jobs are the line workers. The first to go when a company runs into a
financial downturn.
>
> I know if I were KKK, I would discharge the entire marketing team, the • research
> team, and any outside firms or contractors involved with the color change
> fiasco. I would proabably also fire those who authorized this monstrous • mistake
> and the engineers who developed the horrible new colors.
Could not agree with you more!
> 2. How low are first-quarter sales in 2004 worldwide and how much is • attributed
> to the color change disaster?? What is the expected finacial loss as a • result
> of the color change??
Lego is a company that lacks any shred of the forsight it takes to see stuff
like this. They will blindly proceed and then be astonished that there was
still a decline. They brought back Galidor, that speaks for itself.
I know for myself, I spent close to 20K on Lego last year. This may not be
a lot by some AFOL standards, but it sure seems stupid to me that this is
business Lego is willing to throw away without even thinking twice. My
spending this year will be lucky to hit one tenth of that. What I do buy
will not be new products but rather older stuff that I never had or want to
have again.
>
> 3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their • formula,
> lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original formula. • It
> seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at TLC.
Coke must not be available in Billund. :)
> 4. Why has this color change NOT beem marketed?? IF it is such a good • thing,
> such as "New and Improved Colors" then why is it not presented as such??
>
> This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means to • me,
> personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either • that, or
> their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during Marketing 101.
I think this is exactly why the explanation being offered is so hard to
swallow. It takes a phenomonal level of ignorance to handle something this
big in such a manner. It is clear to me that KKK must put an aweful lot of
faith in a group of completely incompetant engineers in the design lab.
> 5. How are AFOLS who put on public events suppoed to answer or comment on • the
> color changes??
>
> I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have • trouble
> in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don't even want to • do
> public events with Lego anymore because I don't want to be put in that
> situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say • anything at
> all, which means I stay home!
You hit the nail on the head here Kevin, might as well stay home. I could
not in any way support Lego on this particular issue.
Greg
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
snipped
> I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have trouble
> in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don't even want to do
> public events with Lego anymore because I don't want to be put in that
> situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say anything at
> all, which means I stay home!
>
> Most sincerely,
>
>
> __Kevin Salm__
> LUCNY
Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the public of
this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a new set
with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the public of
this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and similar
sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid looking at
the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color change. At
events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) what they
will get if they buy that new set.
Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who will it be??
Adr.
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I wouldn't hold my breath for this to actually happen. This sounds like
something to make us AFOL think they care about our concerns, but it will
never materialize. I seem to remember something a while back about Lego
having too many SKU's already.
Besides, even on the slim chance it did happen, how long would they actually
be available? Not to mention what kind of selection there would be. Put
the same person in charge of this that came up with the new colors in the
first place and we will see a whole bunch of bulk packs of 1x2x5 and 2x4x3
bricks.
Greg
"Adrian Egli" <aegli@san.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Ht6xF8.sv@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > Here are the first few questions
> >
> > Colors:
> >
> > A:
> > Jake is answering the color qiuestion: We had to (see text) but we did • not
> > communicate right. They are NOT coming back. but...
> >
> > we are going to try to produce some old colors in bulk... 10000 bags of • each of
> > several SKUa and when they are gone they are gone.
>
>
> Well, at least we'll all have a chance to get at those 10,000 bags.
>
> One question I've been wondering of and no mention was made of it(?) was • what
> will happen to 9V track? Will they also be of the "when they are gone • they are
> gone"?
>
> Adr.
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Problems is that if AFOL's took this approach, it would then be our fault
Lego continued to have a financial decline. No doubt in my mind that is how
it would go down. Clearly TLC has no intention of admitting the severity of
the color changes.
Greg
"Adrian Egli" <aegli@san.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Ht6ytt.97s@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
>
> snipped
>
> > I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have • trouble
> > in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don't even want to • do
> > public events with Lego anymore because I don't want to be put in that
> > situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say • anything at
> > all, which means I stay home!
> >
> > Most sincerely,
> >
> >
> > __Kevin Salm__
> > LUCNY
>
> Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
>
> As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the • public of
> this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a new • set
> with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
>
> Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the public • of
> this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and • similar
> sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid • looking at
> the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color change. • At
> events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) • what they
> will get if they buy that new set.
>
> Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who will • it be??
>
> Adr.
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In lugnet.lego, Adrian Egli wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
>
> Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
>
> As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the public of
> this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a new set
> with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
>
> Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the public of
> this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and similar
> sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid looking at
> the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color change. At
> events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) what they
> will get if they buy that new set.
>
> Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who will it be??
>
> Adr.
This is actually a very valid point. We can make our own "marketing" campaign at
any public display. We (as AFOLs) can raise the issue that Lego has created. Be
as negative as you want to be. Tell kids that their old sets no longer are
“compatible” with the new sets. Tell them that they are wasting their money
buying new sets. Heck even point people to alternatives vs. buying new sets –
show them Bricklink as a way that they can buy old gray and brown colors. Get
the message out there! We can even do radio spots like "public service
announcements" -- maybe even getting on talk radio/TV and let them hear our
outcry!
In the manner that we can positively affect kid's opinions, we can just as
easily put a negative spin on their opinions.
Of course we don’t have to do this.
-mark
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
> I wouldn't hold my breath for this to actually happen. This sounds like
> something to make us AFOL think they care about our concerns, but it will
> never materialize. I seem to remember something a while back about Lego
> having too many SKU's already.
Even if they made 10k bags of various parts, I can still see a small number of
people buying up HUGE quantities of the bags. So we are still left wanting more
of the original colours. Either way, the problem will be un-resolved.
*sigh*
-Bryan
|
|
| |
You are absolutely right Bryan. Look at what happened to the 4400 tubs that
came on S@H for a VERY short time. A few BrickLink sellers were able to
order tons and many that would have liked a few missed out. Availability of
classic grey and/or brown elements would be the same way. Unless you were
lucky enough to see the announcement immediately AND you have a ton of spare
cash right then you miss out.
It would be really nice if Lego would do a pre-order process. Buyers can
choose from the provided list of available elements and have 60 days to
place an order. Pay by credit card to confirm the order. Once that time
period has gone by, they would have a total number needed and would not have
to warehouse any additional inventory. What would be even smarter would be
to offer certain things like 2x4 bricks in tub quantity. Something like the
3303/4400/4107 size tub filled with 2x4's. Offer this option in light grey,
dark grey and brown. I know for me personally, getting a large stockpile of
these would be the best solution. However, I am confident that nothing so
logical would be done.
Greg
"Bryan Wong" <green_paper@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Ht728u.u1x@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
> > I wouldn't hold my breath for this to actually happen. This sounds like
> > something to make us AFOL think they care about our concerns, but it • will
> > never materialize. I seem to remember something a while back about Lego
> > having too many SKU's already.
>
> Even if they made 10k bags of various parts, I can still see a small • number of
> people buying up HUGE quantities of the bags. So we are still left • wanting more
> of the original colours. Either way, the problem will be un-resolved.
>
> *sigh*
>
> -Bryan
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
| |
snipped
| |
Had I beed at BF PDX, I would have wanted to ask the following questions:
1. How many staffers lost or will will lose their jobs as a result of this
color chage fiasco??
|
I would be willing to bet not a single one. The ones that will lose their
jobs are the line workers. The first to go when a company runs into a
financial downturn.
| |
I know if I were KKK, I would discharge the entire marketing team, the
research team, and any outside firms or contractors involved with the color
change fiasco. I would proabably also fire those who authorized this
monstrous mistake and the engineers who developed the horrible new colors.
|
Could not agree with you more!
| |
2. How low are first-quarter sales in 2004 worldwide and how much is
attributed to the color change disaster?? What is the expected finacial loss
as a result of the color change??
|
Lego is a company that lacks any shred of the forsight it takes to see stuff
like this. They will blindly proceed and then be astonished that there was
still a decline. They brought back Galidor, that speaks for itself.
I know for myself, I spent close to 20K on Lego last year. This may not be
a lot by some AFOL standards, but it sure seems stupid to me that this is
business Lego is willing to throw away without even thinking twice. My
spending this year will be lucky to hit one tenth of that. What I do buy
will not be new products but rather older stuff that I never had or want to
have again.
| |
3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their
formula, lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original
formula. It seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at
TLC.
|
Coke must not be available in Billund. :)
| |
4. Why has this color change NOT beem marketed?? IF it is such a good
thing, such as “New and Improved Colors” then why is it not presented as
such??
This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means to me,
personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either that,
or their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during Marketing 101.
|
I think this is exactly why the explanation being offered is so hard to
swallow. It takes a phenomonal level of ignorance to handle something this
big in such a manner. It is clear to me that KKK must put an aweful lot of
faith in a group of completely incompetant engineers in the design lab.
| |
5. How are AFOLS who put on public events suppoed to answer or comment on
the color changes??
I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have
trouble in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don’t even want
to do public events with Lego anymore because I don’t want to be put in that
situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say anything
at all, which means I stay home!
|
You hit the nail on the head here Kevin, might as well stay home. I could
not in any way support Lego on this particular issue.
Greg
|
I completely agree. I don’t think anyone at LEGO will lose their job for this.
I also don’t think “that Lego was trying to sneak the color change in the back
door”. This statement implies that they actually thought the color change was
relevant to someone.
I DON’T THINK WE AFOLS ARE EVEN ON THEIR RADAR.
LEGO blissfully made the color change, thinking they were IMPROVING the colors.
The company as whole is so totally unaware/unconcerned about us that it didn’t
even cross their minds that people might be upset.
I commend Jake on his great efforts to educate TLG about AFOLs. But as he
himself has said many times, it’s hard to get the battleship to turn. In the
corporate giant’s mind, we are only 5% and we will always only be 5%. Even if
TLG does consider us in future decisions, what’s the best we can hope for? 5%
that’s what. 5% of any consideration will go to AFOL interests; in other
words, TLG’s decision making process will, at its core, be exactly like it is
now. The best we can hope for is more polite damage control, i.e. maybe the
company will have enough consideration/respect for us to tell us in advance
about the new improved change in the brick dimensions or the new improved stud
shape/separation or the discontinuation of ...
“Everybody goes home happy!”
I wish. :(
-WWWally
|
|
| |
It would be more accurately stated:
Nobody goes home happy!
How could anyone possibly go home happy when the answer is TOUGH, maybe we
will offer some limited availability elements but after that too bad we
could are less.
It is wholly and completely depressing to think about what a Classic Space
Legend would look like in the new colors. What is worse is the thought of
having to pass on buying it just because of the defective parts colors.
Heck by then bricks are likely not to have any sharp corners or edges
because they look better. What is to say that we can soon expect to see
bricks that are no longer compatable with older parts?
Greg
"WWWally" <wally-SPAMMEwally@erolsNOT.com> wrote in message
news:Ht747J.18Eu@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
> > <snipped>
> > > Had I beed at BF PDX, I would have wanted to ask the following • questions:
> > >
> > > 1. How many staffers lost or will will lose their jobs as a result of • this
> > > color chage fiasco??
> >
> > I would be willing to bet not a single one. The ones that will lose • their
> > jobs are the line workers. The first to go when a company runs into a
> > financial downturn.
> >
> > >
> > > I know if I were KKK, I would discharge the entire marketing team, the
> > > research team, and any outside firms or contractors involved with the • color
> > > change fiasco. I would proabably also fire those who authorized this
> > > monstrous mistake and the engineers who developed the horrible new • colors.
> >
> >
> > Could not agree with you more!
> >
> > > 2. How low are first-quarter sales in 2004 worldwide and how much is
> > > attributed to the color change disaster?? What is the expected • finacial loss
> > > as a result of the color change??
> >
> > Lego is a company that lacks any shred of the forsight it takes to see • stuff
> > like this. They will blindly proceed and then be astonished that there • was
> > still a decline. They brought back Galidor, that speaks for itself.
> >
> > I know for myself, I spent close to 20K on Lego last year. This may not • be
> > a lot by some AFOL standards, but it sure seems stupid to me that this • is
> > business Lego is willing to throw away without even thinking twice. My
> > spending this year will be lucky to hit one tenth of that. What I do • buy
> > will not be new products but rather older stuff that I never had or want • to
> > have again.
> >
> > >
> > > 3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their
> > > formula, lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original
> > > formula. It seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by • anyone at
> > > TLC.
> >
> >
> > Coke must not be available in Billund. :)
> >
> > > 4. Why has this color change NOT beem marketed?? IF it is such a good
> > > thing, such as "New and Improved Colors" then why is it not presented • as
> > > such??
> > >
> > > This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means • to me,
> > > personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either • that,
> > > or their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during Marketing • 101.
> >
> >
> > I think this is exactly why the explanation being offered is so hard to
> > swallow. It takes a phenomonal level of ignorance to handle something • this
> > big in such a manner. It is clear to me that KKK must put an aweful lot • of
> > faith in a group of completely incompetant engineers in the design lab.
> >
> > > 5. How are AFOLS who put on public events suppoed to answer or comment • on
> > > the color changes??
> > >
> > > I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may • have
> > > trouble in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don't • even want
> > > to do public events with Lego anymore because I don't want to be put in • that
> > > situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say • anything
> > > at all, which means I stay home!
> >
> > You hit the nail on the head here Kevin, might as well stay home. I • could
> > not in any way support Lego on this particular issue.
> >
> > Greg
>
> I completely agree. I don't think anyone at LEGO will lose their job for • this.
> I also don't think "that Lego was trying to sneak the color change in the • back
> door". This statement implies that they actually thought the color change • was
> relevant to someone.
>
> [I DON'T THINK WE AFOLS ARE EVEN ON THEIR RADAR.]
>
> LEGO blissfully made the color change, thinking they were IMPROVING the • colors.
> The company as whole is so totally unaware/unconcerned about us that it • didn't
> even {cross their minds} that people might be upset.
>
> I commend Jake on his great efforts to educate TLG about AFOLs. But as he
> himself has said many times, it's hard to get the battleship to turn. In • the
> corporate giant's mind, we are only 5% and we will always only be 5%. • Even if
> TLG does consider us in future decisions, what's the best we can hope for? • _5%_
> that's what. 5% of any consideration will go to AFOL interests; in other
> words, TLG's decision making process will, at its core, be exactly like it • is
> now. The best we can hope for is more polite damage control, i.e. maybe • the
> company will have enough consideration/respect for us to tell us in • advance
> about the new improved change in the brick dimensions or the new improved • stud
> shape/separation or the discontinuation of ...
>
> "Everybody goes home happy!"
>
> I wish. :(
>
> -WWWally
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Didier Enjary wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Johannes Koehler wrote:
> > > Europeans start working on EuroBricks, a potential organization of
> > > organizations
> >
> > Huh? Never heard about this before.
>
> http://www.debouwsteen.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=396&Itemid=155
Excuse the intervention, but in my opinion going one page up explains better
what EuroBricks is about:
http://www.debouwsteen.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=129
See it as a kind of knowledge center platform where newer LUG's can profit and
share the experience from the longer established LUG's, for instance in the
field of participating with events. It's an initiative by the Dutch LUG "De
Bouwsteen" and evolved out of the succesfull LEGOWORLD 2001, 2002 and 2003
events, and out of the growing interest and participation from other European
LUG's.
With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.
|
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
> It would be really nice if Lego would do a pre-order process. Buyers can
> choose from the provided list of available elements and have 60 days to
> place an order. Pay by credit card to confirm the order. Once that time
> period has gone by, they would have a total number needed and would not have
> to warehouse any additional inventory. What would be even smarter would be
> to offer certain things like 2x4 bricks in tub quantity. Something like the
> 3303/4400/4107 size tub filled with 2x4's. Offer this option in light grey,
> dark grey and brown. I know for me personally, getting a large stockpile of
> these would be the best solution. However, I am confident that nothing so
> logical would be done.
Now THAT would be a pleasant surprise. I've brought up such an idea briefly
before, but like you said, it won't be very likely.
Even if they had a minimum order amount, that wouldn't be too much of a problem
when groups can combine their orders to reach that minimum. It's not like we're
asking for any part in any colour, but instead just for a list of available
elements and colours in truly bulk quantities (and prices, hopefully).
-Bryan
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
> on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
> the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
> kids. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a quality issue, or at least the design
> lab’s vision of quality. There isn’t anything I’m hiding, it wasn’t a cost
> issue, and it wasn’t anything to do with being able to get the ABS.
I can see how the new colours may be more appealing, but I don't buy that as a
valid excuse and I am sick of reading it here. As if this would ever happen:
Mom: "Hey son, do you like this new LEGO Star Wars set?"
Son: "No, the tone of the light and dark greys is not vivid enough for me, it
lacks appeal. I want that Belville set with bright and appealing colours."
Give me a break.
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego, Mark Rideout wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Adrian Egli wrote:
> > In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
> >
> > Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
> >
> > As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the public of
> > this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a new set
> > with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
> >
> > Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the public of
> > this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and similar
> > sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid looking at
> > the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color change. At
> > events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) what they
> > will get if they buy that new set.
> >
> > Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who will it be??
> >
> > Adr.
This is a very good idea and it does work.
I have informed many people in the Lego aisles of many stores about the color
change. Many of them leave without purchasing anything, or they just decide to
buy the MB. Not all of them care. But I feel it is my duty to inform every
person I come in contact with in those aisles about this.
The last child I purchased sets for wanted me to take every one of them back to
the store. He is 8 years of age. But as soon as he opened the first new set, he
noticed that the colors did not match. I ended up taking $300.00 worth of Lego
sets back to TRU to exchange for older sets. He is a happy 8 year old now.
So, informing the general public does work. Not always, as I said, but if this
case of corporate stupidity hurts them enough, they may have no choice but to
reverse the decision.
Enough said,
Steven Weiser
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego, Steven D. Weiser wrote:
> I have informed many people in the Lego aisles of many stores about the
> color change. Many of them leave without purchasing anything,
Do you find that they they just nod politely, smile feebly, and then start to
back away slowly, without making any sudden moves which might alarm you?
Cheers
Richie Dulin
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
<snip>
> Something else you hear me talk about a lot is this idea of an “open and honest
> relationship”. Sure there are things I can’t tell you, just like there are
> things you won’t tell me. But that doesn’t mean you’ll ever hear me make things
> up.
>
> A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
> on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
> the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
> kids.
For all who might hear:
In a recent talk with a very nice (and honest) person at Customs Service, this
person told me that the major reason for this color change was to match Mega
Blocks colors, because kids were enjoying Mega Blocks stuff a lot and, all
because of their colors. (!)
It seems to me that this person doesn't realize: 1) that this is a so stupid
move from TLC (once you can't beat them, so join them?); 2) what it does mean
to an AFOL. (I for one, feel it like a betray.)
I don't know what to say anymore. Except that i'm not supporting Lego nomore on
the TRU aisles; that i will not buy new products and, as i said long before, i
predict next color to move will be white for sure. Only to match MB white.
Now, lets take a look to MB catalog again...
Paulo 'very disapointed' Renato
P.S. - Many thanks Larry, for all the efforts you are making on behalf of this
comunity.
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego, Gregory Muri wrote:
> Problems is that if AFOL's took this approach, it would then be our fault
> Lego continued to have a financial decline. No doubt in my mind that is how
> it would go down. Clearly TLC has no intention of admitting the severity of
> the color changes.
>
> Greg
I wouldn't like to see TLC going down but, what else would it take to them to go
back on this issue?? (Once they can't hear us...)
Paulo Renato
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego, Richie Dulin wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Steven D. Weiser wrote:
> > I have informed many people in the Lego aisles of many stores about the
> > color change. Many of them leave without purchasing anything,
>
> Do you find that they they just nod politely, smile feebly, and then start to
> back away slowly, without making any sudden moves which might alarm you?
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Richie Dulin
Actually, most of them have given me that"huh? Why would the Lego company do
something so stupid after all these years" look.
Some do just give that "yeah, whatever" look.
But no one has ever fainted from the disbelief after being told. Well, not
including me anyway.
Steve
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Walter Walters wrote:
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Gregory Muri wrote:
| |
snipped
| |
Had I beed at BF PDX, I would have wanted to ask the following questions:
1. How many staffers lost or will will lose their jobs as a result of
this color chage fiasco??
|
I would be willing to bet not a single one. The ones that will lose their
jobs are the line workers. The first to go when a company runs into a
financial downturn.
| |
I know if I were KKK, I would discharge the entire marketing team, the
research team, and any outside firms or contractors involved with the color
change fiasco. I would proabably also fire those who authorized this
monstrous mistake and the engineers who developed the horrible new colors.
|
Could not agree with you more!
| |
2. How low are first-quarter sales in 2004 worldwide and how much is
attributed to the color change disaster?? What is the expected finacial
loss as a result of the color change??
|
Lego is a company that lacks any shred of the forsight it takes to see stuff
like this. They will blindly proceed and then be astonished that there was
still a decline. They brought back Galidor, that speaks for itself.
I know for myself, I spent close to 20K on Lego last year. This may not be
a lot by some AFOL standards, but it sure seems stupid to me that this is
business Lego is willing to throw away without even thinking twice. My
spending this year will be lucky to hit one tenth of that. What I do buy
will not be new products but rather older stuff that I never had or want to
have again.
| |
3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their
formula, lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original
formula. It seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at
TLC.
|
Coke must not be available in Billund. :)
| |
4. Why has this color change NOT beem marketed?? IF it is such a good
thing, such as “New and Improved Colors” then why is it not presented as
such??
This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means to
me, personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either
that, or their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during
Marketing 101.
|
I think this is exactly why the explanation being offered is so hard to
swallow. It takes a phenomonal level of ignorance to handle something this
big in such a manner. It is clear to me that KKK must put an aweful lot of
faith in a group of completely incompetant engineers in the design lab.
| |
5. How are AFOLS who put on public events suppoed to answer or comment on
the color changes??
I know I only have NEGATIVE things to say about it, and as such may have
trouble in future being diplomatic about it. In a big way, I don’t even
want to do public events with Lego anymore because I don’t want to be put
in that situation. If I cannot say anything good, perhaps I should not say
anything at all, which means I stay home!
|
You hit the nail on the head here Kevin, might as well stay home. I could
not in any way support Lego on this particular issue.
Greg
|
I completely agree. I don’t think anyone at LEGO will lose their job for
this. I also don’t think “that Lego was trying to sneak the color change in
the back door”. This statement implies that they actually thought the color
change was relevant to someone.
I DON’T THINK WE AFOLS ARE EVEN ON THEIR RADAR.
LEGO blissfully made the color change, thinking they were IMPROVING the
colors. The company as whole is so totally unaware/unconcerned about us that
it didn’t even cross their minds that people might be upset.
I commend Jake on his great efforts to educate TLG about AFOLs. But as he
himself has said many times, it’s hard to get the battleship to turn. In the
corporate giant’s mind, we are only 5% and we will always only be 5%. Even
if TLG does consider us in future decisions, what’s the best we can hope for?
5% that’s what. 5% of any consideration will go to AFOL interests; in
other words, TLG’s decision making process will, at its core, be exactly like
it is now. The best we can hope for is more polite damage control, i.e.
maybe the company will have enough consideration/respect for us to tell us in
advance about the new improved change in the brick dimensions or the new
improved stud shape/separation or the discontinuation of ...
|
My thinking on this was even broader than just AFOL’s. I was thinking of the
lack of marketing to the masses.
When laundry detergent or toothpaste or automobiles or shampoo or razors or
pizza are changed, the marketing departments and advertising agencies involved
always ramp up huge campains claiming “NEW AND IMPROVED” etc. Each small change
commands gigantic expenditures for new packaging, new advertising, and the like.
They get the word out.
Otherwise, what is the point to the “improvement” if no one knows about it?
When I referred to sleeping during Marketing 101, I referred to the missed
opportunity to promote products and their “NEW AND IMPROVED” status.
You are right that marking and promotion of Lego brand products does not target
AFOL’s and I am not sure it ever will or even needs to. We don’t need to be
enticed into buying Lego products, we do it anyway. Or at least we did until
this color change disaster.
Kevin Salm
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego, Mark Rideout wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Adrian Egli wrote:
> > In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
> >
> > Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
> >
> > As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the public of
> > this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a new set
> > with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
> >
> > Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the public of
> > this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and similar
> > sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid looking at
> > the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color change. At
> > events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) what they
> > will get if they buy that new set.
> >
> > Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who will it be??
> >
> > Adr.
>
> This is actually a very valid point. We can make our own "marketing" campaign
> at any public display. We (as AFOLs) can raise the issue that Lego has
> created. Be as negative as you want to be.
~~snip~~
It is NOT my intention or goal to be negative. TLC does NOT need my help to
ruin their brand image. They have proven they can do it all by themselves.
As evidence, TLC threw out a perfectly good 25-year old trademark when they
stopped using the name DUPLO for their preschool products. The name Explore, as
someone else pointed on on Lugnet several weeks ago, sounds like a program on
your computer, not a building toy by Lego. I will never understand the
marketing 'genius' behind that ill-fated decision. Someone should be taken out
back and shot to the death for that one, IMO.
__Kevin Salm__
PS. I am happy to report that the latest batch of packaging for Explore
products is now dual-branded. The Duplo name and logo have proudly returned.
Finally, someone at TLC got some sense!
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That is just it Kevin, nobody at Lego got any sense. They just responded to
the one and only thing that corporate robots instantly respond to. The loss
of money, especially on the scale that Lego did last year, is a powerful
thing. It will likely take a much bigger loss than 2003 for them to change
back this color fiasco.
Greg
"Kevin Salm" <kdsalm@dreamscape.com> wrote in message
news:Ht7EvH.u6B@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.lego, Mark Rideout wrote:
> > In lugnet.lego, Adrian Egli wrote:
> > > In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
> > >
> > > Maybe public events are what we need to do most.
> > >
> > > As you said, LEGO is doing a rather poor job getting word out to the • public of
> > > this color change. I have told many of my cousin's kids if they buy a • new set
> > > with grey bricks it might not match what they have.
> > >
> > > Events give us AFOLs who do these shows the opportunity to tell the • public of
> > > this screw up. Right now, it appears only those who are on LUGNET and • similar
> > > sites are making our opinions expressed to LEGO. But as for that kid • looking at
> > > the sets in a Target, TRU, wherever, he has no clue of this color • change. At
> > > events or stores we can tell those kids (or better yet their parents!) • what they
> > > will get if they buy that new set.
> > >
> > > Someone has to educate the consumer and if it's not LEGO or us, who • will it be??
> > >
> > > Adr.
> >
> > This is actually a very valid point. We can make our own "marketing" • campaign
> > at any public display. We (as AFOLs) can raise the issue that Lego has
> > created. Be as negative as you want to be.
>
> ~~snip~~
>
> It is NOT my intention or goal to be negative. TLC does NOT need my help • to
> ruin their brand image. They have proven they can do it all by • themselves.
>
> As evidence, TLC threw out a perfectly good 25-year old trademark when • they
> stopped using the name DUPLO for their preschool products. The name • Explore, as
> someone else pointed on on Lugnet several weeks ago, sounds like a program • on
> your computer, not a building toy by Lego. I will never understand the
> marketing 'genius' behind that ill-fated decision. Someone should be • taken out
> back and shot to the death for that one, IMO.
>
> __Kevin Salm__
>
>
> PS. I am happy to report that the latest batch of packaging for Explore
> products is now dual-branded. The Duplo name and logo have proudly • returned.
> Finally, someone at TLC got some sense!
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In lugnet.lego, Paulo Renato wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Gregory Muri wrote:
> > Problems is that if AFOL's took this approach, it would then be our fault
> > Lego continued to have a financial decline. No doubt in my mind that is how
> > it would go down. Clearly TLC has no intention of admitting the severity of
> > the color changes.
> >
> > Greg
>
>
> I wouldn't like to see TLC going down but, what else would it take to them to go
> back on this issue?? (Once they can't hear us...)
>
> Paulo Renato
I think it would be interesting to know just how much each and every AFOL spends
each week/month/year on Lego. Just to try to gauge how much in potential lost
sales the company would incure. Would it be significant?
Have any Bricklink stores curbed their spending? I know they buy dozens or more
sets at a time.
For instance, I know I spent just over $11,000.00 last year. Most of that was
spent at the retail level, but not at retail prices. HAIL, the clearance sale.
A smaller amount was spent on the secondary market such as BL and evilbay.
Now I realize not everyone here is just going to stop buying new sets because of
the color change. I for one will not be buying any new sets. Well, until they
are 75% off.
Steve
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In lugnet.lego, Gregory Muri wrote:
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That is just it Kevin, nobody at Lego got any sense. They just responded to
the one and only thing that corporate robots instantly respond to. The loss
of money, especially on the scale that Lego did last year, is a powerful
thing. It will likely take a much bigger loss than 2003 for them to change
back this color fiasco.
Greg
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See... I disagree with you on this point. The poor sales of 2004 will have
nothing to do with color change. We, the AFOLs may cease buying because of this
fact, but that is a drop in the bucket of problems, a mere 5% loss in a world of
hurt for TLG.
To h@#$ with the color change, let’s say it never happened. OK, now look at the
product lines for what they are. They’re action figures. There is no building
or creativity.
The New Castle (Big Figs): Galidor Redux.
(OK, so maybe not as bad as Galidor, but still a far cry from LEGO’s core
values)
The New Castle (Minifig): Can You Say Playing Our Children For Imbeciles?
Make & Create - Creator: Closest to Core Value We Have
Make & Create - Designer: Nothing But Specialized Bits and Bobs
(To me, these sets are equivalent to selling an older bucket with nothing but
Antennae and Radar Dishes; wonderful for the collector, wonderful for flashy
factor, horrid for creativity without basic bricks to augment)
Make & Create - Technical Wonders: A Beast Slain
(This is the carcass of what LEGO Technic used to be. Not a studded beam in
sight, not a Technic trademark look at all.)
Racers: The This-Theme-Should-Have-Been-Killed-Long-Ago Theme
(Again, great for a collector adding to a collection, horrid for a child just
starting one. I also have a big question about the K’nex construction of the RC
Cars.)
Alpha Team - Arctic: The Award Winner for Closest to LEGO Core Values
(The transformations really show what LEGO is about: Transience and Change)
Spiderman: Dumbing Down The License and Tossing Bones
(compare the lamppost and hydrant in 4853 with last year’s models. Complexity
wise, they are down the tubes. Add to this the 4+ sets based on a movie rated
PG-13 and a decidedly realistically violent comic. “Train Rescue” is a bone to
say that Train is still alive in Town, other than Potter.)
Bionicle: Et Tu, Technic.
(Bionicle, IMHO, was the rifle blast that killed traditional Technic, and the
new sets are just the final nails in the coffins.
Color Change Aside, TLG can’t blame this years losses on 5% of the market. When
they lose this next year, the blood isn’t on the Color R&D Workers’ hands, but
rather the Set Designers and Management who have killed the brand’s creativity
by failing to CHALLENGE today’s children, instead, feeding them cookie cutter
fads and nothing else.
The color revert will never occur. There are far bigger problems at hand.
-John Rudy
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kevin Salm wrote:
> 3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their
> formula, lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original
> formula. It seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone
> at TLC.
This isn't necessarily true, but it's got some good parallels. Popular wisdom
holds that Coca-Cola pretended to change their formula to be more "Pepsi-like,"
then staged giant well-publicized "protests" against themselves. They got a
couple months of huge publicity about how great the original formula tasted, and
how foul the Pepsi taste was.
After a suitable period, they brought back "Classic" Coke, which was similar to
the original formula but with several ingredients replaced with cheaper
substitutes, most notably replacing sucrose with fructose. If you have some old
original-formula Cokes and can compare the taste with the new "Classic" Cokes,
the quality difference is immediately obvious. "New Coke" was a ruse to
disguise the formula change and get massive publicity as a side benefit.
(The popularity of this story has generated enough negative PR that Coke has
started mixing small amounts of sucrose back into the formula so that they can
include "fructose and/or sucrose" on the ingredients list.)
Whether or not New Coke was a brilliant marketing ploy or just the world's
luckiest mistake, Classic Coke's comeback against Pepsi in 1986 was nothing
short of unbelievable, and I can easily imagine some Lego marketeer thinking
it'd be clever to try and duplicate it. Destroy the most basic-utility Lego
colors, replace them with Mega Bloks versions, and wait for the fans to freak
out. Pray for at least a couple of good anti-New-Lego protest rallies in the
spirit of 1985, get a bunch of publicity about the greatness of original Lego
was and the foulness of Mega Bloks. After a prudent delay, some prominent exec
steps forward and admits that they underestimated humanity's deep and abiding
emotional attachment to classic Lego; classic colors are brought back, the world
rejoices, Lego sales rebound, Mega Bloks is crushed, marketing gets a high-five,
and carte blanche is issued to degrade quality in all other areas because
everyone's too busy focusing on the color to notice.
This theory is more than a little far-fetched, since the last decade tends to
refute the idea that this level of thought goes into their corporate decisions.
But it's a lot more attractive to me than the only alternative theory, which is
that Lego actively hates its fans and acts purely out of a malicious desire to
cause pain and suffering in its customer base. Either way, the New Coke
precedent shows that it's in the best interest of ourselves and the company to
go nuts and be as vocal as possible in our protest of the changes. Especially
if we remember to sneak in frequent interjections about how much Mega Bloks
suck.
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In lugnet.lego, John M. Rudy wrote:
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In lugnet.lego, Gregory Muri wrote:
| |
That is just it Kevin, nobody at Lego got any sense. They just responded to
the one and only thing that corporate robots instantly respond to. The loss
of money, especially on the scale that Lego did last year, is a powerful
thing. It will likely take a much bigger loss than 2003 for them to change
back this color fiasco.
Greg
|
See... I disagree with you on this point. The poor sales of 2004 will have
nothing to do with color change. We, the AFOLs may cease buying because of
this fact, but that is a drop in the bucket of problems, a mere 5% loss in a
world of hurt for TLG.
|
a few idle remarks from the peanut gallery
Many (most ?) AFOLs buy at clearance. Because certain AFOLs stop buying at
clearance, doesn’t mean that the stuff will just sit there and go unsold
forever. Some clearanced stuff moves back up the food chain to EB, some to BL,
and some to places like flea markets. That one destination decides to boycott,
will have little or no effect on the parent 2-years hence trying to find that
discontinued (and needed) set which WM, KM, TRU, Target (et al) have dumped to
clearance. They will buy *that* set because the kid wants it. The stuff will
still most likely percolate thru the food chain, just that AFOLs won’t be taking
so much from the ‘clearance’ buffet. (and we are 6-12-18 months from when the
new colors actually make it to clearance.)
| |
To h@#$ with the color change, let’s say it never happened. OK, now look at
the product lines for what they are. They’re action figures. There is no
building or creativity.
The New Castle (Big Figs): Galidor Redux.
(OK, so maybe not as bad as Galidor, but still a far cry from LEGO’s core
values)
The New Castle (Minifig): Can You Say Playing Our Children For Imbeciles?
|
I still prefer the term ‘Castleonicle’. Bionicle has won the battle for hearts
of minds of many of the primary target audience, now TLC is trying to work the
same magic with Castle. It may be heresy to some, but it may be a smart move to
others.
Ray
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Herzberg wrote:
> [...] As if this would ever happen:
>
> Mom: "Hey son, do you like this new LEGO Star Wars set?"
> Son: "No, the tone of the light and dark greys is not vivid enough for
> me, it lacks appeal. I want that Belville set with bright and appealing
> colours."
>
> Give me a break.
lol. (assuming not already mentioned) even the official 'light pink' color got a
bright-n-clean update, back in the days of Paridisa sets. (I for one was
disapointed because the older pink had a nice warm creamy color to it.)
-Suz
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In lugnet.lego, Mark Rideout wrote:
> This is actually a very valid point. We can make our own "marketing" campaign at
> any public display. We (as AFOLs) can raise the issue that Lego has created. Be
> as negative as you want to be. Tell kids that their old sets no longer are
> “compatible” with the new sets.
Wow. You mean all of a sudden the bricks stopped fitting together? You mean
all of a sudden the new dark gray can't be used with the old blue, red, and
black? Do the new gray bricks actually REPEL the old gray colors?
Amazing! I didn't know that!
> ... Tell them that they are wasting their money
> buying new sets.
Wow! You mean if they buy a $10 Alpha Team set, it isn't actually worth $10?
Fascinating!
If they buy ANOTHER, $20 World City set, the two together are *ACTUALLY*
*WORTHLESS*, and whatever they buy next year *ACTUALLY* *WILL* *NOT*
*INTERCONNECT* with what they bought this year?
Wow! Incredible revelations abound!
> ... Heck even point people to alternatives vs. buying new sets –
> show them Bricklink as a way that they can buy old gray and brown colors.
Wow! You mean the average buyer in the aisles of Toys R Us - say, for example,
Grandma buying a burthday gift for Johnny - would actually respond positively to
the suggestion of going to website, and buying some nice dog-chewed light grey
(that's CLASSIC LIGHT GRAY (c)2004 ANAL-RETENTIVE LEGO FANS, INC.) 1x2s, in lots
of 50 or more, would be a g-r-r-R-REAT alternative to picking up a nice colorful
World City boxed set for Johnny?
> ... Get
> the message out there! We can even do radio spots like "public service
> announcements" -- maybe even getting on talk radio/TV and let them hear our
> outcry!
NPR is waiting!
> In the manner that we can positively affect kid's opinions, we can just as
> easily put a negative spin on their opinions.
>
> Of course we don’t have to do this.
You mean you *don't* have to lie to Lego consumers? Yay!
No wonder most large companies considers most AFOToys opinions to be worthless.
Turns out they actually are!
Kevin
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Herzberg wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > > A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
> > on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
> > the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
> > kids. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a quality issue, or at least the design
> > lab’s vision of quality. There isn’t anything I’m hiding, it wasn’t a cost
> > issue, and it wasn’t anything to do with being able to get the ABS.
>
>
> I can see how the new colours may be more appealing, but I don't buy that as a
> valid excuse and I am sick of reading it here. As if this would ever happen:
>
> Mom: "Hey son, do you like this new LEGO Star Wars set?"
> Son: "No, the tone of the light and dark greys is not vivid enough for me, it
> lacks appeal. I want that Belville set with bright and appealing colours."
>
> Give me a break.
Accusing someone of lying is serious. TLC and the people of Lego Direct do not
have a history of lying. Everything I have seen in the last 2 years shows that
Brad and Jake to be honest and straightforward. When they can't answer a
question, they say why, or they come back later with an answer. Why would they
start lying now?
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In lugnet.lego, Kevin Johnston wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Mark Rideout wrote:
> > In the manner that we can positively affect kid's opinions, we can just as
> > easily put a negative spin on their opinions.
> >
> > Of course we don’t have to do this.
>
> You mean you *don't* have to lie to Lego consumers? Yay!
>
> No wonder most large companies considers most AFOToys opinions to be worthless.
> Turns out they actually are!
I am so with you on this one Kevin. AFOLs with big collections and intentions of
building very special MOCs are a totally different consumer to the average kid
or parent buying Lego.
A lot of the AFOLs here are annoyed about losing the opportunity to buy more
bricks in some useful colours. That's reasonable.
TLC has made some mistakes in the past. Some of them were "called" accurately by
AFOLs (such as Duplo->Explorer) and others were not (Bionicle). And some sets
which were applauded by AFOLs have probably not been a runaway success for TLC.
This is also reasonable.
Its bordering on reasonable to imagine a flawed focus group process to validate
the new colors.
But its not reasonable to assume that the needs, wants and tastes of a kid or
parent are anything like that of an AFOL.
Kids don't have as many bricks in their collection, so less they have less
"investment" in the old colors.
Kids aren't planning on artistic or accurate MOCs like AFOLs.
Kids may actually like the new brighter colours better.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Christian Treczoks wrote:
> Regardless of how honest your answer (and the whole affair) was, it was
> communicated in a way that left way more questions than answers. Taking
> into account how deep into the core of the very idea of LEGO this change
> strikes, a "some kids liked the new colour better than the old one"
> sounded very, very much like a "these are not my drugs, officer" kind of
> excuse.
It only sounded like that because you were so upset about losing the colors.
Seemed totally reasonable to me.
> I dont't blame you for the change, and I don't blame you for not warning
> early (you propably did not know before you were told about the change
> by AFOLs/customers). But from the moment the issue reached you, you
> should have communicated it better (besides fighting with claws and
> teeth against the very idea).
They did communicate it! The thread is still there! But people disbelieved them!
> Like in "Look, more colours got the boot!" and "The 2x4 is gone for
> good!"? Or more like "Our new super product: a BobTheBuilder Mecha
> following the Bionicle and Knights Kingdom line".
>
> Sorry for sounding pessimistic, but all Jake could do was to confirm my
> worst fears.
Oh Christian, what about the new Designer sets? Don't you think they are worth a
look? And plenty of 2x4s in the interesting new tubs that always seem to be
turning up.
To be honest if I was a Castle or Pirates fan, I would be a lil disappointed
this year. But look at some of the other new sets!
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"Kevin Salm" <kdsalm@dreamscape.com> wrote in message
news:Ht7EJ5.s62@lugnet.com...
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> When laundry detergent or toothpaste or automobiles or shampoo or razors • or
> pizza are changed, the marketing departments and advertising agencies • involved
> always ramp up huge campains claiming "NEW AND IMPROVED" etc. Each small • change
> commands gigantic expenditures for new packaging, new advertising, and the • like.
> They get the word out.
[ ... snipped ... ]
Did TLC make a big splash about the color change at the Toy Fair this past
weekend? If the change really is for the reasons which Jake outlined then I
would expect TLC would be disclosing and promoting it at the Toy Fair and be
actievely hyping it to their retail customers.
Does anyone know if it was even mentioned at the Toy Fair?
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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In lugnet.lego, Kevin Johnston wrote:
(snip)
Very harsh/sarcastic tone, Kevin(1) but I have to agree with the substance. I do
not like the color change one bit but I don't see myself standing in aisles
telling people not to buy stuff!
The bricks still interlock, people.
We can suggest that LEGO did this wrong, that they should have
researched/marketed/communicated (internally/externally) better... but actively
trying to drive sales to competitors?
That just seems excessively harsh to me. This whole thread seems a bit strident,
actually. Any chance for a bit calmer approach, people?
I have lots more to say about this and other topics but am still trying to dig
out from under. I am going to try to reconstruct from memory the questions and
answers that I lost, unless someone else with better memory does it first...
1 - kinda goes hand in hand with some of the other very harsh tones used by
others in this thread, I guess... so I'm not actually complaining, just
remarking.
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In lugnet.lego, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
>
> Very harsh/sarcastic tone, Kevin(1) but I have to agree with the substance. I do
> not like the color change one bit but I don't see myself standing in aisles
> telling people not to buy stuff!
>
> The bricks still interlock, people.
Having seen the new colours for the first time when I got out here, I have to
agree. Yes, the colours changed. Yes, I would prefer if they had stayed the
same. No, the world has not come to a crashing halt because of it.
Will I buy "new" (post 2003) lego? Yes. Will this affect what I purchase? Not
much, I don't think. Will this affect what I build? No, because I have enough
bricks that it is getting to be excessive for me to purchase more without a
project in mind anyway.
YMMV, but I don't find this the end of the world. I already have several
variant colours in my bins, and don't worry TOO much about it.
James Powell
(and thanks Lar++ for trying to transcribe for those of us who could not attend
BF PDX -we live in a inperfect world, and sometimes stuff happens...)
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In lugnet.lego, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Kevin Johnston wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
> Very harsh/sarcastic tone, Kevin(1) but I have to agree with the substance. I do
> not like the color change one bit but I don't see myself standing in aisles
> telling people not to buy stuff!
>
> The bricks still interlock, people.
>
> We can suggest that LEGO did this wrong, that they should have
> researched/marketed/communicated (internally/externally) better... but actively
> trying to drive sales to competitors?
>
> That just seems excessively harsh to me. This whole thread seems a bit strident,
> actually. Any chance for a bit calmer approach, people?
>
> I have lots more to say about this and other topics but am still trying to dig
> out from under. I am going to try to reconstruct from memory the questions and
> answers that I lost, unless someone else with better memory does it first...
>
> 1 - kinda goes hand in hand with some of the other very harsh tones used by
> others in this thread, I guess... so I'm not actually complaining, just
> remarking.
I do not, and have not, in any way, shape, or form, told people not to buy the
new sets. I do not even mention compatability because that is not an issue. I
simply tell them that the colors will not match previously purchased sets and
leave them to their own volition.
I have never mentioned to anyone in the aisles my personal distaste of the new
colors. With the exception of the manager at KB.
Steven Weiser
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Frank Filz wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > Q: Nik Pieniazek: Skin tones, saw them in HP? The brickswest Q&A said only real
> > people get skin tones...
> > A: yes, HP has skin tones... we thought long and hard about this at NBA time...
> > We do not yellow to mean white. We want it to be generic. So ANY thing with a
> > real person, or a character will be flesh tone... but alpha team and world city
> > will be skin tones... duplo has had skin tones, remember.
>
> One thing to add to this, Jake passed around a couple of the new Harry Potter
> minifigs. This was the extent of the "new set revealing" that was done. I
> suspect we will not see as much of the new set revealing. In one way it's a
> bummer to not get to see a new set in person. On the other hand, this revealing
> has been replaced with much more open previews hosted by various fan sites,
> which provides an opportunity to see more sets, and for all of us to see them.
>
> Frank
I had dinner with Jake Sunday night, he said there is a new set that he *really*
wanted to premier at Brickfest PDX, but it didn't work out. He gave zero
indications as to what type or what theme set it was, but he says it is really a
great set and we'll like it when it is released.
It was kind of funny, I could see he was frustrated at not being able to tell us
more -- so I'm guessing it *is* a pretty amazing set. Time will tell!
JohnG, GMLTC
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And then you (TLC) shattered it all to pieces. With one silly decision you
made me lose my trust in the evergrowing relationship between me and LEGO.
And yes, I’m speaking of the grey-change. How am I supposed to trust you
anymore? You may develop great AFOL bounding programs and awesome community
features. The community is nice and I like how things turn to good account.
But it is only the hull. The more important core is the brick, and THAT you
changed. I may sound pathetic but I honestly feel like this:
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I have to agree with you Jojo. Gray is the one color I will never have enough
of. Now it is impossible to ever purchase anything but the neon pink tinted
gray. I am very concerned that when the Bionicle fad dies (as all fads do) the
LEGO Company will have nothing to stand on because they have alienated thier
core market of kids who like construction toys. Quite frankly I do not think the
wants of AFOLs are significantly different than those of the kids who like
construction toys. Of course the best brick based construction sets
(design-wise) are not currently made by LEGO, and that is just sad.
-Mike Petrucelli
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>
> 3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their formula,
> lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original formula. It
> seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at TLC.
Actually the Coca-Cola formula has changed many times over the years (for
example they switched from sugar to corn syrup when sugar prices went up) and
only the New Coke was advertised.
> 4. Why has this color change NOT been marketed?? IF it is such a good thing,
> such as "New and Improved Colors" then why is it not presented as such??
>
> This lack of marketing and communication about a product change means to me,
> personally, that Lego is trying to sneak it in the back door. Either that, or
> their marketing experts and consultants were asleep during Marketing 101.
Just like Coke does not advertise its minor changes than LEGO does not advertise
its minor color changes.
By the way Lego has changed color a number of times in the past (although I am
not sure whether some of those changes were due to quality control issues or
actual concious changes) The only reason I think it is such a big deal now is
that the colors they did change are the most commonly used by MOC builders.
Bartek
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I commend Jake on his great efforts to educate TLG about AFOLs. But as he
himself has said many times, it’s hard to get the battleship to turn. In the
corporate giant’s mind, we are only 5% and we will always only be 5%. Even
if TLG does consider us in future decisions, what’s the best we can hope for?
5% that’s what. 5% of any consideration will go to AFOL interests; in
other words, TLG’s decision making process will, at its core, be exactly like
it is now. The best we can hope for is more polite damage control, i.e.
maybe the company will have enough consideration/respect for us to tell us in
advance about the new improved change in the brick dimensions or the new
improved stud shape/separation or the discontinuation of ...
|
Any company that disregards %5 of its customers is bound to lose money - for
excample the Lego Company;)
If I told my boss “ups I made one of our wells blow up, but it was only %5 of
our revenues” I would be fired so fast I would not know what hit me.
Bartek
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
| |
This is the text of Jake’s speech.
|
snipped
I really hate to say this, but rather than feeling inspired about the great
future to come, Jake’s speech has instead left me completely disheartened. The
bottom line is this: TLG has betrayed my trust. And unfortunately, the only
way I can see them regaining it is by changing the grays back, which looks like
is not going to happen. I can’t believe that 20+ years of momentum cannot
overcome the last say 2 years when the so-called color “improvement” decision
was made.
TLG as a whole seems to have little concept of its fan community. We are LEGO’s
greatest evangelists. We bring others into the hobby and provide an incredible
amount of inspiration and free advertising. It’s often touted that we only
represent 5% of sales. I dispute that claim. I agree that AFOL sales may
represent only 5% of TLG sales as a whole. But if TLG sales are dominated by
Bionicle, where AFOLs have little interest, this dilutes our relative
contribution. Likewise, if DUPLO, Clickits, etc. are included, our relative
contribution is further lessened. On the other hand, TLG’s decisions in these
areas hold less interest for most AFOLs. But what about the themes where the
AFOLs’ interests lie primarily: Technic, Star Wars, Sculptures, Legends, etc.
I’m sure our relative sales are significantly greater than 5%. For
S@H-Exclusives and Hard-to-Finds, such as the ISD or 8455 Backhoe, AFOL sales
may even dominate. It makes plain sense to seriously consider AFOL
interests/opinions in the themes and issues where we actually care.
None of this seems to matter, however. TLG barely has (had?) a clue that AFOLs
exist. Apparently, many in TLG were surprised that customers were upset by
the color change. They had no clue that anyone might care about the
20-yr-standard colors. In essence, the thought hadn’t even crossed their
minds! Jake and Brad have made great strides in waking up TLG to our
presence. And I do believe that his post above is sincere and his intentions
are true. But how much can one person do? It’s hard to get the battleship to
change course. Despite Jake’s best efforts, his little tugboat cannot keep the
battleship from plowing over the AFOL sailboats, which are (supposedly) too
little for it to see.
I recently took the AC Nielsen survey about the 8455 Backhoe, a set that
obviously relies on strong AFOL sales, since people must actively seek it out
to purchase it. After asking if I was a “Boy” or a “Girl”, it asked for my
birthday and who the purchase was for, so it did know that I am an adult and
bought it for myself. Questions included how “cool” I thought the model was
compared to my other toys, how “cool” my friends thought it was, how “cool” the
box was or how “cool” minifigs are compared to my other toys, whether I needed
help from my parents or friends to build the model, and asked me how well I
agreed with some statements made by “other children”. These are the issues TLG
cares about (how cool...) and the style of the questions shows where their
focus lies. They’re blind to my presence as an AFOL. (Perhaps this example is
unfair, since the survey is run by a third party.)
As with all things, part of the blame lies with us, the AFOL community. (As an
aside, note that this community arose with essentially no
participation/help/interest from TLG.) Jake, in nearly every discussion
regarding the color change issue, mentioned that TLG had gotten very little
negtive response through the channels they watch, Customer Service. (Of
course, relatively few customers actually know the change is a permanent
replacement, rather than an additional color.) In this (spotlighted) thread
http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=44983, I made a plea for the community to
write letters to TLG. The thread got 18 responses. How many letters did the
community send to TLG? 25? 50? 100? I doubt much more. People were quick
to respond to Jake’s threads with complaints and to set up polls, etc. How many
of those posts/results were seen by anyone at TLG other than Jake? If we want
to succeed, we need to put our protests in the places where TLG is looking.
Margaret Mead said “Never underestimate the ability of a small group of
conscientious individuals to change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that
ever has.” We need to lash our boats together so the corporate battleship
can’t help but see us!
As Jake has basically said, the awareness/involvement of AFOLs in the corporate
mind is increasing (and I thank him for it). I think a main reason for this
desire to include AFOLs, however, is the incredible success of LEGO Direct.
This is fine. LD’s success is due in large part to their engagement of
AFOLs. Through the Sculpture, Legend, S@H-exclusive, etc. lines, LD has proven
that capturing the AFOL market can increase TLG’s bottom line. We’re here. We
want to give TLG our money. Well, we did. But TLG corporate is making it
so difficult by sapping LEGO’s appeal to us.
I’ll end this post the way I started it. The definition Jake gave of LEGO
community revolves around the concept of “LEGO Moments”. One of my most
memorable LEGO moments was deciding that I, as an adult, could buy the UCS
TIE Interceptor for myself and enjoy it, which led to my emergence from my Dark
Age. Unfortunately, another equally powerful moment that has indelibly marked
my LEGO experience was the betrayal I felt (and still feel) finding out that
TLG had replaced light and dark gray. How could they be so ignorant and
careless? I know they weren’t actively trying to “screw” me, but rather were
just oblivious to the fact that I might care.
I’ll close with some quotes from Jake’s speech notes that particularly hurt:
“LEGO Community Development, also known as LCD, is focused on one main
goal: help build and maintain relationships with our core consumers.
...
The important thing for all of us to remember, especially all of you, is that if
you aren’t happy, then the relationship is setup wrong. ...
But this is a relationship, and relationships are long term. In order to do
anything long term, you’re going to have hits and misses. Together, we’re going
to fall but not fail.”
-With such a spectacularly terrible start, it’s hard to get our hopes up.
“I hope that your trust in me continues to grow. I’m your advocate, and I’m your
voice in the company. I fight daily, literally daily, to get your questions and
requests answered.”
-Thank you sincerely Jake. It’s a shame that it has to be such a battle.
“So to conclude, 2003 was an amazing community year, but I truly believe 2004 is
going to put it to shame!”
-I think TLG corporate has already put 2003 to shame.
“Everybody goes home happy!”
-If only it were so.
|
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I didn't want to pollute my above post with this unpleasantness, so I'm
separating it here. I closed the above post with quotes from Jake's notes that
were particularly disheartening to me. The icing on the cake, however, was
"I’m working with the one and only Greg Hyland to create a
comic book about the LEGO fans. Something you can use to help
tell the world what being an AFOL is all about."
<upset sarcasm /on>
In his comic, I hope Greg makes sure to include his total lack of respect for
those of us who feel strongly about the color change.
<upset sarcasm /off>
In his posts in the FBTB forums, he not only showed a lack of respect, but went
out of his way to {mock} specific people for their opinions.
For example,
<http://pub180.ezboard.com/fthefbtbcommunityfrm1.showMessage?topicID=4934.topic>
<http://pub180.ezboard.com/fthefbtbcommunityfrm1.showMessage?topicID=4941.topic>
Unfortunately, I cannot find the thread that really set me off (due to EZBoard's
terrible search function).
I debated with myself about posting this, but I feel the community should know
the character/humor of one of our (apparent) mouthpieces.
Greg has done more for the community than I probably ever will, but I was
thoroughly disappointed in him and his trivializing attitude. As a now
semi-official "employee" of LEGO, I thought he would know better. I am not
trying to defame him; I hope he takes this as constructive critism.
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Jordan wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Herzberg wrote:
> > I can see how the new colours may be more appealing, but I don't buy that as a
> > valid excuse and I am sick of reading it here. As if this would ever happen:
> >
> > Mom: "Hey son, do you like this new LEGO Star Wars set?"
> > Son: "No, the tone of the light and dark greys is not vivid enough for me, it
> > lacks appeal. I want that Belville set with bright and appealing colours."
> >
> > Give me a break.
>
> Accusing someone of lying is serious. TLC and the people of Lego Direct do not
> have a history of lying. Everything I have seen in the last 2 years shows that
> Brad and Jake to be honest and straightforward. When they can't answer a
> question, they say why, or they come back later with an answer. Why would they
> start lying now?
Where did he accuse Jake of lying? The gist I got from the post was that if that
indeed was the reason for the change, then it was a stupid one and the people in
the design lab need a boot up the clacker.
I do know that from the perspective of my 5yo son (and indeed my own), the
brightness or otherwise of the colours is a long way secondary to the experience
of simply building stuff. The colours are a minor selling point really, and as
such I wonder how much more sales they expect to generate from this change. I
suspect it will be negligible if any, which leads me to conclude that it is an
exercise in futility.
If it was a question of cost or whatever, then I could almost understand it, but
since Jake has pointedly denied that I can only conclude that the design lab has
a screwed up perspective on what children's priorities are when they choose Lego
sets off the shelves.
You want kids to buy sets, Lego? Then make sets that they want to buy. They
don't care what colour they are if the set is a cool design.
Allister
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Jordan wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Mark Herzberg wrote:
> > In lugnet.events.brickfest, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > > > A great example of what I’m talking about is the color change. The honest answer
> > > on why the color change was made was the same thing I first posted on LUGNET:
> > > the design lab felt that the new colors were less “dirty” and more appealing to
> > > kids. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a quality issue, or at least the design
> > > lab’s vision of quality. There isn’t anything I’m hiding, it wasn’t a cost
> > > issue, and it wasn’t anything to do with being able to get the ABS.
> >
> >
> > I can see how the new colours may be more appealing, but I don't buy that as a
> > valid excuse and I am sick of reading it here. As if this would ever happen:
> >
> > Mom: "Hey son, do you like this new LEGO Star Wars set?"
> > Son: "No, the tone of the light and dark greys is not vivid enough for me, it
> > lacks appeal. I want that Belville set with bright and appealing colours."
> >
> > Give me a break.
>
> Accusing someone of lying is serious. TLC and the people of Lego Direct do not
> have a history of lying. Everything I have seen in the last 2 years shows that
> Brad and Jake to be honest and straightforward. When they can't answer a
> question, they say why, or they come back later with an answer. Why would they
> start lying now?
I don't think anyone is accusing Jake and LEGO Direct of lying. But Jake can
only tell us what he knows. He was completely in the dark about the color change
when it happened. Who knows if Denmark is giving him the real story now?
The best evidence for TLC making up the children's focus group excuse is the
fact that TLC was still, to this day, not made any announcement to the general
public about the color replacement. Sure, they let us AFOLs know (after the
fact) but as they love to tell us, we are only 5% of the market. Why aren't they
telling the other 95% about these new, improved colors? Why isn't there a
sticker on every box, and a big feature in the catalog and on the website?
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Allister McLaren wrote:
snip
> If it was a question of cost or whatever, then I could almost understand it, but
> since Jake has pointedly denied that I can only conclude that the design lab has
> a screwed up perspective on what children's priorities are when they choose Lego
> sets off the shelves.
I think it should also be mentioned that the color change's delta (i.e. the
difference between the old color and the new color) is probably less that the
delta between the actual color and the color depicted on the external box
artwork. IOW, the box skews the actual color (for a multitude of reasons I'm
sure) more than the actual color change we have seen. For a good example of
this, parse thru the pile of NBA sets until you come to the one where the player
appears to have white hair. Buy the set (if your willing to spend the buck) and
you will find the more pedestrian tan hair.
Executive Summary: if impulse point-of-sale were the primary reason for the
color change, this could have been easily done (and apprently already has been)
via tweaking the colors on the box art-work.
> You want kids to buy sets, Lego? Then make sets that they want to buy. They
> don't care what colour they are if the set is a cool design.
>
> Allister
Ray
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Walter Walters wrote:
> I didn't want to pollute my above post with this unpleasantness, so I'm
> separating it here. I closed the above post with quotes from Jake's notes that
> were particularly disheartening to me. The icing on the cake, however, was
>
> "I’m working with the one and only Greg Hyland to create a
> comic book about the LEGO fans. Something you can use to help
> tell the world what being an AFOL is all about."
>
> <upset sarcasm /on>
> In his comic, I hope Greg makes sure to include his total lack of respect for
> those of us who feel strongly about the color change.
> <upset sarcasm /off>
>
> In his posts in the FBTB forums, he not only showed a lack of respect, but went
> out of his way to {mock} specific people for their opinions.
So it's okay for fans to mock Lego's ideas (focus groups! brighter colours!),
but not okay to mock the mockers (Boo hoo!) ?
> I debated with myself about posting this, but I feel the community should know
> the character/humor of one of our (apparent) mouthpieces.
Should know? *Must* know!. No, they *need* to know! Better yet they have a
*right* to know!
> Greg has done more for the community than I probably ever will, but I was
> thoroughly disappointed in him and his trivializing attitude. As a now
> semi-official "employee" of LEGO, I thought he would know better. I am not
> trying to defame him; I hope he takes this as constructive critism.
Of course not! You're just pointing out that he has a total lack of respect for
people who feel strongly about the colour change, has mocked people for their
ideas and that he has a trivialising attitude...
How could *anyone* take that as *anything* but constructive criticism?
Richie Dulin
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Hallo Jojo,
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• Europeans start working on EuroBricks, a potential organization of
organizations
|
Huh? Never heard about this before.
|
http://f24.parsimony.net/forum61776/messages/70094.htm
Sorry, only in German
regards
Marmaris
(Volker Draschka)
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Richie Dulin wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Walter Walters wrote:
> > I didn't want to pollute my above post with this unpleasantness, so I'm
> > separating it here. I closed the above post with quotes from Jake's notes that
> > were particularly disheartening to me. The icing on the cake, however, was
> >
> > "I’m working with the one and only Greg Hyland to create a
> > comic book about the LEGO fans. Something you can use to help
> > tell the world what being an AFOL is all about."
> >
> > <upset sarcasm /on>
> > In his comic, I hope Greg makes sure to include his total lack of respect for
> > those of us who feel strongly about the color change.
> > <upset sarcasm /off>
> >
> > In his posts in the FBTB forums, he not only showed a lack of respect, but went
> > out of his way to {mock} specific people for their opinions.
>
> So it's okay for fans to mock Lego's ideas (focus groups! brighter colours!),
> but not okay to mock the mockers (Boo hoo!) ?
Greg Hyland works for TLC, at least part of the time. It's generally not good
business practice to mock the people that pay your salary. I know we complain
that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an improvement.
What is your problem, anyway? Why does it offend you that some people are
genuinely upset by the color change? What do you get out of attacking them for
expressing their feelings?
Marc Nelson Jr.
> > I debated with myself about posting this, but I feel the community should know
> > the character/humor of one of our (apparent) mouthpieces.
>
> Should know? *Must* know!. No, they *need* to know! Better yet they have a
> *right* to know!
>
> > Greg has done more for the community than I probably ever will, but I was
> > thoroughly disappointed in him and his trivializing attitude. As a now
> > semi-official "employee" of LEGO, I thought he would know better. I am not
> > trying to defame him; I hope he takes this as constructive critism.
>
> Of course not! You're just pointing out that he has a total lack of respect for
> people who feel strongly about the colour change, has mocked people for their
> ideas and that he has a trivialising attitude...
>
> How could *anyone* take that as *anything* but constructive criticism?
>
>
> Richie Dulin
|
|
| |
> > > <upset sarcasm /on>
> > > In his comic, I hope Greg makes sure to include his total lack of respect for
> > > those of us who feel strongly about the color change.
> > > <upset sarcasm /off>
> > >
> > > In his posts in the FBTB forums, he not only showed a lack of respect, but went
> > > out of his way to {mock} specific people for their opinions.
> >
> > So it's okay for fans to mock Lego's ideas (focus groups! brighter colours!),
> > but not okay to mock the mockers (Boo hoo!) ?
>
> Greg Hyland works for TLC, at least part of the time. It's generally not good
> business practice to mock the people that pay your salary. I know we complain
> that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an improvement.
>
> What is your problem, anyway? Why does it offend you that some people are
> genuinely upset by the color change? What do you get out of attacking them for
> expressing their feelings?
>
> Marc Nelson Jr.
>
> > > I debated with myself about posting this, but I feel the community should know
> > > the character/humor of one of our (apparent) mouthpieces.
> >
> > Should know? *Must* know!. No, they *need* to know! Better yet they have a
> > *right* to know!
> >
> > > Greg has done more for the community than I probably ever will, but I was
> > > thoroughly disappointed in him and his trivializing attitude. As a now
> > > semi-official "employee" of LEGO, I thought he would know better. I am not
> > > trying to defame him; I hope he takes this as constructive critism.
> >
> > Of course not! You're just pointing out that he has a total lack of respect for
> > people who feel strongly about the colour change, has mocked people for their
> > ideas and that he has a trivialising attitude...
> >
> > How could *anyone* take that as *anything* but constructive criticism?
> >
> >
> > Richie Dulin
As someone who has met with Greg on more than one occasion,
that some of this is crazy. I don't really care with what Greg does on
his on-line posts and stuff, but as someone who does some great stuff and
is a very cool guy in person....
... I find it very insulting that you would try to drag him into the whole
color issue.
Just posting my opinion on this matter.
Thanks, Ben M.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Benjamin Medinets wrote:
> > > > <upset sarcasm /on>
> > > > In his comic, I hope Greg makes sure to include his total lack of respect for
> > > > those of us who feel strongly about the color change.
> > > > <upset sarcasm /off>
> > > >
> > > > In his posts in the FBTB forums, he not only showed a lack of respect, but went
> > > > out of his way to {mock} specific people for their opinions.
> > >
> > > So it's okay for fans to mock Lego's ideas (focus groups! brighter colours!),
> > > but not okay to mock the mockers (Boo hoo!) ?
> >
> > Greg Hyland works for TLC, at least part of the time. It's generally not good
> > business practice to mock the people that pay your salary. I know we complain
> > that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an improvement.
> >
> > What is your problem, anyway? Why does it offend you that some people are
> > genuinely upset by the color change? What do you get out of attacking them for
> > expressing their feelings?
> >
> > Marc Nelson Jr.
> >
> > > > I debated with myself about posting this, but I feel the community should know
> > > > the character/humor of one of our (apparent) mouthpieces.
> > >
> > > Should know? *Must* know!. No, they *need* to know! Better yet they have a
> > > *right* to know!
> > >
> > > > Greg has done more for the community than I probably ever will, but I was
> > > > thoroughly disappointed in him and his trivializing attitude. As a now
> > > > semi-official "employee" of LEGO, I thought he would know better. I am not
> > > > trying to defame him; I hope he takes this as constructive critism.
> > >
> > > Of course not! You're just pointing out that he has a total lack of respect for
> > > people who feel strongly about the colour change, has mocked people for their
> > > ideas and that he has a trivialising attitude...
> > >
> > > How could *anyone* take that as *anything* but constructive criticism?
> > >
> > >
> > > Richie Dulin
>
> As someone who has met with Greg on more than one occasion,
> that some of this is crazy. I don't really care with what Greg does on
> his on-line posts and stuff, but as someone who does some great stuff and
> is a very cool guy in person....
>
> ... I find it very insulting that you would try to drag him into the whole
> color issue.
>
> Just posting my opinion on this matter.
>
> Thanks, Ben M.
I have also talked to Greg in person (at last year's Brickfest), and he seemed
like a swell guy. He was very humble about his outstanding artwork, and was kind
of amused when I suggested that he was undercharging for it. But I find his
comments about people who are upset about the color change to be insensitive.
The second part of my post was a response to the poster, and not directed at
Greg Hyland.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Marc Nelson, Jr. wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Richie Dulin wrote:
> > So it's okay for fans to mock Lego's ideas (focus groups! brighter colours!),
> > but not okay to mock the mockers (Boo hoo!) ?
>
> Greg Hyland works for TLC, at least part of the time. It's generally not good
> business practice to mock the people that pay your salary. I know we complain
> that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an improvement.
>
> What is your problem, anyway? Why does it offend you that some people are
> genuinely upset by the color change?
It doesn't offend me. I find it bizarre and hilarious. No offense at all.
> What do you get out of attacking them for expressing their feelings?
Are you now attacking me for expressing my feelings?
What do you get out of attacking Lego for expressing their feelings that the new
greys are better than the old greys?
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Volker Draschka wrote:
> http://f24.parsimony.net/forum61776/messages/70094.htm
>
> Sorry, only in German
And that's precisely why he should look here instead, for what EuroBricks is
about:
http://www.debouwsteen.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=129
See it as a kind of knowledge center platform where newer LUG's can profit and
share the experience from the longer established LUG's, for instance in the
field of participating with events. It's an initiative by the Dutch LUG "De
Bouwsteen" and evolved out of the succesfull LEGOWORLD 2001, 2002 and 2003
events, and out of the growing interest and participation from other European
LUG's.
With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Marc Nelson, Jr. wrote:
> I know we complain
> that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an
> improvement.
To be 100% clear, the comic that Greg and I created was positive, humourous, and
informative. We didn't make fun of the AFOLs at all. I'd be happy to email you a
copy for your review if you like.
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Community Liaison
LEGO Community
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3. Has anyone at Lego heard of Coca-Cola?? They tried to change their
formula, lost huge amounts of money, and SWITCHED BACK to the original
formula. It seems any lesson taught there has not been learned by anyone at
TLC.
|
Coke must not be available in Billund. :)
|
Funny thing about Coke, Denmark, and LEGO. When they flew us over (business
class) on KLM in 1992 from NY to Copenhagen, they served Coke and LEGO on board.
But for the short hop from Copenhagen to Billund, the local airline served the
national brand “Jolly Cola”, for which they charged by the bottle! The whole
time we were at LEGOLand, it was Jolly Cola or nothing -- except for the party
on the final night when they imported Coke and hip hop. When we returned to
Copenhagen and picked up our rental car for a week of tooling around Europe, the
first place we visited was a Danish McDonald’s -- to have a Coke (Jolly Cola was
not a winner).
When we went back in 2001, we noticed that Jolly Cola had disappeared from the
park and had been replaced everywhere by Coke.
Personally, I survived the US Coca Cola reformulation debacle by having enough
Coke stashed in cans to provide 1 a day during the entire shortage. What I found
particulary intolerable was not being able to have a Coke with a hotdog during a
baseball game. Alas, things soon got even worse despite the return of Classic
Coke: The Angels were bought by Disney and Disney soon concluded a 10 year deal
to sell only Pepsi at all their parks and sports venues, which included Anaheim
Stadium. Grrrhh. The moral of the story: Be happy with the new grays, lest TLC
get bought up by Megablocks who convert all LEGO colors to new shades that vary
with the season of the year!!!
-Ted
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Jake McKee wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Marc Nelson, Jr. wrote:
> > I know we complain
> > that TLC ignores us AFOLs, but having TLC make fun of us isn't an
> > improvement.
> To be 100% clear, the comic that Greg and I created was positive, humourous, and
> informative. We didn't make fun of the AFOLs at all. I'd be happy to email you a
> copy for your review if you like.
Hi, Jake,
how about making the comic public so we all can see what kind of image
of us you are spreading? This would be the easiest way to squelch
rumours about "Lego making fun of us".
Yours, Christian
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Christian Treczoks wrote:
> Hi, Jake,
>
> how about making the comic public so we all can see what kind of image
> of us you are spreading? This would be the easiest way to squelch
> rumours about "Lego making fun of us".
Uh, I'll field this question!
That's exactly what we're planning to do.
I'm sure we'll have it ready for BrickFest. The comics were done orignally for a
presentation to illustrate a cross-section of what LEGO fans do for the folks at
LEGO in Denmark. Jake thought comics would illustrate the points better than any
sort of written or verbal presentation. If something is funny, but makes a
point, that point will be remembered longer. With it, we hit points about what
Mindstorms clubs are like, that games like BrikWarz exist, that people often
know more about upcoming prduct than store employees, loyalty to certain lines
like Space or Castle, what events like BrickFest are like, that on-line
communities like Lugnet and fbtb.net exist, that people organize projects like
the Moonbase project, why you shoulnd't say "legos" and why the colour change
issue is important. Anywayze, LEGO appearantly liked it so much that they want
it to be printed up as a free giveaway booklet, just like Jake mentioned in his
speach.
We have nothing to hide. The comic wasn't a secret in-club "ha-ha look at our
stupid customers" trick. I wouldn't want to be part of that. I love LEGO, and I
share many of the traits that my comic humorously points out. I think that's why
Jake wanted me to write thse strips... I'm a fan and part of the community. I
understand more than an outsider looking in.
I just re-read over the three strips I did about the colour change. I don't thnk
any of them are mean or make fun of the character who is conserend about the
problem. I made the dialogue to ILLUSTRATE the conserns and problems.
Panel 3
Character 1: Didn't you hear? They modified the colour of the grey bricks
Character 2: What?! They can't do that! After all the bricks I already
collected? My castle won't have consistant colour!
Panel 4:
Character 2: At least the part of the castle I'm doing all in brown will be
okay...
Character 1: Uhhh.. You may want to hold off on that part, too...
In another strip:
Panel 1
Character 2: I find this whole "new grey" issue annoying.
Panel 2
Character 2: It means it's going to be harder for me to collect the bricks I
need in the colours I need for my creations. I'll end up buying less LEGO sets
from stores or their website, and buying more from the secondary market, where I
might have to pay inflated prices.
Panel 3
Character 2: But at least one positive thing has come from all this...
Character 1: Oh yeah? What's that?
Panel 4
Character 2: It's finally an issue that has united he Castle people and the
Space people!
In that last strip, I think I most of the major points accross, and I ended it
in a funny punchline.
I think with the strips I found a way to laugh a little at ourselves without
being mean. When submitting the scripts to Jake, on almost all of them I added a
note "this strip is based on an actual experience that happend to me" and I know
I said at least once that this project is closest I'll ever get to doing an
autobiographical comic (except I'm not bald, like the main character). I'd like
people to read the comics, laugh and say "oh my god! That's SO me!"
Now on a seperate issue, what are MY own thoughts on the colour change? I 100%
understand the problem. It's annoying. However, I felt people over reacted on
fbtb, so I pointed that out. I think most peole know I really like mini-figures,
and I think most of know that the skin-tone is changing for licenced figure this
year. My favorite lines are Star Wars, Harry Potter and Spider-Man. The
mini-figure skin colour change annoys me. I wish it wan't happening. However,
I'm not annoyed enough, and can't relate to geting annoyed enough, to making
complaint calls to LEGO or leaving the hobby. I think doing that is kind of
extreme and, well, funny.
Anywayze, I hope you all get a chance to read ALL the comics and let me know
what you think.
-Greg Hyland
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Greg Hyland wrote:
> In lugnet.events.brickfest, Christian Treczoks wrote:
>
> > how about making the comic public so we all can see what kind of image
> > of us you are spreading?
>
> That's exactly what we're planning to do.
>
> I'm sure we'll have it ready for BrickFest. • ...
> Panel 4
> Character 2: It's finally an issue that has united he Castle people and the
> Space people! • ...
> Anywayze, I hope you all get a chance to read ALL the comics and let me know
> what you think.
Greg,
I'm looking forward to seeing the comic. I'm not into Castle or Space, nor am I
bothered by the color change, but I still find your examples funny.
I can't wait to see more,
Steve
|
|
| |
> And that's precisely why he should look here instead, for what EuroBricks is
> about
But Jojo is German, why should he read the English explanation instead of the
German one? And AFAIK, the Eurobrick-infos at De Bouwsteen are not available for
the public...
Leg Godt,
René
|
|
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Greg Hyland wrote:
| |
In lugnet.events.brickfest, Christian Treczoks wrote:
| |
Hi, Jake,
how about making the comic public so we all can see what kind of image
of us you are spreading? This would be the easiest way to squelch
rumours about “Lego making fun of us”.
|
Uh, I’ll field this question!
That’s exactly what we’re planning to do.
I’m sure we’ll have it ready for BrickFest. The comics were done orignally for
a presentation to illustrate a cross-section of what LEGO fans do for the
folks at LEGO in Denmark. Jake thought comics would illustrate the points
better than any sort of written or verbal presentation. If something is funny,
but makes a point, that point will be remembered longer. With it, we hit
points about what Mindstorms clubs are like, that games like BrikWarz exist,
that people often know more about upcoming prduct than store employees,
loyalty to certain lines like Space or Castle, what events like BrickFest are
like, that on-line communities like Lugnet and fbtb.net exist, that people
organize projects like the Moonbase project, why you shoulnd’t say “legos” and
why the colour change issue is important. Anywayze, LEGO appearantly liked it
so much that they want it to be printed up as a free giveaway booklet, just
like Jake mentioned in his speach.
We have nothing to hide. The comic wasn’t a secret in-club “ha-ha look at our
stupid customers” trick. I wouldn’t want to be part of that. I love LEGO, and
I share many of the traits that my comic humorously points out. I think that’s
why Jake wanted me to write thse strips... I’m a fan and part of the
community. I understand more than an outsider looking in.
I just re-read over the three strips I did about the colour change. I don’t
thnk any of them are mean or make fun of the character who is conserend about
the problem. I made the dialogue to ILLUSTRATE the conserns and problems.
Panel 3
Character 1: Didn’t you hear? They modified the colour of the grey bricks
Character 2: What?! They can’t do that! After all the bricks I already
collected? My castle won’t have consistant colour!
Panel 4:
Character 2: At least the part of the castle I’m doing all in brown will be
okay...
Character 1: Uhhh.. You may want to hold off on that part, too...
In another strip:
Panel 1
Character 2: I find this whole “new grey” issue annoying.
Panel 2
Character 2: It means it’s going to be harder for me to collect the bricks I
need in the colours I need for my creations. I’ll end up buying less LEGO sets
from stores or their website, and buying more from the secondary market, where
I might have to pay inflated prices.
Panel 3
Character 2: But at least one positive thing has come from all this...
Character 1: Oh yeah? What’s that?
Panel 4
Character 2: It’s finally an issue that has united he Castle people and the
Space people!
In that last strip, I think I most of the major points accross, and I ended it
in a funny punchline.
I think with the strips I found a way to laugh a little at ourselves without
being mean. When submitting the scripts to Jake, on almost all of them I added
a note “this strip is based on an actual experience that happend to me” and I
know I said at least once that this project is closest I’ll ever get to doing
an autobiographical comic (except I’m not bald, like the main character). I’d
like people to read the comics, laugh and say “oh my god! That’s SO me!”
Now on a seperate issue, what are MY own thoughts on the colour change? I 100%
understand the problem. It’s annoying. However, I felt people over reacted on
fbtb, so I pointed that out. I think most peole know I really like
mini-figures, and I think most of know that the skin-tone is changing for
licenced figure this year. My favorite lines are Star Wars, Harry Potter and
Spider-Man. The mini-figure skin colour change annoys me. I wish it wan’t
happening. However, I’m not annoyed enough, and can’t relate to geting annoyed
enough, to making complaint calls to LEGO or leaving the hobby. I think doing
that is kind of extreme and, well, funny.
Anywayze, I hope you all get a chance to read ALL the comics and let me know
what you think.
-Greg Hyland
|
Thanks for giving us the details of the comic. You did a great job of getting
across our frustrations across to TLC employees.
Based on your comments on FBTB, I was afraid you were going to make a less
sympathetic portrayal of AFOLs and their reaction to the color change. Thanks
for your great work, and thanks for addressing my concerns in a civil fashion
(much more civil than some of your
fellow Canadians). I am
sorry if you were upset by my post, and I look forward to seeing you and your
work at Brickfest.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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