Subject:
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Re: Color Change - Final Update
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Wed, 5 May 2004 20:56:17 GMT
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Viewed:
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10103 times
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Dave Schuler wrote:
>
> [sniparoo]
>
> > So to answer the current question, if TLG solicits and ignores AFOL input, then
> > TLG can still claim that it took input from adult fans of the brand. Sure, that
> > might annoy the AFOL's who feel ignored, but if the "working with the customer"
> > angle boosts sales overall, then TLG's margin is served.
>
> I understand the point, but I don't exactly follow it. The only way that sales
> are boosted by paying attention to AFOL feedback is with the AFOL market. There
> really isn't a way we can take your (AFOL) feedback and meld it into something
> for the kids market. Kids/parents won't really care much about whether or not we
> listened to AFOLs or not.
>
> But if we take in your feedback, and react, then in theory your (AFOL) sales
> goes up. Why would we not want to listen? Why would we bother asking for your
> feedback if we weren't going to use it? I just fail to understand how we could
> use AFOL for anything other than addressing AFOL desires.
I guess I'm thinking about it like this (and please correct me if I'm wrong):
AFOL's are among the most die-hard fans of the brand (low flight-risk)
AFOL's account for a low percentage of overall sales (low dollar-risk)
Kids (& non-AFOL parents) have no particular loyalty to LEGO (high flight-risk)
Kids (& non-AFOL parents) are a large percentage of sales (high dollar-risk)
So TLG can solicit AFOL input and heed or ignore it at TLG's whim, all the while
claiming (not incorrectly) to have solicited input from fans in designing a
product, a theme, or what-have-you. I can even imagine an ad along the lines of
"The new LEGO (insert item), designed with input from fans." If this works as a
selling point, then TLG benefits from the solicitation of input whether the
input is used or not. I don't even think TLG would have to specify which fans
gave input about which products, unless that was a goal (like the extremely cool
Blacksmith's Shop 3739).
TLG can also reliably gamble that AFOL's are sufficiently dedicated to the brand
not to quit the hobby or flee to the competition, even if those AFOL's feel
marginalized by the use/non-use of their input. The color change is the current
prime example of this--how many AFOL's are going to be lost? Very few, I'd
wager.
Kids and their non-AFOL parents are less established in LEGO-brand loyalty, so
TLG must naturally play to that audience, if that's where the most money comes
from (I can't imagine, for instance, that AFOL's account for the majority of
Bionicle sales). If non-AFOL parents are positively influenced to buy LEGO by
the claim of fan-design, then TLG benefits from increased sales to a customer
who might just as easily have bought K'Nex or the like.
So my concern isn't based on hard dollar figures, but on an awareness of how
some corporations work and how some consumers select one product versus another.
Thanks again for your time.
Dave!
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Color Change - Final Update
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| In lugnet.general, Dave Schuler wrote: [sniparoo] (...) I understand the point, but I don't exactly follow it. The only way that sales are boosted by paying attention to AFOL feedback is with the AFOL market. There really isn't a way we can take (...) (20 years ago, 5-May-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.lego)
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