Subject:
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Re: Holy Mackerel! LEGO survey...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Sun, 17 Apr 2005 03:34:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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7209 times
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> * Would you buy LEGO toys for children 0-11? Y/N
Yes, if I was buying toys for someone 0-11, I would definatly consider lego.
> * Why / Why not?
Because there is some good products on the shelves at the moment.
> * What feature(s) would you add if you were the marketing director of LEGO?
Change the focus away from things that emphasize play and back to sets that
emphasize building. LEGO is a construction toy. It should be about building
things. Also, make more sets that encourage kids to build things other than
what is printed on the box. Another great idea would be "if you have sets
x,y,z you can get this extra set of instructions and build something using
parts from all 3 sets". More small sets (the kind that kids can buy with
their pocket money). How about a line where you get (say) 10 different
sets, each of which builds something on its own but when you own all 10,
you can build a much bigger model using the parts from all 10.
> * How would you change existing LEGO products if you wanted to sell them for
> more money?
Things I would change about lego products:
Smaller boxes with less air inside and more product
Less new parts every year (go back to making decorative bits out of generic
parts instead of having 100s of different decorative parts). Conversly,
more use of existing parts (including older parts not used so much anymore).
Less colors (and get rid of the new colors like the new dark grey, new
light grey, new brown and that new transparent orange too)
More use of basic parts like bricks and plates.
Better packaging (go back to the flip-top boxes that let you see inside the
box). Plus, less use of "extra" graphics on the boxes, instructions and
catalogs (the pages for the new City fire & police sets shown in the new
2005 australian catalog are almost perfect in this respect).
> * What new products would you launch?
More sets in the western line, especially an "American" 4-4-0 steam
locomotive and matching passenger/freight wagons (like in all the old
cowboy movies). It should be as realistic as possible (for example, use
really big wheels simiar to the BBB wheels for the rear bogies and put one
of the 2 x 2 round tiles with the flame print from Life On Mars in as a
boiler). I would suggest something like a saloon or bar too but I think
lego would have issues with making a set that featured drinking and gambling.
A "near future" sci-fi theme, sets similar to all those "this is what space
travel could be like in the future" concept pictures they put (or used to
put) in the books on space travel.
More accessory sets, for example:
Studded technic beams packs in various colors
the existing Studless beams pack in colors other than black
Packs with more minifig parts and accessories (how about going back to the
minifig packs seen in themes like Pirates, Space, Town and Castle)
A pack with lots of control panels and printed elements
Brick, Plate and Slope packs in more colors (and a greater variaty of
pieces too)
More sets in the Legends and MOC lines.
A line similar to the Mega Bloks pro-builder line. Wouldnt necessarily have
to be military, there is plenty of scope for making cool models with
civillian themes.
A new Mindstorms RIS 3.0. Keep the same RCX and electrical parts. Introduce
some new sensors (how about a sensor using the same technology that those
"you are about to back into something" warning sensors for cars use).
Possibly bring in new software or a new firmware version.
Definatly have a new constructopedia with new models. Make good use of all
the new parts that have been added to techinc in recent years.
Make sure to release an "upgrade pack" that contains all parts needed to
turn a RIS 2.0 into a RIS 3.0 (including the new constructopedia and any
new software).
A greater range of train accessories. More "trackside objects" (e.g. signal
towers)
> * What should LEGO be doing that it isn’t now?
Abandon the whole "FAD" thing and go back to having longer-lasting themes
that have universal appeal.
Investigate if the stories of lego loosing shelf space to compeitiors are
true or not and if they are true, find out why (is it simply that the
competitors is selling more)
Drop the licencing. The Thomas licence for example, it sounds good in
theory but there are already at least 4 or 5 different kinds of Thomas The
Tank Engine train sets (wooden track, blue track, my first thomas and
possibly others).
More sets aimed at an older market. (the story that video games mean
marketing to the older market is wasted doesnt make sense to me, I had lego
when I was a kid AND I had a Nintendo and later a Super Nintendo)
Ditch the Jack Stone figures and sets and stick with the Minifig.
Keep the LEGOLAND parks the way they are (if increasing admission charges
for the parks is the only way to do that, so be it)
Drop all the fancy electric bits (like those Remote Control cars)
Drop all the overuse of really large parts (as seen in Jack Stone).
Listen to what the retailers (small and large) are saying and what they
want from LEGO.
Drop the use of "Focus Groups" (or failing that, get a better focus group
system in place). All the evidence I have seen myself suggests that
(despite what the so-called focus group said) most fans are either negative
towards the new colors or dont care one way or the other. I know of no-one
that has bought stuff they wouldnt have otherwise bought just because of
the new colors.
Stop trying to market to segments (e.g. girls with clikits) that arent part
of your core market.
Have less products out there at once but keep them on the shelves longer.
Make more of the products (like the Train products) available in retail
stores (we recently got the Imperial Star Destroyer in a retail store in
australia and from what I heard, it sold like hotcakes)
Less use of gimicks like card games.
Get rid of the "comics" found in instruction books like Star Wars and
Orient Expedition.
Much greater use of alternate models.
One of the central ideas of lego has been that of compatibility. The idea
that I can take parts from the newest Star Wars set and the old Classic
Space set and use them together alongside parts from the new Police sets
and the old Fire stations from the early 80s. The idea that all the parts
in the lego range form one whole "System". Lego needs to keep that idea as
a central focus and not produce products that dont fit with the.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Holy Mackerel! LEGO survey...
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| All, I know that some of you have attempted to fill out the survey announced yesterday on LEGOfan.org, only to be turned away with a message about the survey being complete. After some late night phone calls and early morning emails, I've been to (...) (20 years ago, 16-Apr-05, to lugnet.general, lugnet.lego) !!
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