Subject:
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Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 22 Nov 1999 04:56:06 GMT
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Viewed:
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800 times
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All,
I'll take a moment to disagree with Mr. Masi. If LEGO wants to push LEGO
trains. They need one key item: a marketing angle. The days of building a
better product and the customer will pound your door down are over. We live
in a marketing driven world.
So a high quality TGV design would get them no where without a marketing
angle. People have suggested a Thomas the Tank Engine set, but there is one
problem. Thomas appeals to the 4-6 age group demographic. LEGO trains are
made for the 7-11 demographic, possibly higher if they made more
complicated/realistic sets. So what are they to do. So far they(LEGO) has
held the course steady, releasing designs that are appropriate for the target
age group.
For anyone that doubts the power of a marketing/product tie in. Think Star
Wars. It took LEGO 30 years to get there, but when they did, wow! What a
success it was.
In the near term, LEGO trains will remain a small niche market for LEGO.
Lacking marketing tie in, building the LEGO train hobby will require the grass
roots effort of LEGO train enthusiasts across the country. There is no doubt
in my mind that the efforts of the Pacific Northwest Lego Train Club have
influenced purchasing decisions made by consumers. Consumers, who at one
point considered HO or O, decided to go with a LEGO brand train.
Enough said. Long live LEGO trains.
Ben Fleskes
PNLTC
In lugnet.trains, Christopher Masi writes:
> I agree with a lot that is being said here, but I think the biggest problem • is the
> lack of LEGO support. What I mean is that the models that everyone are so
> impressed with are our home-built models not the LEGO sets. LEGO is producing
> unexicting, boring-dare I say-bad sets. Until LEGO can produce a good line of
> attractive sets, get them in the stores, and advertise them nothing will • change. I
> do not run around pushing LEGO trains because I feel embarrassed by the • current
> selection. First timers do not have the experience and the collection to build
> good trains. So, I feel that introducing people to LEGO trains is like • introducing
> them to a let down. Very soon your friend comes back and says, "Is that all • there
> is?"
>
> Could you imagine a commercial featuring a LEGO TGV zipping through a LEGO
> countryside, or a massive LEGO freight train pulling a load up Horseshoe Bend
> (that is the right name, isn't it)? LEGO trains could make nearly as big an • impact
> as Mindstorms did. Right now no one knows that LEGO trains exist if if they • did
> they would find the selection rather uninspiring.
>
> So, LEGO should design a better looking line, leave them in production a • little
> longer, and advertize them!
>
> Just thinking out loud.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| Ben, Actually, Ben I agree with you. The ramblings below attempt to clarify my earlier statements. Just call me Chris; it feels weird to be called Mr. Masi. I didn't get my point accross well. Mindstorms was a success because it is a very cool (...) (25 years ago, 23-Jun-98, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| People have suggested a Thomas the Tank Engine set, but there is one (...) Ben, I'm going to disagree with you here. Lego trains are made in the EU. The EU mandates that mains electric toys be labeled from 7 up (I beleve it is from 7+). This is (...) (25 years ago, 22-Nov-99, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| I agree with a lot that is being said here, but I think the biggest problem is the lack of LEGO support. What I mean is that the models that everyone are so impressed with are our home-built models not the LEGO sets. LEGO is producing unexicting, (...) (25 years ago, 21-Nov-99, to lugnet.trains)
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