There are so few iconic toys left from years gone by, but one that keeps reinventing itself, even in the tech laden world of today, is LEGO. The plastic bricks, and all their various offshoots, continue to amaze, engage and enthrall kids of all ages like they did three quarters of a century ago.
How does LEGO stay fresh? We learned about their core messaging, and some of their philosophies as part of Leaders Week at the Times Center on Wednesday.
Now keep in mind that LEGO, especially around the sports world, has had its share of warts. The licensed playsets that evolved in the ‘90’s, with player-like characters around sports like the NBA, cane and went. There wasn’t a real way to engage and move with the little figures, even the mock stadia, that would keep kids engaged. Much of that has been grabbed to various degrees of success by OYO Toys these days. But LEGO has continued to refine its marketplace by staying consistent to its brand, something which those in the volatile daily world of sports business, especially on the team level, can lose sight of.
Also, while not traditional sports, I have personally seen how LEGO has adapted to a team environment their work in competitive robotics, using their brand with FIRST to show young people of all ages how to engage with the brand through various STEM activities that involve boys and girls, in a team setting building and battling against each other for a world championship trophy (I know because my son Andrew was part of the 2017 World Robotics Championship and learned a great deal about teamwork through his participation in robotics for almost 10 years in middle and high school).
Back to the learnings at Leaders. Amidst the talk of soccer clubs, sports betting, media rights, baseball and the like, was a conversation with Julia Goldin, CMO of the Danish based toy company. Julia laid out in 45 minutes the values and the business philosophy that keeps LEGO strong, from playsets to films. Their keys to success all revolve around themes that team, leagues, and other brands should always have on hand, but sometimes fall by the wayside.
Included in her discussion were five key elements for LEGO success:
Play– Make sure that kids of all ages are engaged and involved with the product. Young, healthy fun engagement makes fans of the brand for life.
Deliver to the consumer- Make sure the experience is consistent and is what the consumer expects from the brand. No surprises.
Partner enrichment- Make sure all your business partners, from big box stores to Disney for film to game developers, are getting the best of your work, and are engaged and working effectively and passionately with the brand and the people in the company.
Sustainability- Lost many times, but invaluable to a younger consumer, is making sure that all the elements of your brand are thinking about the bigger picture. Whether that is part of an ecofriendly package or doing work in the community, tying the brand to the betterment of the world is key to LEGI success.
Leadership- Not just in sales, but in forward thinking, community involvement, understanding the challenges of young people, furthering education and technology in the build process, all of those pieces are essential to making sure that LEGO is a proactive leader, not a follower in the space.
Simple messages that easily translate to almost any workplace. Apart from those five company pillars, there were other transferrable messages that have worked with LEGO as well.
Storytelling- Goldin constantly went back to the idea of consistent storytelling and making sure that LEGO as a company tells the right story to all its consumers, literally one brick at a time. The key elements to the story are things like discovery (making sure that young consumers can use their creative minds to build not just what the box says, but what they see with their imagination with the sets), fun activities, role playing (especially with LEGO film characters and video games), and education at home and in school (not just of kids, but of their heads of household, the ones who will purchase and ultimately clean up the bricks big and small around the house).
Last but not least, the unspoken message, one which applies to all of us who want to be successful, is passion. You have to love doing what you do, and that engagement, and that passion spills over into a successful work environment.
Consistent messaging, great storytelling, proactive thought, community involvement, making a fan for life, listening and engaging with the consumer and delivering on the experience. All of what LEGO does well. All of those lessons translate perfectly into sports and entertainment.
One last thing on why I am so passionate about the LEGO brand. Here is one of the award winning videos my son, now a freshman at Drexel University, made with those blocks in my basement. Proof positive that creativity and passion for a product work well.
Great lessons learn from little blocks.
