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LEGO’s New Strategy Towards Adult Fans

by Thita (admin) on June 4, 2020

(Written by William)

Recently, LEGO invited Recognized LEGO Fan Media (RLFM) partners to participate in RLFM Days where LEGO Ambassadors had the chance to connect with various LEGO departments, hear presentations, conduct interviews, ask questions, and share concerns with LEGO representatives. The event normally takes place in Billund each year, but due to the virus, this year it was conducted virtually.

One of the sessions focused purely on how adults are viewed in the overall strategy of the brand. In short, engaging adult fans is an area where a lot of growth has been happening and we can expect to see even more. This actually requires a great deal of work, as the perception of LEGO being for kids is a deeply ingrained belief of the general public. And it’s not hard to imagine why. LEGO is sold in the toy aisle, it is usually in brightly colored packaging, and all the major commercials and references we see in media have pointed to this direction. How then do you market a product to an audience who is not entirely sure they need what’s on offer? Let’s dig in and get an idea what changes are on the way.

WHAT ADULTS NEED

If LEGO plans to convince adults that their models are a necessity, then there needs to be a very real need that is being fulfilled. These needs can be summarized in two major ways. Mind you, this is an oversimplification, since there is still more to cover.

First, we as adults live in a hyper-connected world. We’re glued to half a dozen apps on more than one device. This fractured and frantic life-style is what drives a good portion of our day-to-day lives. We’re trying to convince ourselves this pace of interaction is what will bring about happiness.

However, it has been found that if we focus on a single task and become fully absorbed in said task, we end up with a much better sense of accomplishment. This practically describes most people’s experience when they build a complex LEGO set. And this, in turn, makes LEGO an ideal stress reliever.

The second need relates more to personal identity. Have you ever thought about why we choose what we choose to decorate our homes and work spaces? These decorations are an expression of ourselves. Therefore, that fancy pirate ship model or a highly detailed city scene allows us to do this form of self-expression. LEGO displays express the creativity of a person as well as their interests.

WHAT AN ADULT LEGO SET LOOKS LIKE

Through various studies, LEGO tried to identify what adults would recognize as something that catered to them. We have now seen some examples of this in action. If you are a longtime fan, you could probably spot these sets simply based on their size, packaging, and price point.

Some great examples of the new adult-focused packaging are the #10273 LEGO Creator Haunted House and the LEGO Star Wars buildable helmets. Their boxes are streamlined with the model image being extremely prominent with plain backgrounds. We can even spot the new 18+ age recommendation to further hammer this idea home.

LEGO has also identified some key design topics that really resonate with adults. After all, if this is supposed to be a decorative display in someone’s home, then it needs to be based on something they really love. Sports, for instance, is a clear category for adults. We see it in the #10272 LEGO Creator Old Trafford – Manchester United stadium, as well as the high-performance vehicles in the LEGO Creator Expert and LEGO Technic lines.

Another topic they have considered for adults is their popular classics. This is sort of a catch-all for the various sets that they’ve found adults seek out. Star Wars, Super Heroes, Harry Potter, Modular Buildings, and LEGO Ideas are just a handful of examples of what fit this category. It is not LEGO’s intention to alienate their existing fan base who currently love what they buy. The goal is to serve adults by focusing on topics they like, and making adult-oriented products visually appealing to adults.

This doesn’t mean though that LEGO will try to stick adults in a box and all adult-oriented sets will always look the same. Consider the #21322 LEGO Ideas Pirates of Barracuda Bay. It has a very retro look to bring out the nostalgia angle. It’s an example of how creative LEGO can get even within their vision for adults.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As an adult fan myself, I am excited to see what will be heading our way in the future. I spend a good deal of money on LEGO, so I like the fact that what I buy is actually being designed with me in mind. I’m overjoyed with the new LEGO Modular Buildings each year. And I was blown away with sets like the #76139 LEGO DC Super Heroes 1989 Batmobile. And there’s still nothing to stop me from enjoying the sillier sets like LEGO Hidden Side.

What do you think? Do you feel there are LEGO sets made for you? And if you’re under 18, how do you feel about seeing an 18+ set in LEGO’s catalog? And do you think any of these changes LEGO is making to attract adults will change the mind of anyone who currently is not a LEGO fan? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

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LEGO Projects – Researching the Future

by Thita (admin) on June 3, 2020

in Featured LEGO Creations

(Written by William)

When I originally started writing about LEGO Ideas, it was for two major reasons. The first was to share some of my own creations with the larger fan community. The second was to document the LEGO Ideas process. I was hoping that, with each successive project, I could learn from my mistakes and run a better campaign to help others learn along the way.

Then I ran across a project that let me talk about an area of LEGO building I don’t always have a chance to cover in other articles, namely design theory. This is the idea of how you might go about planning a creation. In the last article, titled LEGO Projects – The Importance of Research, we talked about the value of researching a subject you are interested in, and how that research might manifest in your model. But what happens when the idea you’re trying to bring to life doesn’t exist in real life? Today, we will take a look at another LEGO Ideas project called Colide Spring – Concept Supercar by Mandylion777, that tackles such a subject.

WHAT IS THE COLIDE SPRING CONCEPT SUPERCAR?

Put simply, this is a car of the future. It’s Mandylion777’s envisioning of what that should look like. Generally, they wanted a fast car that could display the speed of today’s biggest and boldest muscle cars. However, unlike today’s beastly machines, their car would feature a much more responsible fuel system.

This, in an of itself, is an intriguing concept since models don’t actually use fuel. Additionally, just creating a tank and saying it has a blend of this or that is also not that interesting. So what they did instead was make it battery powered complete with removable batteries and a charging station.

Another fascinating feature is the modularity with the car’s motor and trunk. Having the ability to simply remove a motor like this can make repairs and fine tuning a much less daunting prospect. As for the trunk, any weight you can remove from a vehicle can increase its performance, provided it doesn’t affect the wind resistance of said vehicle. For that reason, removing the trunk is a fabulous way to design a car.

Finally, the model also features some glow-in-the-dark elements. This is more to give a sense of style and futurism to the overall appearance. Which, I must admit, is extremely important. In fact, Tesla made their name by making an environmental car look sleek and cool. Plus, I really enjoy seeing glow-in-the-dark pieces being used for something that is not hokey in some way.

HOW TO DESIGN SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST?

So now we know what the model is, what can we learn from it? Well, as stated before, this car does not exist. It is merely a concept from Mandylion777. This means there was very little to research, save aerodynamics of a car’s frame. So then how can someone build this and become better at making similar creations?

In one word, necessity. There is an old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” This holds true today as it did when Plato said it all those years ago. And it is a great way to guide you in designing something brand new.

To start, ask yourself, “What do I need this thing to do or accomplish?” Once you figure that out, refining just becomes a matter of asking yourself, “Is this the best way to get that done?” You then keep asking yourself this question through every iteration until the answer is, “Yes, this is the best way to get that done.” Then you go get counseling since you’ve really been talking to yourself a lot recently!

But seriously, research will now pop its head back during this phase. While you are finding new and better ways to do whatever it is you are making, you need to make sure that your method is the best. For that to work properly, you must understand what the alternative method is. Many times, the difference is the trade off of this for that. For instance, you gain speed but loose carrying capacity. Ideally, you don’t want to trade anything away, if you can help it.

In the case of this model, you can take out your car’s trunk for additional speed. However, you are given the choice to put it back in to regain carrying capacity. The tradeoff still exists, but by making it a personal choice, all the options are still available. Thus, this becomes the best design possible.

FINAL THOUGHTS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank Mandylion777 for allowing me to use their project to showcase what I wanted to talk about today. If you like their project, visit their LEGO Ideas page and give it your vote for the potential of becoming an official LEGO set. And while you’re at it, check out my projects as well (I’m trying to be subtle here… ha-ha). And for the currently available LEGO sets that were originally submitted by fans, visit the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

In summary, preparing to bring to life in LEGO form non-existing subjects is a topic I hadn’t thought about doing until seeing projects like the Colide Sprint – Concept Supercar. I spend more of my time recreating or reimagining something that already exists rather than designing something entirely new. However, we must always remember that LEGO is a fantastic tool for dreaming up anything you can imagine. And dreams are a great way to envision and create the future.

What do you think? Do you research the projects you are working on? Are there any interesting discoveries that you have made? What do you do when you work on a project that doesn’t exist in real life? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!