Near the end of 2022, Lukas Bolt, an Amsterdam-based environmental artist and Lego enthusiast, began working on the design of a Lego set crowdsourced by the company to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. It was.
“We spent two very intense weeks working on this piece, every night, every weekend, every spare moment,” he said.
Bolt wanted to create a design for Lego Ideas, a program launched in 2008 for toy makers to solicit ideas online directly from fans. Typically, a designer posts a concept on the platform, and if a design receives 10,000 votes, a company will consider turning it into a product. But this case was different. This was the first time the company gave fans a concept to collaborate with.
Bolt has been designing his own sets for several years, mostly for his Instagram followers, but this is the first time his creations have really gotten attention. A panel of judges shortlisted his set and four others of his, and fans voted to choose his set as their favorite.
Lego Ideas is part of a growing strategy among companies to create divisions dedicated to reaching out directly to consumers for ideas. Lego takes a more personal approach, allowing fans to submit designs, while other companies survey consumers about what they want to see or talk to inventors about their latest projects. ing. These efforts have been particularly successful among a niche group of collectors and other highly avid fans.
Toy companies with direct-to-consumer models don't have the same audience reach as distributors like Amazon, but a dedicated direct-to-consumer division is still an advantage for the overall business, said a toy analyst. said Jamie M. Katz of The List. Industry of financial services company Morningstar. The main reason companies prefer direct selling is because they can quickly access purchasing data from consumers.
Katz said this data helps toy companies bring products to market faster and take advantage of trends and buying patterns. It also reduces excess inventory, which in turn reduces markdowns on products sold on the company's website.
“You don't want to be the last person to adopt this methodology. There may be others who can move faster than you,” she said.
Katz added that many companies are considering their direct-to-consumer divisions as the next iteration of focus groups. “You can collect data on a much larger scale. It's not like six people sitting in an office in Chicago and asking, 'What do you think about Barbie?'” she said.
At the end of the day, Mattel wants to know what consumers think about Barbie, but it's taking a niche approach through its Mattel Creations website, which is targeting the fan base of Barbie, Hot Wheels, and other brands. We are running a crowdfunding campaign tailored to the event.
“The wealth of information we receive from our fans is invaluable,” said Sanjay Luthra, managing director of Mattel's global direct-to-consumer portfolio.
Luthra said catering to consumer obsessions is a big part of Mattel's product development strategy, and that Mattel is constantly checking fan opinions on social media to get product ideas. added. For example, after seeing a huge response to the movie “Barbie” on social media, the toymaker says the bizarre Barbie it sold on its Mattel Creations website was the platform's best-selling doll to date.
Design recruitment programs like Lego Ideas can also help guide companies in product development. “10,000 people told us they wanted this product,” said Monika Pedersen, director of marketing for Lego Ideas. “This is very special because we don't test every Lego product on her 10,000 people.”
Magic: The Gathering, a trading card game owned by game publisher Wizards of the Coast, is using a similar game called Secret Lair as a way to sell special cards with added visual treatments like custom art. I am using the program.
Mark Hagen, vice president of collectors for Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast, said Secret Rare has given the company a “pipeline of recognition that we didn't have before.” “We have a bit of a lens into reality, so we understand how people are behaving, what's exciting for them, are they coming back or are they leaving? can do.”
Toronto toy company Spinmaster has been soliciting ideas from inventors since its founding in 1994. The company's biggest advantage is the “mutual respect” it has with the inventor community, said Ben Dermer, the company's senior vice president of toy innovation. spin master.
“I think over the years in other companies, inventors have often been vilified or not treated the way they should,” he says.
Dahmer said there are about 300 professional inventors in the toy industry, and Spinmaster is in regular contact with most of them. Usually, before an idea is formally submitted to Spin Master for consideration, members of the company's inventor relations department have already had a lengthy discussion about the feasibility of the product.
For his work with Lego, Bolt receives a 1 percent sales commission on each set and 10 copies of the set for himself. The final set, called Red Dragon's Tale, has 3,745 pieces and features playable adventures and, of course, dungeons and dragons. It sells for $360 at the Lego Store, far more expensive than most of the company's mass-market products.
Lego receives thousands of applications through its Ideas program, but the hurdles for getting sets to customers are high. Typically, if a set receives more than 10,000 votes from fans, the company will consider turning it into a product. Completed sets will be sold directly from LEGO as well as at retailers such as Target and Amazon.
Approximately 100 sets pass the voting threshold each year (though that number is increasing each year), and since the program's inception in 2008, only 56 of those, including Bolt's designs, have made it into production. Compare that to his 916 set from the company. Just released in 2023.
The set still undergoes internal LEGO design and testing. Pedersen said the company meets with designers working on idea sets once or twice a month to make sure the product aligns with their vision.
“As a Lego builder, it was very special to see how they worked with Lego,” Bolt said of his experience with the Lego testers. “It was a whole team of designers. It was really great that they spent so much time designing what I came up with.”