Adults Welcome: LEGO is also seeking growth with an adult clientele

On the occasion of the last Fan Media Days, LEGO invited almost all sites and groups of adult fans to a mini-conference to discuss the group's marketing strategy when it comes to attracting more and more customers with strong purchasing power: adults. I give you the main points with some more personal comments.

It's no secret that LEGO has a long history of offering products that cater to an adult clientele who can afford to spend several hundred dollars on a plastic construction toy. The manufacturer estimates that 20% of its current clientele is made up of adults and that this proportion could increase significantly in 2020. The growth potential is there, it remains to be given the means to exploit it.

Even if the curve continues to grow steadily, this increase in the share of adult customers expected for this year is not only the result of LEGO's efforts to attract more and more consumers who can afford to spend a fortune on toys. luxury goods, the various confinement and traffic restriction measures taken on a global scale during this first half of 2020 also had their role to play. Inflatable pools sell best in the summer, down jackets in the winter, and LEGOs when there is nothing else to do but stay locked in the house.

LEGO has also found that many adults see its products as just children's toys and that a significant portion of these potential customers do not feel directly targeted by the manufacturer's offer. At LEGO, we therefore conclude that these adults do not know that the catalog is full of products which are nevertheless designed for an older audience than that of the classic ranges intended (in principle) for children.

In reaction to this observation, LEGO has decided to give itself the means to seduce this clientele of adults potentially made up of fans nostalgic for a toy from their childhood, sports or car enthusiasts ready to invest in derivatives, people looking for a creative hobby, etc ... by relying on the various levers that allow them to sell products and by standardizing the graphic charter which makes it possible to identify all the references for which they are directly target.

The public price of the product is also generally a relevant indicator when it comes to determining who it is primarily for, but for LEGO it is above all a question of flirting with adults who do not necessarily know that the brand offers products designed to entertain them and encourage them not to see the brand as just a manufacturer of children's toys.

And this is how the new global packaging strategy was born that we were able to discover with some recent products like the LEGO Star Wars set. 75275 A-Wing Starfighter, the references 75274 Tie Fighter Pilot Helmet, 75276 Stormtrooper Helmet et 75277 Boba Fett Helmet or the set 10273 Haunted Houses : product presented on a black background, easily identifiable partner brand or license and 18+ mention for everyone and grouping of products in a dedicated section.

You know, so this is the universe so far stamped "CreatorExpert"which mainly bears the cost of this strategic change at LEGO which therefore considers that the colored packaging of the various products in the range marketed so far were too close to those of the sets intended for children and could contribute to maintaining some confusion on the shelves some stores.

But the main angle of the strategy implemented by LEGO is elsewhere: the manufacturer highlights the almost "therapeutic" function of its products with their relaxing power or their ability to allow us to escape and offer us a moment of relaxation. calm in our increasingly connected and hectic lives. The message is clear: while LEGO bricks allow children to develop their motor and cognitive skills, they also have virtues that go far beyond the simple pleasure of play for adults.

LEGO has always tried to promote its products to parents by lending them virtues that go far beyond their primary function and it is therefore not surprising that the brand uses this same process to seduce an adult audience.

This argument is also regularly put forward by a whole series of celebrities who share their new passion on social networks by implying that this fun activity is also good for their well-being and their mental balance. Make no mistake, some of these "spontaneous testimonials" are obviously only the result of campaigns sponsored by the brand.

Since it is not really appropriate to use the word "educational" in the context of this strategy which targets those who have long been out of school, the "therapeutic" aspect will do. It gives plastic bricks additional power and allows the brand to be positioned as a "natural" solution to the problems of our time such as stress or anxiety.

By defending itself a bit a posteriori during the conference to want to do too much on this point, LEGO nevertheless uses almost all the terms usually used when it comes to putting a big dose of well-being in its communication: relaxation, fight against anxiety, focus and concentration, recharging of energy, positive energy, balance, etc ... This marketing process is not new but its effectiveness remains to be judged with the target clientele already overwhelmed by messages and products with similar virtues.

The new strategy of attracting adult customers will therefore involve an aesthetic standardization of the range of products that must be sold to them and a regrouping of this offer on the shelves, by highlighting the quasi-medical virtues of the product but also by expanding the themes addressed. Cars, motorcycles, buildings or even the (very) large ships from the Star Wars universe are good, but it takes a little more to seduce those who are not unconditional fans of the Star Wars universe. vroom-vroom or pew pew.

The manufacturer does not reveal all of its cards for the moment but still indicates to explore the world of sport, a theme already addressed with the set. 10272 Old Trafford - Manchester United, music: we know that a partnership with Universal Music is signed, and art and decoration with in particular a series of large mosaics to build staging, according to the latest rumors, Marylin Monroe, the Beatles or even Iron Man and which we know for the moment that each reference will be sold for more than a hundred euros.

In short, LEGO knows that its growth also depends on the development, standardization and promotion of its range of products intended for adults. By adding a big ladle of lifestyle and by presenting its products as a solution to some of the problems of our current society, the manufacturer hopes to convince more adults that LEGO bricks are much more than just toys.