Toy Fairs 2018: Move around, there is nothing to see

It is confirmed, it will not be necessary to count on Toy Fairs from London (January 23 to 25, 2018), Nuremberg (January 31 to February 4, 2018) and New York (February 17 to 20, 2018) to discover LEGO novelties for the second half of 2018. The manufacturer has indeed indicated that he would not present any of the sets planned for the second half of the year during these events which are above all fairs intended for toy professionals.

LEGO will not be present in London, product photos will not be allowed in Nuremberg and written reports will be "framed".

I read here and there a bit of everything and anything about this decision by LEGO not to reveal many months in advance the products that will fill store shelves later in the year. Let's be serious, LEPIN does not wait for Toy Fairs at the beginning of the year to reproduce identically the sets to come ... It is obvious that the Chinese manufacturer specializing in the counterfeiting of existing products has much more elaborate resources than simple blurry photos taken on a stand. LEGO's surprising neglect does the rest with the massive leaks that take place outside factories or in the various "private" spaces that allow dealers to download visuals and official descriptions.

We can therefore assume that LEGO no longer wants to communicate on the sets to come so as not to cannibalize the attention around the boxes currently on the market. The novelties of the first semester have only been available for a few weeks and the manufacturer will have analyzed its own sales statistics to come to the conclusion that it is better not to communicate too early on the sets planned to be put on the shelves in several months. .

LEGO's decision can also be explained by a desire to keep control of its own marketing plan, largely imposed by the rights holders of the licenses concerned, which does not exactly correspond to the schedule of Toy Fairs beginning of the year.

If Disney or Warner set a timeline for the announcement of products derived from their respective licenses, LEGO must comply. As proof, I take the threatening emails sent by the manufacturer asking for the withdrawal of visuals or slightly too precise descriptions of derivative products: LEGO almost always claims to act under the constraint of the owner of the license in question.

The various leaks that take place only dampen these carefully prepared official announcements to make the buzz and in recent years LEGO has a little too often been the brand by which the first information (spoilers) on a film are disclosed, whether partial or even false.

It is therefore quite possible that Disney and Warner, among others, have finally asked LEGO to do their utmost to ensure that these leaks in the form of spoilers no longer reproduce. Exit therefore the presentation of sets based on Avengers: Infinity War or the second part of the saga Fantastic Beasts... No early reveal either for sets based on the animated film Incredibles 2 ou Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It is the studios that decide when and where these derivative products are announced.

Obviously these are just guesses, it's hard to know what really motivates LEGO to change their strategy so significantly towards Toy Fairs.

The LEGO fan will have already seen these different sets anyway thanks to the many leaks that have flooded social networks in recent weeks, but the general public will have to wait until the studios decide to unveil these products.

In short, LEGO will be present in Nuremberg and New York, but not to distribute spoilers and blurry photos of upcoming news. It will be for the brand to meet its customers and promote its products currently marketed. The second half of the line will wait until the right time to be revealed.

The regulars will in any case have already recovered the retailer catalog available for download for a few days which reveals a large part of the sets planned ...