Notes from #WebSummit: The secrets behind the Lego brand

How a small generic brick can lend itself so well to the imagination.

Details
Date: November 8, 2017
Time: 12:10
Conference stream: PandaConf

Speakers
Lars Silberbauer, Global Director of Social Media, Lego

Web Summit Summary
As kids move from the physical to online world in much of what they consume, Lego remains a constant building block to brand success. Sharing how to combine a compelling online presence with amazing physical products, join Lego’s senior global director of social media and search Lars Silberbauer.

Main Theme

Lego is an established brand that has been around for decades. In a time where new toys are hits for only a season and children’s attention quickly moves on, how did Lego stay relevant? Lego’s Global Director of Social Media explains a few campaigns that Lego implemented to not only keep their bricks relevant 80 years later; but also quickly make Lego the top brand on YouTube.

The Key Quote

“The creative power of the crowd is much greater than our own.”
- Lars Silberbauer

Key Points

To create a higher impact, Lego focused on two core pillars for their engagement based around social needs:

• Build Together. Lego is a fun tool to share and meant for collaboration.
• Pride of Creation. This speaks to kids showing what they made but also parents who are proud of what their kids made.

These are two activation in recent years that use those principles:

The $100 Campaign. Lego created a simple character named George made out of a handful of bricks. They ran a contest and ask Lego fans to build their own George and post photos of him traveling. The user generated content exploded on their Facebook page and George travelled across all the continents. People got carried away with it and got creative with the images. George got a haircut, had relationships, break ups, and got married through this contest. Even now, long after the contest closed a photo of George will pop up once in a while, proving the lasting effect the campaign has on people.

The Kronkiwongi. A Kronki-what, adults would repeat. Build a Knonkiwongi is another campaign Lego ran that asked their customers to build something that did not come with instructions. Once built, they had to explain how it could help others. Although adults were puzzled at this, the kids knew. They immediately let their imaginations run wild and told Lego what a Knonkiwongi is. Ideas ranged from underground trains, to wells, to devices that would feed the hungry. With this project, Lego set out to reveal and celebrate the universal potential in children’s play. This campaign proved how well Lego knew it’s user base and how they would take the original concept their team had further than expected.

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