Lego Gives The Next Generation A World Of Possibilities

The company focuses on the experiences it wants to deliver and tries not to become a slave to technology, says the Danish toy maker’s CMO Julia Goldin.

In a world of burgeoning marketing possibilities, you have to start from your mission.

That was the view of Lego CMO Julia Goldin speaking on the first day of the Dmexco exposition and conference in Köln.

Moderator Michael Kassan, chairman and CEO of MediaLink, asked Goldin how Lego approaches digital, given its core products are so much based in the physical world.

“Lego starts with a very clear mission, to inspire and develop the next generation of builders. By building with Lego, they have a world of possibilities,” Goldin said. “We have to innovate a lot, but we always start with the core experiences. That means we always include digital.

“You need to stay focused on the experience you want to deliver, and not become a slave to technology. That way you can figure out how you’re going to use the technology.”

She explained how Lego avoids taking a linear approach to developing content by bringing the whole team together at the start to work out which are the right channels to use. That then drives the choice of what content to deliver.

She also talked about the importance of adult Lego fans in both providing data and creating content for the brand.

“There’s a massive community of adult Lego fans around the world. We focus a lot on this community, because they generate a lot of content, and they’re also massive advocates for us. They organise conferences, they create video, and they give us a lot of interesting advice.”

Goldin acknowledged the difficulty of marketing to children in a world increasingly driven by data.

“There’s a huge wealth of data available from parents,” she said, “but the best way to capture data from kids is to get them in a room with the product. Then we can balance looking at big data with insights from kids.

“Children’s safety is our number one priority. Kids are missing a safe place to go to comment and engage, and that’s a big opportunity for the future.”

For more of CMO.com’s coverage from Dmexco, click here.