[At BAKER, we’re passionate about branding – not just the brands we have the privilege of working on – but all sorts of brands that we engage with on a daily basis. In ‘Brands We Love’ one of our infatuated brand stewards takes a deeper look at one of the brands they are passionate about; examining what the brand means to them and why.]
PLAY WELL
By Seth White
Entering the Minneapolis Convention Center on a Sunday this May was like stepping on hallowed ground. “Whoa,” “Sweet Baby!” the nephews (ages 5 and 7) cried out, pulling us forward, and I couldn’t help feel a familiar tug as nostalgia swept over me. LEGO® KidsFest was in town, and the convention center was filled with LEGO models and displays, interactive games, race tracks for LEGO cars, a giant LEGO map of the United States, and table after table covered with bins of LEGO bricks.
LEGO is an abbreviation of the Danish words “leg godt,” which means “play well.” Founded nearly 80 years ago, the LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned business headquartered in Billund, Denmark. It’s come a long way from a simple carpenter’s shop to the world’s fourth-largest toy manufacturer and recipient of Fortune Magazine’s Toy of the Century award.
The LEGO Group’s mission statement is “Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow,” and they do just that with their cohesive brand values. Imagination, creativity, fun, learning and caring form the LEGO brand. The brand summary states, “The LEGO brand is more than simply our familiar logo. It is the expectations that people have of the company towards its products and services, and the accountability that the LEGO Group feels towards the world around it.”
Their diverse line of products centers around the versatile LEGO brick. For pre-schoolers, LEGO DUPLO is designed for small hands to develop their motor skills. For older children, there are traditional LEGO bricks, theme sets, and licensed products such as Star Wars LEGO. LEGO Games also produces a number of award-winning board games, designed in collaboration with legendary board game designer Reiner Knizia.
The LEGO Group supports creativity and innovation through their LEGO Education and LEGO Parents programs. The LEGO Group’s partnership with MIT grew into the LEGO MINDSTORMS robot design program for teens and young adults. As part of the LEGO Bricks in Space program, astronauts in the International Space Station built LEGO models to see how they would react in space. For adults, the LEGO Architecture series recreates elegant models of architectural masterpieces. And as part of their dedication to lifelong play, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is a program that enhances innovation and performance in businesses, based on research showing that “hands-on, minds-on learning produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the worlds and its possibilities… for everyone in the organization.”
With the ever-changing world of toys, the LEGO Group has focused on digital innovation, developing original award-winning video games based around their licensed products. These games leverage the creativity inherent in the LEGO brick into the digital world where players must problem solve and build to continue their journey. In addition, LEGO Universe, a MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) launched in October 2010.
As a kid, I grew up surrounded by LEGO bricks, and I’ve always associated those simple toys with creativity. Looking back at the hours spent at free play with LEGO bricks, I think they helped fuel my desire to create new and interesting things. Building, deconstructing, rebuilding; it was easy to create, easy to make changes. The LEGO Group has a cohesive purpose: develop the builders of tomorrow with their wide range of products. A 3-year old child learns how to connect LEGO DUPLO blocks, an 8-year old solves the puzzles in a LEGO Star Wars video game, or a teenager develops a robotic solution to 2010’s LEGO MINDSTORMS BioMedical Engineering challenge; in each case, LEGO bricks help develop creative skills. That’s why LEGO is a brand I love.
Always a fan,
Seth
