Meet The BIG Brand
LEGO, established in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, started as a small workshop crafting wooden toys. By 1958, LEGO introduced its now-iconic plastic interlocking bricks, revolutionizing the toy industry. The brand grew exponentially, creating beloved themed sets, digital games, movies, and theme parks, transforming itself into a global entertainment powerhouse.
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However, in the early 2000s, LEGO faced declining sales and a disconnect with its core audience. This led to a major overhaul in 2004, successfully revitalizing the brand. In 2024, LEGO, under CEO Niels B. Christiansen, again found itself in a position where the brand needed a refresh. The digital entertainment landscape was evolving, and new competitors were entering the market, making it necessary for LEGO to reimagine its approach to stay relevant to both its loyal fans and a new generation of builders.
The company aimed to honor its heritage while modernizing its brand to resonate with younger audiences and digital natives.
The Glow Up Files
LEGO
2024
Toy Manufacturing
1932
01/ Outdated Perception
02/ Digital Disconnect
03/ Brand Consistency
While LEGO remained a beloved brand, its image was starting to feel a bit outdated, especially with younger audiences who were gravitating towards tech-driven and interactive toys.
Despite having digital games and an online presence, LEGO was not maximizing its potential in digital innovation. The company needed to bridge the gap between physical and digital play in a way that felt seamless and modern.
Over the years, LEGO’s messaging had become fragmented due to various collaborations, products, and media ventures. The brand needed to realign its strategy to present a cohesive message that tied all aspects of its business together, from traditional brick sets to digital entertainment.
Recognizing these issues, LEGO needed to orchestrate a comprehensive brand evolution that would unite its physical and digital worlds while reinforcing its core mission of creative play, transforming from a traditional toy company into an integrated, future-focused brand that could inspire and engage new generations without losing its timeless appeal.
Here's the facts
T
hey Were Struggling
And They knew It!
04/ Sustainability Pressure
Consumers, especially younger audiences, were becoming more conscious about sustainability. LEGO faced challenges in maintaining its commitment to eco-friendly practices and needed to better integrate sustainability messaging within its brand narrative
Before the 2024 refresh, lego faced several key challenges:
Here's How They Fixed It:
The Glow Up Strategy
LEGO’s 2024 refresh aimed to redefine its brand strategy to align with modern consumer expectations and the digital shift while honoring its legacy as a symbol of creativity.
Key Changes:
Repositioned as a Creative Platform: Transitioned from being seen primarily as a toy company to a brand that bridges physical and digital play, catering to traditional builders and tech-savvy, younger audiences alike.
Expanded Focus on Digital Integration: Emphasized innovation by incorporating technology like augmented reality (AR) into physical sets, enhancing the LEGO experience and appealing to digital natives.
Sustainability Commitment: Strategically integrated sustainability into the brand’s core identity, setting a goal to transition all products to sustainable materials by 2030 and incorporating eco-friendly messaging into the brand narrative.
The refresh introduced a unified and engaging brand message that tied together LEGO’s various business segments, ensuring consistency and relevance across all platforms.
Key Changes:
Unified Messaging Across Platforms: Ensured consistency by aligning all messaging, from product packaging to digital campaigns, under the core theme of creativity and imagination blended with technology.
Emphasis on Sustainability: Introduced clear, consistent messaging around LEGO’s environmental initiatives, promoting eco-friendly practices and sustainability milestones to connect with eco-conscious consumers.
Targeted Digital Engagement: Crafted messaging that emphasized the brand’s expansion into digital play, positioning LEGO as an innovator in tech-enhanced creativity to engage younger audiences and digital enthusiasts.
LEGO modernized its visual identity while retaining elements that remained instantly recognizable, ensuring the brand felt fresh yet familiar.
Key Changes:
Updated Logo and Packaging: Refreshed the logo with modern, dynamic elements while maintaining its iconic look. Packaging was redesigned with vibrant colors and interactive features like AR integration to enhance customer engagement.
Augmented Reality Elements: Introduced AR experiences within product packaging, allowing consumers to interact with sets digitally and bringing LEGO builds to life, blending physical and digital worlds seamlessly.
Consistency Across Digital and Physical Spaces: Ensured that visual updates extended to all brand touchpoints, including the website, retail stores, and marketing materials, creating a cohesive and immersive brand experience.
LEGO’s marketing collateral was overhauled to align with its refreshed strategy, ensuring consistent application across digital, in-store, and physical products.
Key Changes:
Digital Marketing Campaigns: Launched new campaigns that showcased LEGO’s AR capabilities and sustainability initiatives, blending storytelling with interactive features to capture younger audiences’ attention online.
Experiential Marketing Events: Developed immersive experiences like pop-up play zones featuring digital and physical interactions, reinforcing LEGO’s innovative brand positioning and engaging customers in memorable ways.
Eco-Friendly Packaging and Materials: Rolled out new packaging designs that highlighted the brand’s sustainability efforts, utilizing recyclable and biodegradable materials to align with LEGO’s environmental messaging.
LEGO saw a significant boost in online engagement and interaction with their new AR features and gaming partnerships, drawing in younger, digital-first audiences.
IG Brand Transformation ,
Peep The Results
Increased Engagement
Sales of refreshed product lines saw a notable increase, particularly among tech-enhanced LEGO sets and eco-friendly packaging products.
Sales Surge
By aligning their products with modern values such as sustainability, LEGO enhanced its reputation and strengthened its relationship with both existing and new consumers.
Strengthened Brand Loyalty
LEGO’s sustainability commitment was highlighted in their marketing efforts, featuring new eco-friendly packaging and a transparent roadmap to achieving full sustainability by 2030. The company trained their global teams on the refreshed brand strategy and sustainability initiatives, ensuring internal coherence and consistency in messaging.
LEGO’s transformation was widely covered in the media, earning accolades for its innovative blend of physical and digital experiences and its commitment to sustainability.
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Here's What We Can Learn
From LEGO's Glow Up
LEGO’s refresh demonstrates the importance of evolving while staying true to the core identity. Brands can successfully modernize without losing what makes them iconic.
01 / Modernize Without Losing Heritage
Blending physical products with digital experiences can be a powerful way to engage new audiences and enhance brand loyalty. LEGO’s use of AR and gaming partnerships set a new standard for integration in the toy industry.
02/ Integrate Digital & Physical Experiences
Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environment, and LEGO’s commitment to sustainable practices illustrates how a brand can build loyalty by aligning with the values of its audience.
03/ Commit to Sustainability
Ensuring that your brand messaging is consistent across all platforms—digital, in-store, and physical products—is key to maintaining a strong and recognizable brand presence.
04/ Cohesive Messaging Across All Platforms
Check Out Other Brands
From subtle updates to full-blown transformations, these case studies spill the tea on what worked, what didn’t, and how you can use those same power moves to elevate your own brand.
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