Oct 9 in Licensing Lingo & Stories
Toy Story Turnaround with Little Plastic Bricks
I remember my first LEGO set as a kid.
It was a full medieval castle complete with dungeon, little knights, and working drawbridge.
It was so cool. I had a blast putting it together and played with that thing for hours and hours.
So I’m excited to share this little licensing history tidbit with y’all about one of my most favorite toys as a kid.
In 1932 there’s a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen.
Times were tough, and nobody was buying furniture. So Ole started making wooden toys instead.
He named his company "LEGO," which means "play well" in Danish.
In 1949, LEGO started making plastic bricks. They could snap together to build almost anything. Kids loved them, and LEGO grew and grew.
But then, in the 1990s and early 2000s, something not-so-awesome happened.
Kids were getting bored with just bricks. They wanted video games and cool tech toys.
LEGO tried making all sorts of new stuff - clothes, theme parks, and even weird bricks that didn't fit with the old ones.
By 2004, LEGO was in big trouble. They were losing a TON of money - like, hundreds of millions of dollars.
Enter our hero: Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. At 35 years young and the first non-family member to lead LEGO, Jørgen had a big job ahead of him - save LEGO!
One day, while walking around the office, Jørgen had an epiphany (I like to imagine it was triggered by him stepping on a LEGO piece).
“Wait a minute," he thought, "LEGO isn't just a toy. It's a way to tell stories!"
Jørgen called a big meeting. "Listen up, team," holding a little LEGO minifigure.
"This little guy could be in movies, video games, and theme parks. We just need to team up with the right people!"
Some of the more unsure types were all like, “But we make toys!”
Jørgen smiled and said, "We won't make movies or games. We'll let other companies use our brand to make cool stuff. It's called licensing!"
So, LEGO started making deals.
Their first big win?
LEGO Star Wars! Kids could now build the Millennium Falcon brick by brick.
It wasn't always easy - Some people worried LEGO was changing too much.
But Jørgen kept going. "We're not getting rid of our bricks," he told them. "We're giving kids more ways to play with them!"
And it friggin worked!
LEGO Star Wars was a huge hit.
Then came LEGO video games, and they were super popular too.
In 2014, "The LEGO Movie" came out and made almost $500 million.
Not gonna lie, it takes two hands to count how many times I’ve seen it myself.
Followed by a week for each one of me singing 🎶 “Everything is awesome...” 🎶 everywhere I go.
By 2015, LEGO had gone from losing $300 million to making $1.3 billion in profit.
LEGO had done more than just fix their problems. They'd built a whole new way of doing business.
By letting other companies use their brand, they went from being just a toy company to being part of movies, games, and more.
So, what’s a takeaway from our little LEGO's story?
When times get tough, don't just think about changing your product…
Think about new ways people could use your brand. That's the power of licensing.
To rockin’ those royalties,
Adam
P.S. What's your favorite LEGO toy?
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Toy Story Turnaround with Little Plastic Bricks
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