LEGO: finding the adult audience that was already there

Case study · Marketing 465 · Personas and Audience Journey Maps

After nearly running out of cash in the early 2000s, LEGO learned to listen to its fans, and found a second audience, adults, that it had been treating as an afterthought.

The situation

In 2003, LEGO lost about $300 million and was close to running out of cash, according to Knowledge at Wharton. The loss projected for the following year was as high as $400 million.

Part of the problem was the core audience itself. As one Wharton researcher put it, “Kids were getting older younger.” Children were leaving LEGO sooner for video and computer games. LEGO’s response around 2000 had been to launch everything it could think of: electronics, theme parks, video games, jewelry, education centers and Star Wars and Harry Potter tie-ins. Many of these did not sell, and the extra product lines drove up costs.

The challenge

LEGO had been designing for a single persona: the child. It also had a policy of not accepting “unsolicited” design ideas from fans, according to a 2014 study of the company in the Journal of the Association for Information Systems.

Yet a large group of adults was already deeply engaged with the brand. They built complex models, ran their own online forums and shared their work with each other. LEGO was not designing for them, marketing to them or listening to them.

What they did

A new CEO, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, cut costs and required every new idea to fit a clearer goal. LEGO sold a 70% stake in its Legoland parks to Blackstone for $460 million. At the same time, LEGO began paying attention to what adult fans were doing on their own. The JAIS study describes how that relationship developed step by step:

• 1998: soon after LEGO Mindstorms launched, fans coordinated online to hack its programmable brick. LEGO realized the fans had improved the product for free and endorsed the changes.
• 2006: LEGO invited a small group of fan-forum leaders to help develop the next version, Mindstorms NXT.
• 2008 to 2011: LEGO tested a fan idea platform in Japan with the company CUUSOO, then opened it globally in October 2011. Ideas that earn 10,000 supporter votes get reviewed, and creators of chosen sets earn 1% of net sales. It was renamed LEGO Ideas in 2014.
• 2020: LEGO dropped its “Creator Expert” label and introduced sleek black “18+” packaging so adults could see which sets were made for them (Brickset, May 2020).
• January 2021: LEGO launched the Botanical Collection, starting with a flower bouquet and a bonsai tree, positioned as home decor.
• 2022: LEGO renamed its main adult line LEGO Icons, which it said would help adult consumers “easily find new, immersive builds” linked to their interests (Brick Fanatics, May 2022).

What happened

LEGO recovered. By 2012, Knowledge at Wharton reported that LEGO’s sales had grown an average of 24% a year over the previous three years, with profits up 41%.

Listening to adults also produced specific wins. The JAIS study reports that fan-proposed models often went from proposal to shelf in about six months, compared with about two years for internal designs. A fan-proposed Minecraft set in 2012 reached its vote target in 48 hours and led to a broader partnership with Mojang, Minecraft’s maker.

• LEGO’s audience marketing team said in 2020 that two in three adult customers were new to LEGO (The Brothers Brick, 2020).
• LEGO released more than 70 adult-oriented products in 2020 alone (The Brothers Brick, 2020).
• LEGO’s CEO said the company could potentially reach about 120,000 volunteer designers outside the company, compared with about 120 designers on staff (JAIS, 2014).

Why it worked

LEGO stopped assuming it knew who its customer was and started watching what people actually did. The adult fan was not a new persona LEGO invented. It was a real group whose journey LEGO had ignored: they discovered sets on their own, built complex models, then shared them in online communities.

Once LEGO saw that journey, it designed for each stage. Black 18+ boxes and adult sections in stores helped adults discover sets. Botanical and Icons sets matched adult interests like decor, cars and architecture. LEGO Ideas gave fans a way to contribute and be rewarded.

LEGO’s marketing team also named the barriers clearly: adults did not realize LEGO made products for them, saw LEGO as a kids’ toy, and could not easily find adult sets where they shopped. Each barrier became a specific fix.

Where it gets complicated

Serving a second audience can create tension with the first. When LEGO introduced the 18+ label, some fans worried it sounded restrictive or even risque, and some argued it might signal to parents that the sets were not for kids (Brickset, 2020). Adult sets also tend to be larger and more expensive, which raises questions about whether LEGO is still accessible to families.

Listening to fans also brings practical problems. The JAIS study notes LEGO had to create rules for “stolen” ideas, add an age restriction and hire a community manager. And the turnaround was not only about listening. Cost cuts, selling Legoland, outsourcing production and tighter control of new products all played major roles.

The marketing principle

Personas should come from observed behavior, not assumptions. LEGO’s most valuable new segment was already active, visible online and building its own journey with the brand. When a company maps that journey and removes the barriers at each step, it can turn an ignored group into a major audience.

Sources

• Innovation Almost Bankrupted LEGO: Until It Rebuilt with a Better Blueprint, Knowledge at Wharton (2012)
• Organizational Learning with Crowdsourcing: The Revelatory Case of LEGO, Journal of the Association for Information Systems (2014)
• LEGO’s new adult product strategy: why LEGO is retiring Creator Expert, The Brothers Brick (2020)
• LEGO ditches Creator Expert branding in favour of 18+ marking, Brickset (2020)
• LEGO Creator Expert theme officially rebranded as LEGO Icons, Brick Fanatics (2022)

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