The LEGO Group has worked hard to achieve market leadership around the globe. Here in Australia the LEGO System continues to deliver solid growth and fabulous product initiatives across the board. The Toy Universe has been fortunate to contact Angie Tutt — Senior Director, Head of Marketing at The LEGO Group here in Australia. The LEGO journey is a fascinating one, because of a strategic reorganisation of their business some years ago they now figure as a global powerhouse and lead the toy business with their innovation and energy. We wanted to gain some insight into the thinking behind this incredible brand and first asked Angie about her journey with LEGO!
Angie, we see with interest that your journey with LEGO includes Customer interface, overall brand direction and currently responsibility for the overall marketing direction of the company. How has this all shaped your outlook on the strategy you currently direct?
One of the biggest and most unique things about the LEGO Group around the world is our amazing culture, and the LEGO Australia and New Zealand team have that in spades. I believe my experiences across different departments & functions just enables me to know my teams and my colleagues better, put myself in their shoes and speak their language. Once I understand the business and people better as a whole, I am more adept at pulling together an overall strategy that meets the needs of the business, and still works with the motivations and passions of the people. And that’s a win-win scenario to me really!
In terms of the overall marketing mix where does the LEGO marketing system allocate most of its focus in the business?
No matter what area of marketing or messaging you look at across our LEGO marketing mix, the key to us is ensuring that we keep our focus on bringing engaging and creative play experiences to audiences around the world. The channel focus may change month to month, theme to theme, but our ultimate goal to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow always remains, with the LEGO brick at its centre. That is our main focus.
The channel focus may change month to month, theme to theme, but our ultimate goal to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow always remains, with the LEGO brick at its centre. That is our main focus.
Angie Tutt
We notice with interest that you hold a degree in Maths and Computer Science, given the technical D&A of the LEGO system, does this provide you with a particular insight into how you go about your role?
Oh gosh that’s going back a way! But yes, I have to admit I do love my numbers, they enable me to get my geek on really! Haha! Don’t numbers run the world? Fibonacci – Pi – Binary systems? I could go on! (but I won’t). In all seriousness though, I believe you are a better Marketer if you know your numbers. The more you can understand the financial and commercial impact of what your marketing strategy /plan does, the better you can help drive your business in the future. Add that to a fabulous culture and amazingly inspirational & fun brand to work with, and you really can’t have a bad day now, can you? ☺
You recently partnered with Nitro Circus as part of their current regional tour. What was the motivation and vision for this collaboration, and has it delivered?
Our LEGO® CITY theme is one of the longest running themes in our LEGO business, yet every year we continue to try to keep things exciting with new innovations, and 2022 is no exception. With the recent Nitro Circus partnership, we wanted to demonstrate LEGO® CITY as a “cool” play theme by activating the ”Make Awesome” platform with real local heroes and stunt people. In line with Nitro Circus’ Australian tour which goes into 8 regional centres with live, high-octane motor cross and BMX stunt shows, LEGO® CITY was integrated into the shows, giving relevance and talkability to the theme, particularly its new LEGO CITY Stuntz range. Integration across digital and within each stadium event was thorough, with branded ramps, LEGO® Minifigure characters in the shows and even a LEGO® CITY race car stunt vehicle as part of the stunt show! Nitro Circus has been a great partner to work with and we have worked collaboratively to make sure all the kids and families at Nitro Circus have a really fun and engaging time, both with their high-octane engagement and our LEGO® CITY brand. Seriously a very cool partner to work with.
Integration across digital and within each stadium event was thorough, with branded ramps, LEGO® Minifigure characters in the shows and even a LEGO® CITY race car stunt vehicle as part of the stunt show!
Angie Tutt
After more than two years of challenging global health matters, how have you personally navigated this and additionally how have you guided your team to minimise the impact?
As tough as the last two years have been, we have surprisingly strengthened our understanding of one another. As individuals, and as a team. If you think about it, all the online meetings you’ve been on, you’ve seen one another’s homes, families, pets, and hobbies. (Sometimes perhaps even if by surprise! Pop-up kids on screen anyone?!). And that leads to more curiosity into who they are as a person outside of work, and in turn more relatability and trust. I’ve found I’ve put extra effort into knowing my team and the teams I work with by asking more questions about their lives, and just getting to know people better on a more personal level. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anything really beats a face-to-face conversation to build trust and collaborate. At LEGO Australia we’ve gone back to the office in 2022 through our hybrid ways of working but having the flexibility to work from both home and office during the week gives us the best of both worlds.
What is your outlook for 2022?
2022 will be the year that (hopefully!) the world opens up again! People can travel, explore, see friends and family, go shopping (a favourite of mine!), and most importantly, play more with others. 2022 will be the year we get back to seeing people face to face through shopping events, outdoor activations, and here at the LEGO Group, we just want to encourage this by creating exciting moments, events & experiences for all to share through LEGO Play.
Angie, can you provide us with an insight into what your LEGO stores have brought to the business and how do they fit into your retail strategy?
What I love most about our stores is the opportunity to showcase the experiential hands-on nature of our brand. We know that retail stores continue to play a critical role in helping people discover new products, have fun and connect with brands they love. So that’s what we aspire to do! Consumers, shoppers, and fans of all ages have been telling us that they are looking for our stores to provide more opportunities for personalised, fun, hands-on play and immersive brick-inspired experiences. In our LEGO stores we showcase not only products in all their built glory! But items like the Pick-and-Build™ wall and our Build-your-Minifigure-Station™ also help kids and adults build whatever they can think of, whenever they want. It really is only limited to your imagination!
What are the three key drivers that will continue the LEGO Group’s momentum in 2022?
- Building great play experiences
- Driving our Rebuild the World platform
- Speaking to all audiences by talking about their passions and interests
How do you rank Consumer Marketing as part of your mix?
In the toy industry it’s more important than ever to know & talk to your consumers as part of the marketing mix. I am still amazed at how many millions of children and fans around the world build amazing things and combine bricks and themes in ways I would never imagine! Most of the toy industry knows we move fast like the fashion industry, and so do kids! So, keeping up with what kids like and key trends they follow I believe is imperative to stay relevant and advance into the future. After all, it’s the LEGO Group’s 90th birthday this year! We turn 90 years old as a company, yet we still see our journey as only beginning. Here’s to the next 90 years of knowing and learning from our consumers!
Does social media, specifically Tik Tok figure in your plans? – How?
At the LEGO Group we want to meet and connect with our fans where they are — whether that in a store, online or on social media. So far, Tik Tok has not been a part of our marketing plans, but we continue to evaluate which social media platforms we are active on.
Does your marketing differ specifically when you are focussing on Licensed ranges? i.e., Star Wars.
The biggest difference when focused on our licensed products/ranges is probably the most obvious one — working with our partners. Across the globe we have a Partner Promise to ensure we get the most out of both our brands and our teams, to ultimately create fun and exciting products and experiences to our audiences. Locally here in ANZ, as a team we pride ourselves on really trying to collaboratively align on our plans with our partners (as much as we are able), to create win-win experiences for both our partner and us. And considering the strength and power of our amazing partners, it still surprises me sometimes the impact we can achieve by working together. I still learn from building these relationships every day.
