Introducing LEGO’s ‘Making The List’.

To make Australian kids’ Christmas list, we literally made the other toys we were up against.

Using various data sources, we identified the most popular toys of the season and created them from the LEGO bricks from our priority sets. Think My Little Pony, iPads, Drones, Games Consoles, Paw Patrol, Hatchimals and many, many more.

When parents shopped online for these toys, we hacked their search with a LEGO version.

This reminded gift-givers of the single most important benefit of LEGO - with the power of imagination, LEGO has endless possibilities and can be any toy a child wishes for.

Data gathering & targeting

We interrogated 400 Google search queries to understand the size of the opportunity against each toy. This was organised into 25 groups based on attributes. For example - drones were put with remote control cars.

Data interpretation & insight

Quantitative analysis of our retail partners search results validated what people valued. We couldn’t shoot 400 toys, so this process was critical in identifying the executions to produce.

The output was a propensity model that was being fed by hundreds of search terms and retail partner search results that predicted which toys Australians were going to shop for.

Data integration for impact

Having a model that informed the creative assets was one thing, but we also needed to deploy the idea in a targeted away. We used keyword targeting relative to the users search input to ensure the right toy was delivered to the right person.

We are not going claim that we just increased LEGO sales volume at Christmas – because there is an organic uplift at this time of the year. However, the true measure of this campaign’s success was monitoring the share of the priority LEGO products we were promoting, as shifting more of these priority products was the key objective for the retail partner.

The LEGO products featured in the campaign increased their share of total LEGO sales from 2.2% in October (non-campaign period) to 10% in December (campaign period). A 4X share increase, with a media spend of just $55,000.

In addition, the campaign opened up valuable physical availability with our retail partners with both eBay and Target featuring the campaign with dedicated LEGO environments within their eCommerce experience.

The campaign proved that LEGO isn’t just one toy on a Christmas list, it can be every toy.

‘Making The List’ is a smart retail solution that used direct channels to create one of the most targeted and effective Christmas campaigns of the year.

Powered by a data model built from people’s Christmas shopping intent, the creative solution overcomes LEGO’s biggest hurdle – maintaining relevance.

The model predicted the popular toys of the season and we built them from LEGO bricks.

If you were looking for a drone for Christmas, LEGO showed you ads of a drone being built from the LEGO CITY Coast Guard Head Quarters set. This was applied to 25 of the most popular toys.

Feedback from retailers suggested a backlog of LEGO products in the lead up to Christmas. We overlaid these products with margin, and six priority products were selected to feature in the campaign.

With only $55,000 in media spend, we had to outsmart other toy brands with targeted and precise retail activity.

This wasn’t about targeting key demographics or segments. We were going after individuals who were in market for toys.

Our strategy was simple: take advantage of the high interest created by other toys, and use it to reinforce LEGO’s point of difference- LEGO can be any toy a child wishes for.

We gathered and analysed 400 key word groups from Google’s search data. This was then aggregated with retailer purchase data, and their predictions leading into Christmas. The output was a propensity model that gave us a view of the toys that would be the most popular at Christmas.

Situation

Any parent knows Christmas isn’t complete without sitting down after the present opening to wade through a fresh LEGO instruction booklet and shiny new bricks.

Problem is, the 85-year-old brand continuously has to fight off the season’s fad toys to stay at the top of Australian kids Christmas wish-lists.

Brief

Our brief in one word: relevence.

Throughout the competitive Christmas season, how do we ensure an 85-year-old toy continues to appeal to children who have a never-ending selection of new and exciting toys to choose from?

Objectives

LEGO don’t sell direct in Australia so partnerships are essential to shifting stock.

Objectives defined:

1 Boost sales of ‘priority’ LEGO sets.

a. Priority sets selected based on being high in stock and providing high margins for the retailer.

2. Engage with retail partners to unlock physical availability at the most competitive time of the year.