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LEGO case

In the year when LEGO was launched, they became popular because of the modern kind of quality toys they were producing. Their products were designed in the beginning for young boys who have a tendency to get bored easily and wanted to play with innovative toys. They designed building blocks which could be joined together to form more than hundred combinations. This kept the young consumers engaged for long time. They advertised in the television ads and in the newspapers. Later, they encountered a backlash from the activist groups that LEGO was not inclusive and had been advertising their products using stereotypes like only boys play with building blocks or only boys are creators while showing girls playing with dolls in their ads. This led to slump in the demand for LEGO products and they faced another problem, their stocks went unsold while they kept on producing more and more thinking that if the LEGO products are of good quality and design with new features, they will be sold automatically. To induce demand, they kept on giving 10% discounts to those who buy two products.

A new marketing manager was hired, and she stopped the production until a new advertising campaign was released. She hired a public relations agent to manage the negative sentiment in the market. A new line of Lego games were released with both male and female characters. The new ad campaign focused on showing both young boys and girls playing as well as adults involved in the fun activities. LEGO brings to the table for all. A lucky draw was introduced for the first hundred buyers. LEGO achieved 20% sales growth in a month and they were successful in fostering their belief in creative and innovative futuristic games for all.

Despite showing TV ads and other promotions, what went wrong when the activist audience criticized LEGO for stereotyping?

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 1

Negative word of mouth went against LEGO. The activist criticism of stereotyped advertising spread unfavourable opinions about the brand among consumers, causing a slump in demand despite the TV ads and other promotions. Discounts, product age and production capacity were not the cause of the backlash.

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