Warner in marketing blitz to shore up Lego fortunes
Industry watchers say ambitious partnership could end up hurting companies
Lego and Warner Bros. Entertainment seem to be perfect partners: One is a multinational toy company in search of expansion and the other is a global entertainment giant looking for more content.
But as both ramp up promotion for the September release of their third film together, The Lego Ninjago Movie, some are wondering whether the cinematic landscape is cluttered with too many Lego bricks.
The Lego Movie was a surprise smash in 2014, costing about $60 million to make and collecting $469.2 million worldwide. A sequel to that film is planned for 2019. But a related followup to the original, The Lego Batman Movie, released in February, took in only $311 million, in part because girls were not as interested. And now, a short seven months later, comes Ninjago.
The stakes are high for Warner Bros. Few films on its schedule are more important than The Lego Ninjago Movie, which it sees as part of an ongoing “cinematic universe” and a pillar for the studio, with additional original installments and sequels exploring different genres planned for the next decade and beyond.
But Ninjago is more than just a movie for Lego. The brand was introduced in 2011 with a martial-arts themed line of toys and a TV series. Lego anticipated a short life span, but consumer response was stronger than expected, so Lego brought it back in 2014 with new building sets and new seasons of the TV series.
“There is an affinity for the property,” said Michael McNally, the senior director of brand relations for Lego.
Still, some industry watchers say the ambitious movie slate, combined with an equally elaborate merchandising push, could end up hurting.
Jim Silver, the chief executive and editor-in-chief of TTPM, a toy industry website, said the overall market was oversaturated with movierelated toys this year, and children were not making an emotional attachment to the brands and the characters.
“There is less attention span on their property,” Silver said. “Kids are bouncing from one to another.”
Underscoring the importance of The Lego Ninjago Movie, Warner Bros. and Lego headed to ComicCon International, the annual comic book convention in San Diego, last weekend to mount a full-court press to woo diehard fans.
Each morning, Warner Bros. hosted a yogalike workout (“for the ninja in everyone”) on a lawn that it billed as “ninjoga.”
The studio also flew in several actors who voiced characters in the film — Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani and Olivia Munn — for a presentation that included the unveiling of a new trailer set to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
“The key for us is to reach both adults and kids,” Dan Lin, the pro- ducer behind the Lego movie series, said at the presentation. “How do we reach the broadest audience possible to introduce Ninjago?”
For its part, Lego planned building activities, autograph signings and the unveiling of life-size Lego models at its enormous booth on the convention centre floor. And in a new strategy, Lego also introduced 14 moviethemed building sets for sale at the show, a month before they will appear at mass-market retail stores in August.
It is common for toy companies to promote their hottest lines at Comic-Con with exclusive offerings, which fans line up for hours just for a chance to buy. For instance, Hasbro offered two versions of Optimus Prime from its Transformers line, as well as deluxe versions of Marvel Comics’ Daredevil and Luke Skywalker and his landspeeder. Mattel promoted the coming Justice League movie with a limited-edition Cyborg action figure and a Hot Wheels Batmobile, and it offered a two-pack featuring Wonder Woman and Cheetah from its DC Super Hero Girls line.
“We lean into our consumer insights” to give the fans what they want, said Samantha Lomow, senior vice-president of Hasbro brands. “The economic model around these items is less about the financial than they are about the fan base.”
Lego has its own exclusive building sets at the convention as well, but the introduction of a retail line at ComicCon is a first for the company.
“The timing works really well,” said McNally, creating a slow build for the movie that “stands out and drives buzz.”
McNally played down concerns about having back-to-back Lego movies, saying The Lego Ninjago Movie stood apart from its predecessor and was a good opportunity to reach a wider audience.
“That theatrical experience is then shared through a play experience,” he said, and that could result in consumers buying new sets or even playing with old ones.
“For us, the portfolio can benefit from the movie event,” McNally said, “even if the action the audience takes is to pull out the bricks they have and continue building.”