Latest news with #LEGOGroup
Campaign ME
17 hours ago
- Business
- Campaign ME
LEGO reimagines Father's Day with 'Build It With Him' campaign
This Father's Day, the LEGO Group is inspiring families across the UAE to rethink gifting traditions with its regionally tailored 'Build It With Him' campaign – a creative call to action that invites parents and children to connect through the joy of LEGO® play. Ula Bieganska, Head of Marketing, LEGO Group MEA says, 'The creative vision was inspired by the idea that Father's Day isn't really about celebration it's about connection. Our campaign for the LEGO Group set out to reframe the occasion not as a moment for grand gestures, but as a chance to be present and playful. The campaign was a collaboration between Publicis Middle East and MSL Middle East, with MSL handling the strategy and insights and earned amplification and PME leading on creative. Insight-led storytelling To shape the campaign, the team conducted extensive local research to better understand Father's Day in the UAE The strategy was rooted in a deep understanding of Father's Day in the UAE, an occasion that is officially acknowledged but often culturally overlooked. Bieganska says, 'We carried out primary research to understand mindsets and habits around Father's Day, among the country's diverse expat population, alongside the influence of Khaleeji family dynamics, and the last-minute nature of gifting behaviour in this market. Rather than importing a global idea, we built a regional-first narrative that played into human truths, social behaviours, and localised gifting patterns.' She adds, 'A combination of local research and cultural insight revealed a disconnect between how Father's Day is recognised and how it is actually experienced in the UAE. A YouGov study showed that 75 per cent of UAE dads had received the same gift more than once, with cliché and predictable gifts like mugs, wallets and shirts topping the list,' 'Yet, when asked about their most meaningful gifts, a quarter of dads said it was something handmade by their child. Our focus groups echoed this sentiment, as dads spoke not about being celebrated, but about wanting to spend more time with their kids. This emotional truth became the anchor for the campaign,' reveals Bieganska. Transforming tradition through play The campaign's primary goal was to build brand affinity by positioning LEGO bricks as a meaningful Father's Day gifting solution. Rather than focusing on conversion, it was designed to resonate emotionally with families and boost top-of-mind awareness during a typically under-leveraged seasonal moment in the region. 'While this wasn't a conversion-led campaign, it was designed to drive customer loyalty through emotional resonance and cultural relevance,' says Bieganska. 'Build It With Him' The campaign ran across owned the LEGO Group social channels, earned media, and in-store with an activation at the LEGO Store at Mall of The Emirates. Creative assets included static visuals, with playful LEGO brick-built reinterpretations of traditional Father's Day gifts, all created for digital-first consumption. Aside from this, influencer marketing also took place. Influencers known for parenting and lifestyle content were chosen for their alignment with LEGO's values of imagination and quality. Their content focused on sharing the experience of building LEGO gifts with their children and reflecting on Father's Day meaningfully, enhancing engagement and authenticity. The 'Build It With Him' campaign specifically spoke to two core audience segments in the UAE. Expat mums (aged 28–45) – the key gift buyers in the household, often time-poor but looking for thoughtful and meaningful gifting options that reflect shared family values. Older expat kids (aged 16–25) – trend-aware gift-givers who want to move beyond the generic and find gifts that feel personal, creative and social-media-worthy. A celebration of connection beyond the occasion More than a seasonal campaign, 'Build It With Him' champions the enduring value of creativity and cross-generational bonding – turning a traditionally quiet holiday into a playful opportunity for family connection. 'The key brand message is simple but powerful: the best gifts aren't bought, they're built. Through this lens, LEGO bricks becomes more than a product, it becomes a tool for cross-generational connection and shared memory-making,' Bieganska concludes. By tapping into regional behaviours and emotional truths, the LEGO Group campaign transforms a token holiday into a creative opportunity for connection. 'Build It With Him' not only refreshes the Father's Day conversation in the UAE, but also reinforces the LEGO Group's role as a brand that champions shared experiences and the enduring value of play across generations. The campaign launched ahead of Father's Day on June 21, coinciding with World Play Day on June 11, and continues across key channels in the UAE. Credits: Client: The LEGO Group Creative Agency: Publicis Middle East Tuki Ghiassi – Executive Creative Director Pablo Tesio – Associate Creative Director Juan Sebastian Portilla – Associate Creative Director Oussama El Founi – Associate Creative Director Abdulla Samir – Art Director Rimma Krasavina – Senior Art Louis Borniche – Motion Designer PR Agency: MSL Middle East
CNN
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Summer Game Fest Play Days features ‘LEGO Party,' and new ‘Magic: The Gathering' expansion
A new LEGO game and 'Final Fantasy'-themed 'Magic: The Gathering' cards were among games featured at the annual video game event. Rick Damigella reports.
CNN
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Summer Game Fest Play Days features ‘LEGO Party,' and new ‘Magic: The Gathering' expansion
A new LEGO game and 'Final Fantasy'-themed 'Magic: The Gathering' cards were among games featured at the annual video game event. Rick Damigella reports.
North Wales Live
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- North Wales Live
LEGO sets that could make ideal gifts for Father's Day
The LEGO Group has compiled a list of popular sets that could make a gift for Father's Day. Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell- £69.99 The detailed LEGO set lets you recreate Nigel Mansell's iconic FW14B – the car that won 9 Grand Prix races. Iron Man MK4 Bust- £54.99 The detailed build lets you bring Tony Stark's suit to life. Hagrid & Harry's Motorcycle Ride- £44.99 The LEGO Hagrid & Harry's Motorcycle Ride set brings one of the most iconic scenes from the Harry Potter series to life. Featuring a buildable version of Hagrid's classic motorbike the set includes two minifigures: Hagrid and Harry Potter. Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi- £114.99 The LEGO Super Mario: Mario & Yoshi Expansion Set brings two of Nintendo's most beloved characters to life in brick form. Brick-Built Star Wars Logo- £59.99 A desk or home office decoration. With authentic fossil details, a display stand, and hidden amber. Mini Orchid- £24.99 A relaxing and rewarding build with delicate blooms and terracotta coloured detail. The easy-to-build set captures the sleek design and iconic branding of the Ferrari. The build brings vintage charm to life with a movable lens, strap, and playful mini-photo tile.
Fast Company
10-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
What business leaders should think about now
What does the future hold for business leaders and entrepreneurs? With a rapidly changing world, how does one navigate a path to success? To get a better sense of where we are heading, I caught up with Futurist Joana Lenkova of Futures Forward, who shares insight on how leaders should be thinking about the future of their business. Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what a futurist does? Joana Lenkova: I have a background in brand, strategy, innovation, and foresight within large corporations like The Walt Disney Company and now the LEGO Group. In 2019, I founded Futures Forward, my own consultancy, which allows me to work not only with corporations but also with nongovernmental organizations, start-ups, and governmental institutions to imagine better futures for them. Q: How should business leaders and entrepreneurs be thinking about AI and the tools available to them now? Lenkova: For me the more interesting question isn't which tools we are using, it's what these tools are enabling us to do. We live in an age of radical accessibility. Entrepreneurs and professionals today have easy access to low or no-code platforms, AI assistants, a global freelance talent pool, and direct-to-consumer distribution platforms. I think the real shift is in speed, access, autonomy—and with AI it's agency. What used to require full teams and big capital can now be prototyped by one person over a weekend. Q: What about people who are about to start a company now? What advice would you give them as they consider using all this new technology? Lenkova: I have been thinking a lot about that because we tend to get enamored by technology. But what is the one thing that is as important today as it was in the past? Even though these tools have evolved, what really matters hasn't changed. It's still about having a clear vision, the ability to adapt, and to solve something meaningful. So, somebody launching a business now, you should really ask yourself, what is the real human need that I'm going to be serving? A lot of times businesses start from a technology, you know, let's develop this and let's experiment and prototype and see where it takes us. But in the end, it will be successful if it can be a solution for a meaningful future need. Q: How should business leaders and startup founders be thinking about building teams as many roles are now aided or replaced by AI? Lenkova: I think starting with the problem and not with the technology you use. Perhaps choose to hire versatile hybrid thinkers instead of deep specialists, especially when you need innovative solutions and quick adaptability as a business. Of course, the context is important. But that's exactly how futurists think—we look for cognitive diversity. There is interesting work from Scott Page, whose research shows that diverse groups of people can outperform homogenous groups of experts. Leaders sometimes tend to hire people who confirm their own biases unconsciously, but that's not healthy. You need people who can shine a light on your blind spots, not those who agree with you. Q: Do you think we are living in a time where we will witness the first solopreneur who utilizes technology and AI to become a billionaire? Lenkova: I wonder if we already have. With creators like MrBeast, for example, who are building these personal media brands in such a different way, creating new IPs, licensing, content, and product lines. Solopreneurs are super enabled today to reach vast global audiences and it can happen overnight using the available tools smartly. But the more interesting thing to me is that there is a shift in values. I really wonder if the next generation of founders are going to aspire to be billionaires in terms of dollars—or maybe this is just a hopeful scenario that I'm living in, that they would want to measure their success by impact or by freedom. So maybe the first 'billionaire' solopreneur will choose not to be one in the traditional sense. Q: Do you think we are heading in a direction where everyone will eventually need to become an entrepreneur or self-employed? Lenkova: Not necessarily, but we are in a world where entrepreneurial thinking is essential—even inside large companies. I think there definitely will be more experiments in new forms of governance. On one hand the change will manifest in a stronger connection to purpose, keeping the commercial organization structure but looking to generate value across people and planet in addition to profit. I see this in the future as a hygiene factor. Think regenerative systems. On the other hand, we're also seeing more importance placed on community-led brands, experiments with decentralized forms of governance, etc. But to allow for these changes, you have to remember that the legacy systems and ways of incentivizing governance boards and employees will have to change as well. Q: Anything you'd like to share with people launching a business right now? Lenkova: Yes—don't just build a product, build a worldview, have a purpose. It isn't enough to sell products, you really have to make positive change to humans, to the planet, to the community. Think about regenerative practices and look at multiple future scenarios. Think about what the world may look like, what you'd like the world to look like, and make it happen. Think about the future needs of your stakeholders and build solutions for those. What do you believe about the future that others don't yet see? Let that be your compass.
