Creativity has been brought to life in brick-form at The Savoy after The LEGO Group unveiled the Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas.  A rewrite of The Twelve Days of Christmas, each line of the classic Christmas carol has been re-imagined as if through the eyes of a child, so instead of Five Gold Rings and a Partridge in a Pear Tree, this year carol singers will be singing about Santa’s New Wheels and a Dragon Shaped Christmas Tree.

372,931 bricks, and 2,200 man hours have gone in to taking the song lyrics and turning them into The Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas, on display at The Savoy for the public to see until 3^rd January 2020.

This follows the recent launch of The LEGO Group’s biggest-ever global brand campaign, Rebuild the World, which champions the importance of creativity as a key 21st century skill and nurturing the belief that every child is born with incredible creative problem-solving capabilities.

Since launch in September, the Rebuild the World campaign has already seen iconic locations across the UK re-imagined and rebuilt through the eyes of children. The brand has now turned its attentions towards The Savoy, a true cultural icon in the heart of London.

The Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas aims to inspire people to champion the importance of creativity and the endless possibilities of imaginative play this festive season.

Everyone visiting the renowned London hotel will be greeted outside by ‘A Shark Land-Exploring’ in the fountain. Instead of being the one marvelled at by humans diving on holiday, this shark has come to London for a spot of sightseeing and pops on his water tank, snorkels and goggles to observe the hotel’s guests in their natural habitat.

Inside the foyer, ‘A Dragon Shaped Christmas Tree’ has taken residency. Every year he loves to put on all his festive decorations and show them off for all to see. Made of 150,000 bricks and taking 600 man hours to build this 430 kg festive fire-breather won’t be flying off any time soon!

‘A Princess Rocket Castle’, a spaceship like no other, has blasted into The Savoy to join the celebrations. Manned by a space exploring princess who has left her fairy-tale behind to travel the galaxy in her rocket castle.

These are just some of the imaginative and wonderful installations that have appeared at The Savoy overnight. Even the iconic Savoy sign on the roof has been given a festive makeover, with a LEGO Minifigure choir greeting the public as they arrive. On display until 3^rd January 2020, visitors are being encouraged to find all twelve Rebuilds of Christmas and get involved in activities taking place through November and December at The Savoy.

Every day during the installation visitors can take part in the LEGO Build to Give campaign. Visitors will have the opportunity to build a decoration, take a photo and share it on social media with #BuildToGive. For every decoration built and shared LEGO will donate a set to a child in need within hospitals, children homes, or underserved communities to play this Christmas.

Additionally, on Sunday 1st December & Sunday 15th December, The LEGO Group will be offering special workshops where visitors can join our LEGO Certified Professionals to get creative with their Build to Give decorations. Booking details will be made available in due course.

Nicola Morgan-Hulme, Senior Brand Relations Manager, UK/Ireland at The LEGO Group said, “We are excited to be partnering with The Savoy for this festive celebration. As part of our Rebuild the World campaign, this partnership is designed to inspire people of all ages to unleash their creativity and explore the limitlessness of their imagination through play. We hope that the Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas will truly inspire people to rebuild the importance of creativity this festive season.”

Ian Kidd, Hotel Manager, The Savoy, said: “With their motto ‘Only the best is good enough’, The LEGO Group is the perfect partner for us as we gear up to a festive season here at The Savoy that will delight and inspire both our grown-up and little guests alike. We’ve been blown away by the incredible creativity and passion brought to the table by the LEGO brick designers so far and are excited to able reveal the decorations for all to enjoy.”

The new festive experience follows the recent launch of the LEGO Group’s biggest-ever global brand campaign, Rebuild the World, inspiring people to champion the importance of creativity as a key 21st century skill. The campaign intends to nurture the belief that every child is born with incredible creative problem-solving capabilities – and has already seen the brand reimagine iconic locations across the UK through the eyes of children including Piccadilly Circus and Birmingham’s Bull Statue, amongst others.

The Rebuild the World campaign highlights the need to act now to nurture that creativity so that it can become a lifelong skill, and The Savoy colleagues behind the decorations for ‘All the Fun of the Fair – Savoy Festive Season 2018’, designer florist, Belinda Bowles, and carpenter, Sam Beer, worked closely with The LEGO Group on the 2019 creative concept and theme whilst gearing up to the big reveal.

The Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas will be on display at The Savoy until 3^rd January 2020. For more information please visit https://www.savoychristmas.com/.

LEGO Build to Give at The Savoy

The LEGO® Group has partnered with The Savoy this Christmas to offer special workshops where visitors can join our LEGO Certified Professionals and get creative as they build a festive decoration.  For every decoration built and shared used on social #BuildToGive The LEGO Group will donate a product to a child in need with in hospitals, children’s homes or under-served communities this Christmas.

• Date: Sunday 1^st December 2019, 11am – 4pm and Sunday 15^th December: 11am – 4pm
• Price: Free, but spaces must be reserved https://www.universe.com/LEGOBuildToGiveSavoy

The post The LEGO Group unveils the Twelve Rebuilds of Christmas at famous London hotel appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

KABOOKI, the company behind the LEGO Wear license, recently launched a limited edition clothing collection for adults. To promote the new clothing line, We Are Social helped launch ‘The Missing Piece’ – a playful pop-up shop with nothing inside it except a Snapcode on a plinth.

However, when customers loaded up popular camera app, Snapchat, the Snapcode acted as a portal into an augmented reality fashion boutique, where customers could browse and buy the limited edition range of streetwear clothing for adults.

The virtual boutique featured an interactive DJ booth, an arcade machine and, most importantly, exclusive access to the limited-edition fashion range. Visitors who ‘walked in’ via their phone were able to browse products placed on LEGO mannequins and buy online through an integrated ‘Shop now’ feature.

The launch coincides with London Fashion Week, and is a global first for the brand.

The campaign aimed to promote KABOOKI’s limited-edition streetwear collection across the UK, France and Germany, driving traffic to the LEGO Wear e-commerce site.

Birgitte Holgaard Langer, chief operating officer & chief marketing officer at KABOOKI, said: “We loved the idea of experimenting with a new and innovative digital customer experience together with the LEGO team. Approaching the adult fashion audience with this limited-edition clothing line through an AR experience is something we have never done before. We are very excited to see how this new audience will respond to the launch and the AR experience.”

“We’re an innovative, playful brand at heart and part of that is exploring new digital channels and technologies,” says Lea Sandell, Social Media Innovation Lead at the LEGO Group. “This was an unique opportunity to collaborate with KABOOKI on their brand new limited edition product for adults and tap into both the sense of style and the nostalgia of that audience – while exploring that interesting space where the digital and physical worlds merge.”

The post LEGO creates shoppable AR experience on Snapchat appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

To celebrate the release of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, The LEGO Stores in UK and Germany are taking Emmet, ‘the hero of Bricksburg,’ and main character in the upcoming animated movie, to Newcastle Metrocentre and Manchester Arndale. With official Master Builders flying in from the US, lucky LEGO fans will be able to build with them and construct a giant 8ft model of Emmet.

This in-store activation has been created by experiential agency, The Producers at PrettyGreen.

With building fun, quizzes and trivia – this free event will be live at the following times and is free to participate on a first come, first served basis:

• Newcastle Metrocentre, near The LEGO Store: 9th February (10am-6pm) & 10th February (11am – 5pm)
• Manchester Arndale, near The LEGO Store: 23rd February (10am-6pm) & 24th February (11:30am – 5:30pm

The Master Builder series will also be visiting Oberhausen and Munich in Germany:

• Central Oberhausen, near The LEGO Store: 8th February (11am – 6pm) & 9th February (11am – 6pm)
• Riem Arcaden, Munich, near The LEGO Store: 15th February (11am – 6pm) & 16th February (11am – 6pm)

Fiona McPherson, LEGO Retail Marketing Manager, The LEGO Group commented:”This will be the first time The LEGO Stores have brought our Master Builders to the UK and Germany for a long time and what better occasion than to celebrate the launch of The LEGO Movie 2. The event is free to attend and will be a fantastic experience for LEGO fans of all ages to get hands-on, build, get creative, as well as explore the new range of LEGO sets from the movie.”

The post LEGO celebrates The LEGO Movie 2 by inviting the public to create a giant model appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

This weekend (8^th/9^th December), LEGO Group will let families step into a world of brick-built Christmas wonder at the ‘LEGO Imaginarium’ – a unique space where the iconic brick brings imagination to life. Marking an end to celebrations for the 60^th anniversary year of the LEGO brick, the LEGO Imaginarium will combine Augmented Reality with physical play.

The one-of-a-kind, free entry experience, taking place at Observation Point on London’s Southbank, will let children and adults alike come face-to-face with digital brick-built dragons, pirates, fairies and more, whilst using the endless creative play possibilities of real LEGO bricks to build their wildest wishes.

It will be unveiled by celebrity mum Stacy Solomon with her kids Zach, aged 10 and Leighton, aged 6, who said: “My kids love getting creative with LEGO, and it always amazes me when I see what they’ve built after being let loose on a box of bricks! We are all excited to visit the LEGO Imaginarium this weekend, take part in some building with fans and experience an AR world filled with LEGO wonder and creativity.”

The Imaginarium opens as figures from LEGO’s Play Well report – a survey of 13,000 parents and children across nine countries – shows that 96% of parents believe play is a key factor in helping kids develop their creativity.

93% of parents say construction toys such as LEGO bricks help their child be creative and ‘creativity’ has risen to become amongst the most sought after of the essential life skills. Studies by the World Economic Forum highlight the rapid change in the perception of creativity as an essential skill, moving from 10th place on the list of Top 10 Skills for success in 2015 to projected 3rd place by 2020.

Marius Lang, Head of Marketing for LEGO UK & Ireland, said: “Families have been getting together and building with LEGO bricks for 60 years and Christmas is a special time when imagination and creativity can be brought to life in a thousand ways.  The enduring appeal of the LEGO brick is its ability to become anything kids or adults want – to let them build whatever they can dream of through its endless creative play opportunities. That’s why we’re building the LEGO Imaginarium this weekend, it’s a chance for people to step into creativity and imagination with LEGO and bring their wildest wishes to life in brick form!”

The post LEGO unveils immersive family experience showcasing 60 years of creativity appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Lego is set to become the first client to capitalise on Primesight’s new ‘Primespot’ technology which takes the traditional ‘gold spot’ advertising seen on-screen before a film into the foyer, maximising exposure to the target audience.

The technology will revolutionise how digital cinema advertising is sold, serving the ad exclusively for 15 minutes in the foyer ahead of a specific feature film. The average cinema goer spends 14 minutes in the foyer ahead of watching their film, which means that ‘Primespot’ minimises wastage and targets the desired audience at a moment when they are most receptive to the message.

Aniskha Fernando, Senior Client Manager at Posterscope, said: “Cinema foyer advertising has always been a great format for us to target LEGO’s audiences, and through Primespot we are now able to be more niche with our targeting and dominate foyer presence during the all-important 15 min lead up to the show.

Lego have purchased 1,750 hours across Primesight’s cinema portfolio of digital 6-sheets, which will run daily before showings of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, at 120 cinemas in a nationwide campaign. The Lego spots will be served directly before what is set to be this year’s festive blockbuster and will feature Lego’s Star Wars range. As one of the biggest films of 2016, Rogue One is expected to take £80 million at the box office.

Dan Sharp, Head of Digital at Primesight, commented: “Through Primespot, we hope to reach out to audiences when they are at their most receptive, to build upon brand engagement at the first touchpoint: in the foyer of a cinema. Our first campaign with Lego is one we are very excited about and is the first step in showcasing just what brands and advertisers can creatively do in this space.”

2016 was another record year for UK cinema, which defied expectations to continue to deliver on the impressive growth of 2015. The total UK box office crossed £1bn in record time, hitting the figure by October 8th, and beating last year’s record by nearly three weeks. Increasing footfall and spend in cinemas around the UK means that engaging audiences in the time they spend before watching the film is even more important, which is why Primesight developed ‘Primespot’.

Primesight is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of out of home (OOH) solutions.  Its product portfolio reaches audiences in a range of environments including Roadside, Airports, Cinema, Retail Convenience, and Subway transit.  The operation of the largest UK network of fully interactive screens allows touch, sound and gesture engagement as well as mobile connection through touch points.

The post Lego, Primesight take ‘gold spot’ ads into cinema foyer appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Rather than just looking to reach their target audience, brands should aim to get them more deeply involved, says Pete Davis at Get Me Media.

If brands struggle with one thing in the audience engagement stakes, it’s getting people actively involved. They can develop highly creative and striking cross-channel ad campaigns, target consumers through social media and mobile, entice them with offers, boost customer experience both online and offline, and more; but arguably more valuable than all of this is driving a direct action – getting people to participate. To do this, brands need to push the boundaries of marketing a little further.

Lego is great at this. It’s Yoda Chronicles offers short tales from the legendary sci-fi story told through animated Lego figures via YouTube. It provides a safe way of presenting to kids what could otherwise be violent stories, is a wonderful soft sell for the Stars Wars Lego range, but, more importantly ,it’s a very clever way to reinforce the world of Lego via social media using content, which is far more engaging and effective than simply advertising its toy range.

What’s more, it has proved so engaging that some consumers have been creating their own Lego animations – and we all know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Essentially, this provides a great way of participating in Lego outside of the traditional brick building, while reinforcing this core proposition.

But it’s not just in cyberspace that Lego encourages participation. The brand has also launched movies and video games; it also offers another lifeline for parents on the High Street, with occasional pop-up cafés that let kids play with Lego, while mums and dads relax. There’s an entrance fee, but to frazzled parents this will equate with amazing value! And of course Lego kits are on sale. What’s more, all of these ideas have become highly lucrative revenue generators themselves.

Another, perhaps less obvious, example of strong participation marketing is Weetabix. Originally looking to get kids excited about a nutritious breakfast (and of course shift more units), the Weetabuddies campaign encouraged children to create faces on their Weetabix using fruit. It ran across TV, on-pack, in-store, social and online, as well as engaging parenting bloggers. The brand developed its own fun Weetabuddy characters and then encouraged children – and their parents – to create their own. It has proved a major success.

Weetabix Senior Brand Manager Claire Canty has said of the campaign: “By helping families to get creative and encouraging them to make their own Weetabuddies, we hope that kids will be reminded that a bowl of Weetabix is a lot of fun, while mum can be reassured that they are still getting a delicious and nutritious breakfast, helping us to encourage a whole new generation to fall in love with Weetabix as a result.”

Many brands that are waking up to the power of participation are turning to experiential marketing, with the discipline increasingly being used as the core for many campaigns. The latest Bellwether report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) revealed experiential as the only other marketing discipline that had attracted increased investment (up 6% in the first quarter of 2016) after online marketing.

Ian Priestman, Head of Experiential at experiential agency Blackjack Promotions, argues: “From the more traditional brand ambassadors getting consumers involved with products directly in the real world to bespoke branded events, experiential is a great way to encourage participation if planned correctly, while the internet has provided a way to amplify this far beyond the live participants themselves.”

Find a way to get your target audience participating with your brand and you’ll ramp up engagement like never before – and, who knows, if you’re really creative you may find you’ve developed new spin-off products just like Lego.

Pete Davis, a former marketer and media controller at Nestlé, is Founder and Managing Director of Get Me Media. Founded in March 2006 Getmemedia.com helps brands and their agencies find marketing ideas, media and sponsorship solutions. It also offers key insight and bespoke training to help companies and individuals build their knowledge of marketing and media disciplines, and keep up with the latest trends. http://www.getmemedia.com/.

The post Make participation your ultimate goal appeared first on IPM Bitesize.