Abstract

This case is about the branding strategy that global toy manufacturing company LEGO Group adopted to restore its brand image and expand its outreach among consumers across the world. As a distinct player, LEGO followed a brand strategy which was disruptive, innovative, market-changing, and category-killing. Started with the vision of ‘Inventing the future of play,’ LEGO catered to the growing demands of its consumers through timely product expansion and diversification. However, it failed to address its core customers and neglected its core business in the wake of a mindless brand expansion strategy that resulted in losses to the company and deterioration in its brand reputation for some time. To revive the company and rejuvenate its brand, LEGO appointed Jorgen Vig Knudstorp as its CEO. Knudstorp undertook a rebranding plan that focused on “establishing operational and financial control as well as stability.” The rebranding strategy enabled LEGO to reach the milestone of mainstreaming sustainability with its core business that focused on its core product, the LEGO bricks. Going forward, LEGO faced the challenge of protecting its original brand and creating toys that lived up to the expectation of the rapidly growing digital world.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the significance of brand strategy and observe how successful brand strategy resulted in high performance of the LEGO Group across the world.
• Study and analyze how LEGO became a powerful brand.
• Analyze the factors leading to rebranding of LEGO.
• Understand the challenges faced by LEGO going forward and explore the ways in which it can overcome the challenges.

Keywords

Branding; Rebranding; Corporate branding; Brand identity, Brand equity, Brand reputation, Brand image, Brand portfolio; Brand culture; Brand loyalty; Product diversification; Customer engagement; Brand storytelling; Content marketing; Social media