{"id":1955,"date":"2008-10-03T06:36:51","date_gmt":"2008-10-03T05:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2021-01-04T13:17:52","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T12:17:52","slug":"lessons-learned-from-the-lego-miniman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/lessons-learned-from-the-lego-miniman\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons Learned from the LEGO Miniman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/lego-miniman.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1956 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/lego-miniman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/lego-miniman.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/lego-miniman-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 240px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 240\/160;\" \/><\/a>In August, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lego.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LEGO<\/a> miniman turned 30 years old.\u00a0 Brand icons such as the LEGO miniman have a unique way of ingratiating themselves into popular culture.\u00a0 Consider Ronald McDonald, the Pillsbury Dough Boy or the Michelin Tire Man.\u00a0 All of these &#8220;spokespeople&#8221; have become iconic symbols of brands.\u00a0 Consumers welcome them into their homes like they&#8217;re old friends, and that familiarity and relationship leads to comfort with the brand and the products under the brand umbrella.\u00a0 The end result of popular iconic characters is brand loyalty and a unique form of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/the-path-to-creating-a-relationship-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>relationship branding<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"http:\/\/parents.lego.com\/en-us\/news\/Minifigure%2030th%20Birthday.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LEGO press release<\/a>, the LEGO miniman is the second successful iconic symbol of the LEGO brand after the LEGO brick.\u00a0 We&#8217;ve established that a brand icon can be powerful, imagine the combined strength of multiple brand icons!\u00a0 And when one or more of those icons takes on a personality leading to that aforementioned relationship, then a brand has reached nirvana.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Check out these interesting facts about the LEGO miniman and see just how popular the icon has become across the globe during its 30-year life:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The LEGO miniman population is over 4 billion making it the largest population in the world.<\/li>\n<li>122 LEGO minimen are sold around the world each year.\u00a0 That&#8217;s 3.9 per second.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What&#8217;s particularly interesting about the LEGO miniman is the number of brand extensions the icon has undergone.\u00a0 What began as a simple policeman character has grown into licensed movie merchandise, video games, websites, and much more.\u00a0 The LEGO miniman is a case study in successful brand icon and character development.<\/p>\n<p>Could you create an iconic brand character to support your brand?\u00a0 Not every brand icon is successful, but those that do catch on can become inordinately popular and powerful and just might become income streams unto themselves.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a brand strategy worth considering.<\/p>\n<p><em>Image: <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/abennett96\/2798675418\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Flickr<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In August, the LEGO miniman turned 30 years old.\u00a0 Brand icons such as the LEGO miniman have a unique way of ingratiating themselves into popular culture.\u00a0 Consider Ronald McDonald, the Pillsbury Dough Boy or the Michelin Tire Man.\u00a0 All of these &#8220;spokespeople&#8221; have become iconic symbols of brands.\u00a0 Consumers welcome them into their homes like [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[756,755,212,757,100,110,754,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-1955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-brand","7":"tag-brand-character","8":"tag-brand-icon","9":"tag-brand-loyalty","10":"tag-brand-spokesperson","11":"tag-brand-strategy","12":"tag-corporate-branding","13":"tag-lego","14":"tag-relationship-brand","15":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lessons 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