During this whole journey, I really enjoyed sharing and listening to others’ views. And learnt a lot from others. In the future, as a student major in marketing, it is really necessary to combine the soft skills into career. Firstly, the traditional marketing did not involved too much digital, but things change too fast.So I found that what we have discussed about such as soft skills for digital era is really critical to enhance my competence when looking for a job. Digitalisation has been embedded into industries , industries such as accounting, hospitality, music and private housing rental.  Digitalisation in certain industries translate to automation and therefore redundancies in professions. Secondly, some topic also connected to sustainability, which is an issue all marketers need to consider when saving cost as well as protecting the society and environment. In the future I will learn more digital tools in my work.

In the mid twentieth century in was automation of manufacturing jobs in the secondary sector. Now it is starting to impact the tertiary/service jobs, In my report I mentioned how it impacted the hospitality in japan as some hotels are using minimum staff as many task have been automated away by digitalisation.  Accountants were another job at risk of being fully automated, however I believed many aspects of accounting that could not be automated away or at least in the short to medium term. Aspects such as audit, assurance and advisory. I however did agree with the blogger on accounting being digital away because basic book keeping can now be easily done with simplistic accounting software.

In this module I learned about the circular and sharing economy. The blogger’s who wrote on this topic focused on the room sharing app Airbnb and the music streaming app Spotify.  In the circular economy there are producers and consumers. In Airbnb’s case the producer is the landlord that offers his/her accommodation and the consumer is the individual that occupies the accommodation. In the circular economy the producer supplies the room and in return the consumer pays for the room which creates demand for the supplier. The economy is circular due to demand and supply. In the spotify blog I learnt that sharing did not necessarily equal to free. Spotify engaged in a freemium businesses model, therefore to access premium content and ad-free features users of the service must pay a premium.  

Below video is my comment on data issues for Spotify, which was based on a fellow bloggers’ blog.

https://youtu.be/hnhzOUlri_I

Lego is a giant in the toy industry, the danish company is second only to Mattel-the producer of Barbie dolls in terms of sales. One may think the introduction of video games would damage sales of the toy giants, but in contrast the company embraced digitization and continues to grow.

We shall therefore evaluate the success of Lego in implementing its digital business model.

Figure 1: Digitalization mowves of Lego Groups:source Figure 2 :Statista(2020)

Toy blocks that can be assembled and disassembled are the backbone to legos success in the past but implementing several digital services is why it continues to be successful in recent  years. 

The company has always been driven by the interest of little children however the importance of parents participation in the process is highly regarded as well. The company plans to allow users to print customized Lego bricks using 3D printers. Interested customers can buy 3D printers from Lego, request designs online or come up with their own design and print it from their home. Lego see’s 3D printing as a way to generate income rather than a source of competition. This unique business model of C2B(consumer to business) where consumers can request for anything from producers allows for a more tailored experience. 

Another ambitious plan is the robotics the company is working to implement. To connect physical products they make with the virtual reality world of video games. Integrating digitalization into its product directly.

As children moved to playing with gaming consoles the company started to develop video games and continues to do so, popular games include Lego movie video game as well as collaborations such as the Harry potter collection and DC super villains. 

Figure 3: The Lego video games series

Digital Platforms

Digital platforms help Lego narrow the borders across the world, 

Lego Life– an APP on which children can share their LEGO creation, it’s also a children community for interactive playing experience where they can meet other children with similar interest.

Facebook twitter paypal-Facebook and twitter are online social media platforms Lego use in engaging with fans and putting out inspirational ideas as well as promote the brand. It has 13million followers in facebook therefore a perfect platform to also announce upcoming events and Paypal is a digital platform the company works with to ensure fast secure payments by their customers.

Crowdsourcing in product design

For innovation of models, Lego Ideas was used to generate ideas from customers. You can come up with your own Lego design or vote for others’ designs, if an idea is upvoted 10000 times, then the idea will be considered by Lego whether or not to commercialize it. By doing this, a strong online consumer presence was set up and the relationship between Lego fans and the company became closer. It also saves Lego from commercializing too many products without sufficient interest in the product.nobody knows the interest of consumers than the consumers themselves. This is sharply in contrast with innovation in 2000 that almost led the company into bankruptcy. Innovation back then was backed by experts rather than consumers. 

Figure 5: Lego Ideas

Pricing strategy

Free 

Customers can enjoy several free to access games online as well as promotional events, most APP’s created by lego are free to download as well. The free experience does not end there as several shops around the world serve as an outlet to show off the endless possibilities of the company. Hands-on events that allow customers to have a taste of the product before buying entices their desire to purchase the product.  

Freemium

Games are free online and free to download on the IOS app store and Google play stores, however special features and an improved customer experience is only possible if  a premium fee is paid. Examples are copyrighted products from companies such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel. Lego VIP is a free to join loyalty program, however benefits or premiums can only be unlocked with making purchases.

Figure 6：source

Learning from entertaining 

If one should think Lego is only in the entertainment industry, then they are not completely right. Lego offers a consulting service for firms called  “Lego serious play”;during a workshop accompanied by the use of Lego bricks to build structures.This exercise has helped staff in companies reignite their creativity, better understand one another and relieve stress. After the consultation it has been proven that  it has led to enhanced innovation and better business performance.

Changing the jobs roles

Lego has created a secondary industry as ‘Lego artist’ continue to push the boundaries of creativity and design more complex art works with LEGO bricks, these designs accompanied with the LEGO life app as a platform has allowed artist to express themselves and put their talent on display.

Conclusion

Lego’s digitization has evolved in many ways in terms of products, marketing and their own organization. This combination makes them stronger. Lego has become more attractive and exciting by integrating physical and digital games while maintaining physical core businesses such as Lego City. Digitization for Lego has truly saved them from bankruptcy and increased profits every year for the brand. It continues to innovate and grow and there’s no sign of the company slowing down.

References list:

LEGO business model canvas. (2020). Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://vizologi.com/business-strategy-canvas/lego-business-model-canvas/

Transforming Lego Group for digital transformation(2020). Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://ctl.mit.edu/sites/ctl.mit.edu/files/attachments/MIT_CISRwp407_TheLEGOGroup_AndersenRoss_0.pdf?source=post_page—————————

About us – LEGO.com GB. (2020). Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://www.lego.com/en-gb/aboutus

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

Hi, welcome to my blog post, where I would discuss digital marketing in the 21st century. This is the age of the 4th industrial revolution, which is also known as the digital revolution. A century where companies that are tech oriented thrive and break through into becoming trillion dollar enterprises and companies that fall behind and dissolve into the books of history when they are unwilling or can’t embrace digitalization.

My name is Yuxuan Weng, most people call me Katie. I’m currently studying MSc International marketing. Before coming Exeter I worked in a broadcasting network in ShenZhen, as I am from Shenzhen also know as the technology capital of China I was intrigued by how broadcasting networks have transformed their business model from broadcasting on television to also incorporating digitalization(creating an app to broadcast on smart phones and engaging with viewers through social media). I chose Digital marketing as a module as I believe this could be a good opportunity to broaden my horizons on how businesses including the broadcasting network I worked for transition their business into incorporating digital processes. I am hoping to use the knowledge I have acquired from the module to help struggling businesses that have fallen behind in utilizing digital processes in China.

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