“The startling success of The Lego Movie probably didn’t make you think about Apple, but it should,” Geoff Colvin writes for Fortune. “In their widely different worlds, the Lego Group and Apple are succeeding in the same way, with lessons for the rest of us.”
“The Lego Movie is a 3-D kid flick in which the entire world is apparently made of little plastic bricks,” Colvin writes. “The description may not make your heart beat faster, but in less than two weeks it has grossed an estimated $140 million at the U.S. box office, nearing or maybe setting a record for a film released at this time of year. Considering that the movie cost only an estimated $70 million to make, and that its global prospects are extremely strong in light of Lego’s globally popular brand, the film is a major win for both Lego and the film’s producer, Warner Brothers.”
“So what’s the link to Apple?” Colvin writes. “In one word, integration. Apple has conquered the world in large part because it’s the best company anywhere at integrating all the parts of the business into a knockout customer experience. Hardware, software, product aesthetics, online experience, even packaging — at Apple they’re all created simultaneously in ways that reinforce one another.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
Lego and Apple, my two favourite things 🙂
I think Lego and Taco Bell are more alike. Clever marketing takes the same ingredients, shaped differently, increases the price paid, yet tastes the same.
Apple is known for high quality product (for the most part)
Taco Bell is known for cheap products (for the most part)
I would say of the two, Lego is more like Apple. Have you ever seen badly made Lego blocks? That and I bet Lego’s margins look more like Apple’s, there is no way those little chunks of plastic cost nearly as much to make as they do to buy.
I agree …Lego must have higher margins than Apple. I know I contributed to both. Badly made Lego blocks? You’re right, they are perfectly made, individually, until I step on them at night or run over them in the driveway. Whoops. Excuse me. Guess where I went for lunch? 😉
The Lego Movie was surprisingly good, I’ll may go to see it a second time.
Quality of the user experience is the first thing Lego (as in the case of this movie) and Apple have in common. The second is what Colvin calls integration, Lego will sell a ton of their little plastic bricks because of the quality of this movie.
The Lego Movie was fantastic, and it moved so fast that I’m sure I’ll catch a ton of fun details I missed watching it 2, 3, or 4 more times (waiting for it on Blu-Ray).
Lego also sticks to its core products and does not grow by buying model train makers or doll makers.
Apple only aquires what are elements of future core products. Thats something a numbers of other companies would do well to follow.
Reasonable points!
Don’t tell Road Warrior the Lego Movie was made in Australia….
Well, it’s a good thing they dubbed a USA accent over the Australian lego actors or I wouldn’t have understood a word they were saying. 😉
I’m having trouble with the coherence here:
1) The ‘Lego Movie’ was not created by Lego. It was created by a team of animated film makers. Because it uses Lego, it had to be approved by Lego.
2) The movie went through SEVERAL iterations until it was deemed worthy of release by Lego. IOW: It took a lot of time, effort and money to go from concept to finished film. There was nothing instantly magical here.
3) This has WHAT to do with Apple? Yes, Apple is the master of integrating all aspects of product design, usability and presentation in an age when NO ONE else could comprehend the point.
And somehow this connects Apple with Lego? Like Lego had competitors who made inferior but compatible little interlocking bricks that could have diluted or ruined the Lego experience? NO!
What is this author going on about?! Oh, I know:
∑ = Hit whoring through use of the ‘Apple’ word. Nothing new.
“Like Lego had competitors who made inferior but compatible little interlocking bricks that could have diluted or ruined the Lego experience? NO!”
Didn’t your parents every buy you Mega Bloks, or one of the other Lego compatible knockoffs? It’s totally a thing.
Oops. It’s been a while since I was a Lego maniac. Apologies. Back in my day… we had alternative blocks, but nothing fit the Lego design.
Fond Memories: Making huge Lego air cruisers, hurtling them through space, aka our stairway, watching them *SMASH* on the flag stone below, destroyed by an enemy battleship. . . . Gather up the pieces and make a new one. Indestructible toy.
* rolls eyes * No wonder we’re so different. Playing with dolls prepared me for a realistic, responsible social life. OK, sometimes the dolls fought with each other. OK, maybe that’s just conflict on a scale smaller than galactic war. OK, maybe we’re not all that different.
Also from when I was a kid, my big bad bully at the bus stop abused me by calling me ‘Mr. Manners’. I had been properly trained by my very British father to be a gentleman. So I had socialization training as well. I never got into playing with guns or GI Joe as it’s somehow contrary to my nature, or ‘spirit’. But anything gizmo I always enjoyed, including blowing stuff up, as long as it was fantastical. Carmageddon is still one of my fave games and I’m a contributor to their ‘Reincarnation’ Kickstarter campaign, which is supposed to pay off any day now…
Guy cultural versus gal culture growing up.