The members of SEALUG were forwarded the email that we received from Kevin Hinkel regarding TLG's involvement with conventions. Since it's posted on a public forum, I suppose it's OK to share here:
Hello and Good Afternoon,
I hope this message finds you all well and I want to once again thank you all �for your patience and collaborative efforts throughout 2012. As we come to the close of 2012 and move into 2013, I look forward to another year of working with you all on behalf of The LEGO Group and the CEE (Community Engagement & Events) team. As I�ve stated before, your events are a wonderful experience and have a truly positive impact on the LEGO fan community in North America. I know you have been anxiously awaiting the support details for 2013 and after a few final discussions I am here to share these with you today. Again, as stated earlier, please note that there are several changes from what we have been able to offer in previous years. The reason behind these changes are twofold.
First and foremost, we now have a heightened focus on global alignment, not only within the CEE team, but The LEGO Group as a whole. Our goal is to align the support offered to fan events in North America with those in other regions around the world. As we all know, the LEGO fan community is a global entity and as such we are making a concentrated effort to establish a clear and consistent approach to support regardless of where an event takes place. Secondly, and a point which has been brought up many times before, budgetary restraints. As the fan community continues to grow exponentially, the same cannot be said of our resources. As newer events continue to form and find homes within the calendar, and older events continue to mature and grow even larger, the demand for our time and resources continues to increase. As such, decisions were made and we have come to the agreement for 2013. The following options are available for event support in 2013:
Bulk LEGO Element Ordering:
Event coordinator(s) are welcome to place an order for loose LEGO elements needed and/or desired to enhance their event. Examples of this include LEGO brick badges, exclusive event kits, goodie bag contents, and brick based activities such as a mural/mosaic. As with other LEGO community programs, events are limited to elements that are currently in production. However, restrictions such as order size and/or maximum unique element designs are waived. The event coordinator(s) will be required to submit a wish list of elements to the community representative for availability and prices to be added in for consideration. Please note, the turnaround time on this order on average is 3 months as the elements are ordered directly from Kladno, Czech Republic. Expedited shipping is not available. If placing an order, the invoice, unless otherwise requested, will be sent to the event primary point of contact within 30 days after the event has concluded.
LEGO Product Donation:
The LEGO Group will provide a selection of complimentary LEGO products to be utilized at fan events. Items will be randomly selected from a current selection of products and can be used as the event coordinator(s) see fit. It should be noted that the items are given with the expectation that they will in some way be offered to the registered attendees/exhibitors. Examples of this include event raffles, lotteries, charity auctions, award prizes, etc. Products will be of varying sizes both in price point and physical size. Although some requests can be made for specific items, and/or specific price ranges, the majority of these items will be randomly selected by the warehouse team. The size of the donation will be established based upon the best estimation of registered attendees/exhibitors. The community representative will reach out to the event coordinator(s) to ascertain this information 2-3 months prior to the event upon which the order will be shipped soon afterwards to a desired point of contact.
LEGO Employee Physical On-Site Representation:
A local community representative will make arrangements to physically attend fan conventions for a maximum of two full days, in which he will be fully available to interact with and/or otherwise engage the event attendees. In most situations this will cover one private �convention� day such as Friday and one �public� day such as Saturday. During this time, arrangements can be made, if desired by the event coordinator(s), for a keynote address and/or official LEGO Q&A session at the event. Otherwise the primary goal of the visitation is to engage with and interact directly with the LEGO fan community. This provides an opportunity for fans to voice any questions, issues or concerns directly with an employee from the company. Any and all associated registration costs will be taken care of by the community representative.
As in previous years, an effort is made to ascertain unique and special guests from the LEGO company to attend and speak at fan events across the globe. These individuals range from LEGO model designers, brand and marketing managers, community team representatives, quality and production professionals, to executive directors and company leaders. All efforts to arrange these guests are taken care of internally by the CEE team and visitation is circulated amongst events in the region year over year to ensure fair and equal support. If a special guest has been arranged to attend a particular event the information will be shared with the event coordinator(s) as far in advance as possible to coordinator any desired presentations and/or keynote addresses. Any and all associated registration costs will be taken care of by the community representative.
LEGO Brand Retail Collaboration:
In collaboration and agreement with LEGO Brand Retail, the marketing team will ensure all fan conventions in North America will be included and advertised in the monthly LEGO Store Marketing Calendar. There are currently two variations of the calendar (United States & Canada) that are distributed amongst all the LEGO Brand Retail Stores respectively. There is also a virtual copy which can be downloaded/printed via the LEGO.com website by accessing a store�s individual landing page. Although every effort will be made to ensure the event is placed on the front of the calendar, in some cases the information will need to be pushed to the back of the calendar as the focus still needs to remain on store events, promotions, etc. The LBR Marketing Calendar will include the event logo, basic information, event website, and will only advertise the public day(s). All efforts to arrange this type of advertisement are handled internally by the CEE team.
In collaboration and agreement with LEGO Brand Retail, the marketing team has made available a flyer template that may be utilized by events as requested. In addition to the monthly store marketing calendar an event may wish to also distribute event flyers at the local LEGO Store(s). Working with various departments within The LEGO Group (I.E. Legal, PR, visual, operations) we have created an approved template in which events can submit information to be added. The event coordinator(s) will then be responsible for the printing and/or distribution of the flyers to the LBR Store(s). The event will need to work with the local community representative to create the flyer before the desired distribution date. It is important to note that the LEGO Store and all associated employees are not responsible for the printing of the event flyers. There are two options to consider: 1 full page, and 1 half page (2 per sheet). Any additional forms of advertisement are not allowed in the LEGO Stores.
Exclusive D2C Model Announcement:
As in previous years, an effort is made to provide the opportunity to "unveil" a new Direct to Consumer (D2C) LEGO model at a fan convention. Typically these models are exclusive as they will only be available for purchase via the LEGO Brand Retail Stores and the LEGO.com website. Please understand that there are a limited number of models that are announced each year and the responsibility is shared amongst all the regions globally. As such, arrangements are made far in advance as to which events line up with the desired marketing drive periods and proper timing to announce the new item. All efforts to arrange this opportunity are made internally by the CEE team. An emphasis is made to circulate the opportunity not only among other events in the region, but across other regions as well to ensure fair and equal support. If an announcement is to take place at a particular event the community representative will reach out to the event primary point of contact to make arrangements ahead of time.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE NO LONGER BEING OFFERED AS SUPPORT:
- The LEGO Company Booth will be decommissioned and no longer available at LEGO fan conventions.
- A local community representative will no longer be available on-site for the entire duration of the event (for further details please see above: LEGO Employee Physical On-Site Representation).
- LEGO Brand Retail will no longer offer a discount, or any type of special promotion or offer, to registered attendees/exhibitors of fan events.
- LEGO Brand Retail will no longer offer any type of early discount or promotion for event coordinator(s) before the event takes place (for event supplies I.E. speed build sets, raffle prizes).
We are well aware that some of the items being removed may cause severe concerns with you and/or your event attendees. I can assure you that no decision was taken lightly and that the associated negotiations and discussions have been taking place for several months. As your local community representative within The LEGO Group, I have already voiced my concerns and expected community feedback to the proper channels. There is nothing more we can do at this point to change any of the support efforts, however feedback is still highly encouraged and appreciated. Good or bad, this type of information helps as the leadership team continues to evaluate our resources and options each year.
As always I welcome any questions, comments, concerns and feedback.
Thank you for your time and support.
Regards,
Kevin Hinkle