LEGO/DUPLO UK & GLOBAL

CASE STUDY SUMMARY:

Context:

Our brief was to identify the role that duplo could play on social media where lots of toy brands were vying for attention and develop relevant social media content across social platforms and countries, from Europe to the U.S. In our growth markets (U.S., UK & France), mums did not have a relationship with duplo and therefore had no expectation. And in our established markets (Germany, Switzerland and Austria), they thought they knew everything there was to know about duplo and didn’t expect to learn anything new from the brand, on social media.

Problem:

We analysed thousands of online conversations about child development among mothers across both established and growth markets. A clear pattern emerged — especially among first-time mums: a deep insecurity around how to feed and nurture their child’s imagination. This explained their constant search for inspiration and reassurance from other mums online. The question became clear: how could duplo meaningfully address this emotional need?

Strategy:

Our analysis revealed three key emotional territories: supporting child development, strengthening the mother–child bond, and nurturing imagination. The most powerful and differentiating territory — and the one that addressed mums’ deepest insecurity — was fostering their child’s imagination. Across markets, mums saw imagination as vital to development, yet felt uncertain about how to nurture it. Our social value proposition became: Unlocking the Power of Imagination — not just for children, but for mothers too. duplo bricks became a limitless source of creative play, empowering both to build, dream and imagine together.

Creative work:

We created a social playbook which would bring to life this proposition through three main content streams:

1. Sparks of Inspiration (tips and tools to spark your child’s imagination with duplo);

2. Fridge-worthy creations (ways for Mum to share creations that make her proud every day);

3. Mums united (expert information to develop her child’s overall development from duplo and beyond)

Each social platform we invested in fulfilled a specific strategic role:

• facebook (community building);

• YouTube (content repository);

• Instagram (visual microblogging);

• Twitter (live conversations) - with specific content formats and themes addressing each country’s cultural specificity.

Note:

I was a Senior Strategic Planner on the project at We Are Social agency, reporting to the Head of Planning.