LEGO Con is coming! The LEGO Group is promising product reveals, behind-the-scenes moments and epic can’t miss moments. Here’s everything you need to know about the very first LEGO Con.
It’s almost time for LEGO Con, a show that will be livestreamed from LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. LEGO Masters host Melvin Odoom and YouTube video creator Michelle Khare will be hosting the event live from Denmark where the LEGO Group’s headquarters are located.
LEGO Con is not a convention, it’s a livestream, and it will be live on June 26 at 5.00pm UK time, 12.00pm ET and 9.00am PT.
Here is everything you need to know about LEGO Con, with insight from the people behind the livestream – Head of LEGO Agency Emma Perkins and Associate Creative Director Matt Guenigault.
Is LEGO Con a convention?
No, it’s a livestream from LEGO House in Billund, Denmark, featuring pre-recorded segments.
When is LEGO Con taking place?
June 26 at 5.00pm UK time, 12.00pm ET and 9.00am PT.
Where can I watch LEGO Con?
LEGO.com/LEGOCon.
Associate Creative Director Matt Guenigault: ‘We will not be having live interaction or live chats, we will be encouraging participation and comments on Twitter and other platforms, just to keep it safe for kids and safe for families. We won’t be having the kind of live chat you would experience on something like Twitch.’
Will there be new product reveals during LEGO Con?
Yes! A new LEGO Star Wars set will be unveiled during the event.
There will be lots of other content too though, including looks at existing sets, behind-the-scenes peeks, build challenges and special guest appearances.
What LEGO themes will be covered at LEGO Con?
Confirmed so far are Minecraft, Star Wars, Technic, Super Mario, Harry Potter, City, DOTS and VIDIYO.
Associate Creative Director Matt Guenigault: ‘DOTS will be in it, we’ll be launching something very special with LEGO House around DOTS. And VIDIYO will definitely be featured and we will have our wonderful video music producer L.L.A.M.A. in the house.’
What special guests will be at LEGO Con?
LEGO Con will feature special guests including Lydia Winters from Mojang Studios, a real-life NASA astronaut and a number of LEGO designers.
Where can I get more content like LEGO Con?
Blocks, the LEGO magazine for fans, brings you exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the LEGO Group, creative inspiration, build guides, set reviews and much, much more every single month.
To get the LEGO magazine for fans every month – at a discount and earlier than the shops – order a 12-month or 24-month subscription. Direct debit payment options are available too; to find out more get in touch via subs@silverbackpublishing.rocks.
Who is LEGO Con aimed at?
During a presentation ahead of the livestream, Head of LEGO Agency Emma Perkins explained exactly why LEGO Con is happening and who it is looking to reach:
‘Something that we’re experiencing in the business at the moment is with our kid audiences age 9 to 12 is that they’re actually ageing out of LEGO at this point. We are experiencing a drop off in those, they’re feeling that they’re old for LEGO play. They are experiencing none of their friends really talking about it, as it lacks that social cool factor compared to other interests, such as gaming. So that’s the big area that we’re struggling with a little bit – how much gaming time is taking up of children’s play time, particularly that tween age group.
‘We realised that knowing you’re not alone in enjoying a topic or a passion gives credibility to that passion and encourages you to engage further with others. We know that the tween group loves LEGO, but they’re just sort of looking for something that’s a bit older, that’s a bit cooler. If they realise how many other people still love LEGO we feel we could keep them in the in the brand for longer. And if we also expose them to ‘up in age’ builds, they can transition into that. So rather than dropping off out of NINJAGO, we can excite them about Technic, or some of the Star Wars builds.
‘That led us to introducing this idea of LEGO Con. It will be a 90 minute live show, entertainment based full of world first reveals never tried before build attempts, connecting you with your friends, special guests, like you’ve never experienced before.
‘We are trying to win the hearts of 9 to 12 year old kids and their families. So very much during lockdown, we’ve seen families come together a lot more watching entertainment content a lot more. We’re really, really looking for the kinds of things that you can do and enjoy together at this age.
‘And we hope this will inject coolness back into the brand. I know for many of us who love LEGO we think it’s the coolest thing ever, but if you’re a tween, there are other competing pressures, greater exposure to other things they may not have seen such as First LEGO League, and the rich ecosystem that we have – we really think this will open their minds.’
To get Blocks, the LEGO magazine for fans, every month – at a discount and earlier than the shops – order a 12-month or 24-month subscription. Direct debit payment options are available too; to find out more get in touch via subs@silverbackpublishing.rocks.
Is LEGO Con for adults?
Before the actual livestream show premieres, there will be 20 minutes of content from AFOLs [adult fans of LEGO], who will demonstrate the different creative opportunities that the LEGO brick offers.
Head of LEGO Agency Emma Perkins: ‘Whilst we have a core target audience, the AFOL community and other age groups have absolutely been front of mind for us. We do believe that whilst we have a sweet spot that we, we think we can try and perhaps stop these tween kids dropping out of LEGO by showing them the older stuff that we think actually AFOLs find super interesting anyway.
‘It’s just that these kids don’t have visibility. They’re not in the channels where we talk to them, we’ve lost them from channels such as TV where we’re advertising in ad breaks, they’re not there anymore. But they’re also too young to be on some of the social media platforms where we’re talking to our adult audiences. They’re falling between two chairs at the moment.’
Associate Creative Director Matt Guenigault: ‘One of my particular favourites is the Star Wars segment that we have we, I hope you’re going to find that really exciting. But if you want to talk to tweens and kind of young teenagers, you can’t talk to them like kids. You have to make sure that the tone of it is kind of very ‘up in age’ and very aspirational. We’re really hoping that it’s going to be as entertaining as enjoyable for AFOLs as well.’
How many people will watch LEGO Con?
Head of LEGO Agency Emma Perkins: ‘We have to do a lot of modelling around this to try and anticipate how many people will dial in for the live stream versus video on demand. One of the trends that we see in speaking to Mojang is that your video on demand views can be 10 times that of your live views. We have Minecraft figures, which were 300,000 live views in the first year, and they got 3 million views. And by year two, they had 500,000 live views and 5 million VOD . So we’ve got that guide.
‘We’re not necessarily expecting to be able to hit those kinds of numbers. And I think we’ve been looking at more like 100,000 – it is our hope that we could get that in a live stream. Obviously a brand like LEGO is hugely known, but we’re not necessarily associated with the digital realm in the way that someone like Mojang is. So in truth, I don’t know. But we have some hopes.’