Mega Bloks - The Untold Story

When it comes to construction and building toys, one name says it all, and that name is Lego. It is almost universally accepted that Lego owns and dominates the arena of building sets for kids and enthusiasts. The reason for this is easy - Lego makes outstanding products. We love them, you love them, and most importantly, the kids love them. But what do you do if you are a competitor
of the Lego juggernaut franchise? You'd better have some good ideas under your belt, because we have a feeling that Lego is not going to make it easy for you...laugh.
Thankfully, MegaBloks has some smart ideas and the last few years they have been seeing them come to fruition. MegaBloks is not a new company, they've been around for years, and they have a solid brand name that is instantly recognizable. Traditionally, they have been satisfied occupying the role of building toys for the early childhood market. The bigger, giant building blocks for children under three. That's great and they've done very well there for years. For the most part Lego has seemed content to let MegaBloks have that arena and stay there. However....
The last few years MegaBloks has been brewing up some new ideas, to the benefit of their company and the customers that are shopping the shelves. So what has MegaBloks been doing that is so smart? The first and most beneficial has been their improved licensing. We guess it's true what they say, you've got to spend money to make money. The last four years has seen MegaBloks putting some great franchises on the shelves, like Spiderman, Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean and Halo. These licenses have the draw and power to pull MegaBloks out of the early childhood market, and into more direct competition with Lego. Take a look: 
 

Obtaining the Halo license is the best example of this maneuver. The Halo video game series is among the top selling of all time, and having Halo MegaBloks on the shelf last holiday season raised a lot of eyebrows, got a lot of attention, and went into a lot of shopping carts. It was a brilliant move and it paid dividends. Retail employees got used to hearing, "Do you have those Lego Halo sets?" Then answering no, chuckling, and redirecting customers to the MegaBloks aisle.Take a look:



MegaBloks knows that this market is there. They are just quietly escaping the stigma of their own early childhood brand. The question is how do they appeal to the more mature kids and adults that are building enthusiasts? Halo was a great move and so is their very underrated MegaBloks Pro Builder series. Packaged in black and gray, featuring models likes fighter jets, boats, and race cars, it appeals to a demographic that can usually be found in the Lego aisle. The Pro Builder series is only missing a great license. With the success of their Halo line, perhaps Megabloks will seize that opportunity. Personally, we are hoping for Star Trek or perhaps the Aliens movie franchise. One can only dream. Take a look:



So what else does MegaBloks have working in their favor? One word: playability. MegaBloks playsets are a hybrid of building and toys. What that means is that after the building fun is complete, kids have lots to interact with in an easy fashion. Lego's are different in that respect. They are tremendously fun and rewarding to build, but they can be frustrating to kids when they are actually playing with them. Things come apart often. MegaBloks is seeing a lot of success with their themed playsets. A great example is MegaBlok's Pirates of the Caribbean playsets. Well designed, they look great, play great, and were tied in with the movies that the kids loved. Besides, it was a no brainer, kids love pirates anyways, with or without the movies. These playsets are a good example of MegaBloks offering an experience that Lego doesn't. Smart Move.Take a look:



Lastly, there is the collector market to address. In the past, MegaBloks flat out ignored it. However, with their improved licensing and more direct competition with Lego, they have seen that it is obvious to encourage enthusiasts and kids in the collector market. They've released some limited run products, some products in collector tin packaging, and some "collectors editions" products. Being in the collectors market is another smart move, and in the long, it's nothing but beneficial.
So that was MegaBloks -- The Untold Story. Let's hope that they keep making good moves and securing outstanding licensing. The future looks bright for MegaBloks and we are certainly going to enjoy watching how far they decide to go in this direction. And when your child's holiday wishlist has MegaBloks all over it next year, at least you won't be surprised. For the time being, hat's off to MegaBloks, keep up the good work.
--- Radar Toys