Summary of TFOL/AFOL survey findings, May 2012

[CopMike]

Dear LEGO® Fan community,

We hereby share top line, aggregated results of the LEGO Fan Survey which was conducted in May 2012.

Over 6.000 LEGO fans over the age of 13 participated in the survey. A majority of you who participated in the survey were above 18 of age with seven out of ten being between 18-44 years old. 14% of the respondents were women. When we compare this figure with previous studies, it indicates that more adult women are entering the LEGO hobby. The main occupation among you who took the survey were “computer/engineer/technical”, then “arts/design/media”, followed by “business/financial operations” and “education/training/library”. Close to half of you have a bachelor degree or more.

In general the data indicates that the joy of building was ingrained in you from early childhood. Thus, eight out of ten confirm that as children they really enjoyed coming up with solutions to problems. The data also suggests that you were not afraid of embarking in building activities that others would think of being a bit too challenging. Apparently, you had plenty of time for free play and for many, playing with LEGO elemets was a daily occurring activity. Surprisingly, at least to us, the numbers suggest that you did not make use of older siblings and friends to help you build with LEGO products. This to us suggests that you were self-motivated and did not need assistance or to be encouraged to play with LEGO products.

Among those of you who responded, LUG members and people who have participated in a LEGO fan club meeting or a convention seem to represent a smaller group. However, data suggest that there are many more fans who expect to participate in LEGO fan activities in the future. We can also see that there are quite a few who expect to organize or participate in events where the purpose is to show fan created work to non-LEGO fans. Thus, there seems to be lots of enthusiasm among LEGO fans and a great interest in taking part of fan organized activities. We guess that there is a direct link between the great work that so many LUGs are doing and then this great anticipation to engage and socially interact.

About your online LEGO hobby activities, nearly nine out of ten check out LEGO related online sites a couple of times per week or more. You mostly use LEGO related online sites to check out new LEGO products and MOCs and to read reviews of LEGO products. Many of you use LEGO related online sites to learn new building styles and techniques, to keep informed about good LEGO deals, and to hear the latest rumors or gossip. Fewer of you use LEGO related online sites to show your latest MOCs, to contribute to LEGO fans’ discussions and to get other fans’ input and help with things you are working on. Only very few use LEGO related online sites to find new friends.

Regarding the way you perceive LEGO products, most of you agree that you feel a personal connection with LEGO products and that you believe that LEGO products are best in class. Judging from your answers, you are very knowledgeable about LEGO products and many of your non-LEGO friends turn to you to get advice on LEGO products. Close to half of you who took the survey have played with LEGO products for more than 16 years. So, it is actually no surprise that others think of you as a great source of knowledge and experience.

Seven out of ten agree that they take great joy in showing and explaining LEGO models to people who are not actively involved in the LEGO hobby. Six out of ten agrees that he or she feels compelled to help a fellow fan if he or she asks for help on how to improve his or hers LEGO design. This to us indicates a general openness and willingness to share and exchange the deep knowledge and experience many of you possess.

We also asked you about the way you perceive your MOCs. While most of you would not be too worried if other LEGO fans disliked your MOCs, many of you agree that the opinions of other LEGO fans are important when judging your work and that a MOC has to live up to certain standards if it has to be appreciated by many LEGO fans. More than eight out of ten agree that winning a MOC award or having one’s MOC praised by other LEGO fans would potentially represent a very positive experience.

We are using the survey results to better understand the LEGO fan community and your relationship with the LEGO products in general. We would like once again to thank you for your participation.

With kind regards,

Jan Beyer, Community Operations Manager EU/Asia

James Foulds, Community Operations Senior Manager, Americas/Australia

Tormod Askildsen, Head of the LEGO Community Engagement & Events team

July 2, 2012

[WhiteFang]

I remembered this survey and it is truly pleasing to read the results in an good written manner.

[Lego Chris]

I also remember this survey. I was very interested to see the different walks everyone comes from and how personal it is to everyone.

[VBBN]

Very interesting to read that data!

I think what I take out of this, is that Lego is realizing how important lego communities online are now. Whether this means the actual lego forums will improve or what, It is still good news to online communities.

[LegoMyMamma]

"14% of the respondents were women. When we compare this figure with previous studies, it indicates that more adult women are entering the LEGO hobby."

[Phoxtane]

People with "Computer/engineer/technical" backgrounds were the largest group to take this survey... That's interesting, because I can see why that would be so, and yet I can see why it would also NOT be so. It's definetly a 'hmmmm' moment for me!

[Lego Otaku]

And close to half has bachelor degree.

I would have expected less than that so I was surprised.

[Si-MOCs]

Awww I was hoping there would be some fancy graphs (us Computer/engineer/technical people like that stuff!) and Venn diagrams that they showed at Brickworld speech.

Anyways still very enlightening.

[Rook]

Yeah I was surprised by the simple “six out of ten” rather than 61.2%. Especially since the majority of people that responded were in the “computer/engineer/technical” category.

[winbrant]

Yeah I was surprised by the simple “six out of ten” rather than 61.2%. Especially since the majority of people that responded were in the “computer/engineer/technical” category.

"But close to half of you have a bachelor degree or more"...which might as well also read "less than half"...so...some of this majority didn't complete their degree?

Gotta write/pander to the lowest common denominator...

[jasbury]

Very interesting!

Yeah I was surprised by the simple “six out of ten” rather than 61.2%. Especially since the majority of people that responded were in the “computer/engineer/technical” category.

Yeah, I was curious about that, aswell.

Glad we got to see these results!

Edited July 4, 2012 by jasbury

[AndyC]

Interesting to see the results, so many of these surveys seem to just disappear into the ether. Judging by the results I guess I'd fall roughly into the average AFOL bracket. Which is nice.

[Faefrost]

People with "Computer/engineer/technical" backgrounds were the largest group to take this survey...

So from this we can conclude that the typical AFOL has horrible eating habits, is probably carrying a few pounds more than is generally recommended, and is more allergic to fresh air and sunshine than Lord Vampyre?

[Sparhawke]

Very interesting and informative results! Thanks!

[Ferrik]

These are interesting results.

[Horry]

So from this we can conclude that the typical AFOL has horrible eating habits, is probably carrying a few pounds more than is generally recommended, and is more allergic to fresh air and sunshine than Lord Vampyre?

That's supposed to be a joke, right? because I don't find it funny at all so I thought I'd double check

OT: I think it's great that more women are starting to build although I have to admit I did not know that there were that few women building with LEGO - That makes me kind of ponder about the gender issues in LEGO again....

[Aanchir]

That's supposed to be a joke, right? because I don't find it funny at all so I thought I'd double check

OT: I think it's great that more women are starting to build although I have to admit I did not know that there were that few women building with LEGO - That makes me kind of ponder about the gender issues in LEGO again....

Yeah, just as girls form a very small part of LEGO's customer base, women are seriously outnumbered by men in the AFOL hobby. That's part of why I'm glad the LEGO Friends theme has proven successful. Hopefully its success will lead to more girl-oriented and gender-neutral product design in the long run as girls of all ages learn that construction toys in general and LEGO in particular aren't just for boys.

Some people have suggested that LEGO Friends is a step in the wrong direction and that LEGO could really capture a female demographic by evening the gender ratios in their mainstream themes and their marketing, but personally I feel there's no silver bullet and LEGO has to gradually change their image, their product lines, and their marketing approach if they want to make a real difference in the demographic makeup of their fanbase.

Of course, I'm sure that the changes in number of female respondents to this survey has less to do with LEGO Friends (that's still too new to make a major difference in how many girls become adult fans, and I'm sure adult fans don't take up the hobby for those sets any more than they do for themes like City) and more to do with TLG's continued efforts to appeal to kids and adult fans of both genders with products like the LEGO Minifigures and direct-to-consumer lines. Along with licensed products, these two categories are a great way of creating new LEGO fans as well as bringing people who enjoyed LEGO during their childhoods back to the hobby.

[LovinLegoSince97]

I did not partake in this survey. Although I seem to agree with everything it stated. Playing with Lego daily as a child by myself, never asking my older sister to play I knew that answer...ectect. Very interesting,I enjoyed this a lot, especially the raw data.

[The-Hulk]

Those are some interesting results.

[SwissBrick]

Yeah I was surprised by the simple “six out of ten” rather than 61.2%. Especially since the majority of people that responded were in the “computer/engineer/technical” category

Very interesting!

Yeah, I was curious about that, aswell.

Glad we got to see these results!

I sometime run surveys, analyze and share results with my "user" (1'500+) community, and I can tell you that the "6 out of ten of you" approach is much more talking to people than the 61.2% one

I was surprised by the tone, but liked it very much, from a user perspective..! Well done TLG, thanks for sharing the results and taking the time to elaborate such an answer

Edited July 9, 2012 by SwissBrick