The LEGO Group says it’s taking lessons from NINJAGO with its approach to LEGO DREAMZzz, mapping out a multi-year strategy for its latest homegrown theme.
LEGO DREAMZzz is the company’s first homegrown theme free of digital trappings – a la Hidden Side and VIDIYO – in more than five years, and launched alongside an accompanying TV series in 2023. But where its immediate predecessors were dropped like a stone following a mixed reception, the LEGO Group says it has big, ‘long-term’ plans for LEGO DREAMZzz.
“We are on [with] our plans with LEGO DREAMZzz after the first half-year,” LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen tells Brick Fanatics. “But I’ll also say it is the first half-year of a longer journey; you don't build a homegrown IP in six months or nine months. We know from LEGO NINJAGO that that is a three, four-year period, and so we are continuing that journey.”
Drawing a line from DREAMZzz to NINJAGO is interesting, because it positions this new theme slightly differently. Rather than an experimental theme that involves an app or digital experience, the LEGO Group seemingly sees DREAMZzz as a more traditional homegrown IP with a greater focus on storytelling, which parallels the approach taken by NINJAGO for the past decade-and-change.
Built around the concept of bringing dreams to reality – and inspired directly by stories of dreams from kids – the first two waves of DREAMZzz sets have seen a core cast of characters taking on villains such as the Nightmare King and the Never Witch. But the TV show actually debuted three months ahead of the sets, giving kids the chance to experience the story before the product.
That’s a result of the lessons the LEGO Group learned from themes such as NEXO KNIGHTS and The Legends of Chima, as LEGO DREAMZzz Design Director Cerim Manovi said last year. “It was good to go back and refer to, ‘Okay, what did work in Chima?’” he explained. “We know there are things that worked great in Chima. What worked in NEXO? How did we go out with Hidden Side?
“It has to be LEGO-first; imaginative; creative. It has to be story-first. We want to come out with strong content; that’s why the content rolls out two months prior to the product, so we have the time to really land it first and kids can experience the first 10 episodes before anything. I think these are some of the learnings that went in there.”
Will LEGO DREAMZzz become the next LEGO NINJAGO? It’s tricky to say at this juncture, especially with one eye on everything NINJAGO has achieved (14 years of products, 15 seasons of a TV show, a movie, theme park rides and much more), but the LEGO Group at least has high hopes for the theme – and is encouraged by the response it’s seen so far.
“We have really high net promoter scores or satisfaction from consumers,” Christiansen adds. “They really like building [the sets]. The building experience and play experience is good. The content that we have out there telling the LEGO DREAMZzz story resonates really well.
“We're still working to get broader reach of that, to allow more kids to get into that brand, and we are continuing to expand the portfolio of DREAMZzz products into 2024 with the ambition to grow that into a real long-term theme. But let's say so far, so good.”
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