PlaymoFriends
General => Brainstorming For Playmobil => Topic started by: Rhalius on June 04, 2024, 16:27:34
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For some reason, YOU are picked as the new head of Playmobil, you get to make all the final decisions on what to do with the brand, what ends up in the catalogue, etc.
What would you do?
What I'd do would be 10 things:
1-Reduce licensed series to just a few adult collector sets, make Star Trek a whole theme.
They already have some agreement there, I'd go with releasing several Star Trek: Next generation sets to have the Bridge, Engineering, the cantina, a hallway, captain's quarters and sleeping quarters. The Enterprise and other ships would be smaller ships, a model to use for space battles or such.
Later there could also be some Borg sets and other stuff.
2-Bring back the classic faces.
No more oddly coloured eyes, weird mouths or other stuff like that. Just the classic Playmobil smile as it's always been until recent years.
3-End the Novelmore run, bring back the Medieval theme and a separate fantasy theme.
No more separate boys and girls themes there, some sets might cater more to one or the other but the overall themes would be more for both to enjoy.
4-Bring back Steck.
Probably one most common here. I would innovate with it still though. Like there would be new colours and shapes, new windows, new battlement options, different roofs, etc. It would be the main building component for Playmobil again, across various themes. I would advertise the possibilities with it a lot and how it saves up space when stored.
It's great to constantly have it in the online store but I don't mean just reissues. I mean actual new sets released mainly in the medieval line.
5-Remove the upper age limit from all boxes.
Just putting 3+ on there, or somewhat higher where it applies would work. It's just shooting yourself in the foot when you put an age limit on there and causes stigma to also be put on children who might want to keep playing while eleven or older. Leave it to them decide when to stop playing, if ever.
6-Bring back dioramas for boxes AND catalogues.
Kids should see what they actually get which is awesome, no need for digital effects or all that. The picture on the front of the box becomes an actual picture of the set in action again, at most maybe having something in the air like a projectile or something winged. Back of the box would keep showing the content as is, since that's pretty great. On the sides of the boxes, additional pictures of the set would be shown to show off the various features and how the set can be played with, some action shots to get kids (and adults) excited.
Dioramas in the catalogues would be limited to sets of the actual theme but any number of them could be used.
That can encourage customers to buy a set more than once, letting children see the appeal of that too. Some stuff like fake water, sand, rocks and such could be used for the diorama but all the actual Playmobil in the diorama would be of that specific theme.
7-My figures line revised to fit way better with mixing and matching.
It defeats the whole point if you can't really mix it up much due to almost every clicky having a different skin tone or gender and that skin tone also showing on the arms and chest way more often than needed.
8-Send hospital themed Playmobil to children hospital wards in any country where Playmobil is exported to.
It's a place where children can use a friendly smile and it's great advertisement.
Lets the staff use the Playmobil to help explain what's going to happen too.
9-Do several things with classic sets for the 50th anniversary.
I would have a whole figure series made up of reissued clickies of the 90's, including some items if fitting.
I'd launch a tournament theme to mark the occasion too, which would consist of 12 sets. Each would have a knight on a horse, a squire and a weapon rack or chest of their time with some extra weapons. Would mostly stick to molds of their time where possible, with the classic ones getting a bit of an update to match the newer ones. Each would be of a different past faction, using the exact same heraldry.
I would also relaunch the entire 1974 initial Playmobil range fully updated to the modern age, with pretty much the same content but always with more than one combined together in one box. The pictures of the original sets would be shown on the box too, so it's clear to see how far they have come.
For example all the Indian sets would be combined into one with a new version of the tipi, canoe and cookpot (now with campfire) and the Indians would now have the right skintone and hairstyles, would also include women.
10-Longer shelf life for everything.
I'd keep any theme on the shelf for 4-5 years, they disappear way too fast these days, some are gone within a year. I'd release additional sets to the theme if it does well, only if a theme sells really poorly would I take it out of stores in fewer years.
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Regarding Star Trek I wouldn't do the mini ships, it's not really playmobil and Star Trek itself isn't about space battles. Instead I'd have a shuttle and maybe something like the Delta Flyer. For a full theme I'd expect a transporter room and sick bay as well. I'd also want a borg with resting station (modular so they can be clicked together to form a whole wall).
More historic buildings - as steck was mentioned above then two new steck buildings based on actual ones from Nuremberg - Albrecht Durer's House and the old Townhall (back when it had a rose window).
More focus on single klickies in smaller boxes or bags. The old specials in other words - low cost, varied and a good way to gauge interest in a theme. More minions over leaders too, once you have a pirate captain with a hook and pegleg you don't need a dozen more, but crew...
More versatility. If something looks like a klicky could hold it then make sure they can. Why have something a mm or two thicker or thinner? Kids will try to get their klickies to hold these things and they'll either break something with the thicker pieces or be disappointed when the thinner ones fall out of the hand.
Limit the colours used for body parts so that you don't end up with five shades of khaki and 15 shades of light brown.
No more stand alone partial buildings. That corner shop that gets used as a cafe etc should be modular so that you can join them with other sets, or another of the same to make a more complete building. The average child will likely only get a single building but being able to combine them with a friend should be a factor as well as the wow factor of a good diorama using original playmobil products.
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Lots of good ideas. The lack of a construction aspect - be it steck, X, or just modularity with buildings - is a huge oversight. There needs to be that engagement/reuse factor, it's why L*go has retained such a huge fanbase.
I'd also lean into the sports thing. It's not my cup of tea, but it's a good idea and lots of people would like little teams, personalized star player klickies, and so forth. Other types of localization could be possible - local marques like gas stations or whatever. Lots of potential.
And as per your children's hospital idea, get more creative with marketting. Advertise the sports klickies on sports sites, sell them at stadia, etc.
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I have zero interest in soccer much less the German national team but that team on the German site looks awesome. If it came with a display case then the whole team could easily end up on office desks, workplaces etc.
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Not a soccer person either, but targeted marketing could go a long way.
I mean, a Taylor Swift Clicky could make a lot of sales if properly brought to the attention of her fans.
Like send one to Taylor Swift herself, if she'd post a picture of her with the clicky suddenly there'd be a huge demand for that clicky.
Give half the profits to a good cause she supports and I bet she'd be down with it.
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That's a dangerous question to ask. :lol:
I would:
- Do a full back-end analysis: production costs of each set, what sells, what doesn't sell, what has been causing supply chain problems . . .
- Institute a company-wide standard of ethics. It's hard to have a branding of childhood happiness when your employees are working under a reign of terror.
- Give molded faces to all klickies. I don't care if they are over-painted, but I don't want children to have the nightmare of seeing their beloved klickies losing their eyes slowly over time. I want to see klickies on the Antiques Roadshow in fifty years.
- Pick four or five core themes and expand them into worlds or eras with sub-themes - similar to what exists with the modern sets, but being more blatant that these sets are compatible. So, for example, if you are doing medieval, you'd have the tournament knights, the war knights, the tradesmen, the marketplace, the pretty princesses, the dragons, etc. The child can decide which direction to develop their collection in. There'd be shorter term novelty themes in addition, but these would be the signature Playmobil worlds that would be slowly developed in perpetuity, so you can return to the website and pick up something for your collection even a decade later.
- Find the "greatest hits" from previous F?gures series, produce them as non-blind Specials, and sell them on the website for double what a normal one-klicky set goes for. Let's claw back some of that Ebay cash.
- More famous historical people. They're a great way to reach people who wouldn't normally collect Playmobil. "Oh, congratulations on graduating in chemistry! Here's Marie Curie." Everyone has a field, interest, a historical figure they admire. Let's get a klicky on every desk.
- Ditch the blister packaging. It's bad for the environment, and fingernails. Find a more eco-friendly option for the inner bags. Downsize the boxes o' air. I know that box size can increase the initial perceived value, but that's followed by a sense of loss when the child opens the box to find it half empty. Loss aversion is powerful, and opening a new Playmo set shouldn't elicit disappointment.
- Keep on developing $4-$5 animal sets. Get them into bookstores, toy stores, Target, zoo gift shops, natural history museum gift shops, etc. Kids buy impulse toy animals all the time. They aren't buying Playmobil because it's not on the shelves.
- Make all buildings feasibly deconstructable or collapsible in some way, so that parents (and collectors) can practice toy rotation without renting a storage unit. It's hard to invest in a $200 set when you know you'll probably need to donate it in the end because there's no way to store it. Modularity is ideal. People would buy bulk Steck castle pieces if they were available. But at the very least, let's avoid the sinking "where are we going to put that" feeling.
- I suggested earlier a Me, My Weapon, and My Apex Predator series. PM has done a few sets like this, but I'd love to see it as a collect-them-all series like they did with horses. Kids love animals with big teeth. Ocean warrior with shark, arctic warrior with polar bear, etc. The vibe would be fantasy, so they could roll out prehistoric animals (e.g. dire wolf) that are more impressive than their modern counterparts. I'd buy a dire wolf, klicky or not. Best puppy.
- Lastly, make it easier to buy things. Fix the website, keep popular sets in stock, let foreigners buy from the German website if they are willing to cough up the shipping costs.
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Oh, very good suggestion about having other themes than modern split in sub themes. Medieval actually did used to have way more than two pages in old catalogues.
Medieval would for me be the main theme to expand on with houses, civilians, merchants and all that. I think I'd maybe divide it by faction though, loosely.
Like for example, two pages could be for the Red Falcons.
The Red Falcons would now have two military structures. Could be a big and a small castle, a medium castle and a tower, a fortified bridge and a small castle, a wooden and a stone castle, barracks and a city wall, etc. Plenty of options for variation and when using Steck it could easily be combined too.
They would also have a court set, featuring royalty, servants and maybe a personal guard. And an army builder set of like a knight and three soldiers.
In other civilian sets, an occasional red falcon soldier could show up but not always. Or maybe just a shield or other reference to their Kingdom. Like maybe a noble hunting party with falcons, a statue of the monarch at a town square set, etc.
Some factions could still be more or less military and not each faction might be a Kingdom.
Robin Hood style bandits could be a faction too, or evil bandits, or merchants. Could just be a theme of shops.
Western seems to have fallen out of favour some, I do think I'd want to try and expand it a bit, at least bring back a new western train. It certainly has room for plenty of subthemes but it would depend on demand.
Pirates I would certainly expand a bit to also show towns, nobles, taverns, harbours and have bigger forts and ships for the soldiers. There would be civilians, maybe merchant ships too filled with goods and few weapons.
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Medieval is definitely a keeper for a signature world. IMO the worlds could allow for travel.
I would bring Western forward a few decades and make it a sub-theme of 1900. You'd have a European city, the American West, and possibly other locations. Collectors already use the Victorian house in western dioramas.
My state was a territory in 1900, and they mashed all the architecture together. I saw this photo of a hogan in front of an adobe building in front of a three-story brick(?) building that wouldn't be out of place in Europe. Spanish colonial and western buildings similar to the PM ones can also be seen in photos of the era. We had a trolley on a track. The first car was brought into the territory in the year 1900. Of course, there was the railroad.
Pirates too could be a sub-theme of a late 1600s to 1700 theme. There could be the pirate ships, a port city to ransack, Louis XIV's court with ladies in big dresses . . .
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Much of the western theme could be repurposed for a 'pulp action' theme 1920s/30s.
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Even more great ideas. These are visions for success imho.
- Institute a company-wide standard of ethics. It's hard to have a branding of childhood happiness when your employees are working under a reign of terror.
Disagree on this. It's about people. Just get someone in charge who actually gives a tinker's cuss about the toy. Good things would flow from that.
- Pick four or five core themes and expand them into worlds or eras with sub-themes - similar to what exists with the modern sets, but being more blatant that these sets are compatible.
Excellent idea. Interchangeability is utterly core to the PM concept, this balkanization going on is a fatal error. Princesses and knights should be meeting on common ground.
And they really need to be leaning into the Real History angle. I would have thought that would be a no-brainer (Neingehirner in German) after the success of Martin Luther. There are already more than a dozen figures from German history - do that for other countries. Americans would snap up an Abe Lincoln for example. Some risk in that local political sensitivities would have to be navigated but that's not impossible.
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A little history could work, would be nice if a tad more realism was brought back in the historic lines. No need to overdo that either, but more bring it back in line with how it used to be.
Like ditching the fantasy siege equipment, and instead having more historical stuff since there's plenty of choice there. We've yet to see a trebuchet.
The stone throwing catapults had just the right balance.
I would say the canons with the projectiles work fine too and the mortars. (except that one set where the mortar cannon balls are red which made them look like big tomato's.)
Those projectiles are more about safety and being able to find them after all. And personally I just don't use those at all in displays.
Could be nice to maybe tell just a little bit about history with each history set, like sharing some fun fact related to what's in the set, aimed to be appropriate for children as young as 4 of course. Like has been done with the sets of the Greek gods. Like telling Zeus was the god of lighting and head of the pantheon, but leaving out his... interest in mortal women.
Like for example with a trebuchet set, it could mention how far it could throw a rock and say how many football fields that would be in distance for perspective. And maybe mention some stuff other than rocks that has been thrown with trebuchets, and how big the largest trebuchet was. Stuff like that. Could even come with a funny picture of the clickies with the set using their trebuchet to hit a castle across several football fields to give a visual with it.
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I'll pre-empt by saying that I come at this from a UK perspective, and other countries might not have these problems.
I think the first thing I would worry about is logistics. Last Christmas the 'last day' to order was around the 8th December. Sets are frequently not available from the online store. This is a huge problem in my opinion. In the UK they also struggle to get onto shop shelves, but I know this isn't a problem in the European core.
I think that the museum market should have a bit of a push. The Rijksmuseum sets presumably sell well, so more along those lines. These don't require new parts. I think these would sell well and provide a 'halo' affect to the brand. For a long time I assumed what held these back was the need for large orders, but the slew of figures for tiny museums in small towns around Germany makes me think this isn't the case.
In terms of themes, it's really hard to look at things without knowing sales figures. I would obviously love a return to a more modular, expandable building style.
Find a way to engage with diorama builders, and within the catalogue/website go back to mixing up the themes.
I actually think that schools would be a better route than hospitals. I'm a teacher, and when we did the Vikings I took in my Viking sets for the children to play with; when we did the Victorians I took in the room sets and they played with them and we talked about how it was different/the same to their houses at home.
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Make all the klickys customisable by using the same internal skeleton from the Fi?ures line.
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Disagree on this. It's about people. Just get someone in charge who actually gives a tinker's cuss about the toy. Good things would flow from that.
Everything I've read about the current problems blame the leadership, but per the thread prompt, I'm working with the scenario that we are taking over leadership. Employees will be more invested in the toy and the brand if leadership isn't driving them to the brink.
Abe Lincoln would be good. There are American writers and artists with big followings, like Edgar Allen Poe.
A little history could work, would be nice if a tad more realism was brought back in the historic lines. No need to overdo that either, but more bring it back in line with how it used to be.
Yes, history sets should be reasonably historical to cultivate PM's reputation as an educational toy.
The fantasy sets can be more imaginative, as long as they make sense within their realm. I don't understand the princesses living in clouds like Care Bears. It would make more sense if they were fairies, angels, or tengu. Strong urge to give them parachutes.
I think the first thing I would worry about is logistics. Last Christmas the 'last day' to order was around the 8th December. Sets are frequently not available from the online store. This is a huge problem in my opinion. In the UK they also struggle to get onto shop shelves, but I know this isn't a problem in the European core.
Yes! Logistics are a huge issue in the US too. PM apparently doesn't send enough of the popular sets. I've had to order Christmas gifts in October because I knew they'd likely be gone in November. It's been a long time since I've been able to get everything on my shopping list in one order. Sometimes I can find the sets on other websites, but there are some sets I've missed out on because they were hardly ever in stock and they eventually disappeared from the site altogether.
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What a wonderful thread!!!
I agree with a lot of your input.
1. Normal/molded faces for klickies.
2. “Pick four or five core themes and expand them into worlds or eras with sub-themes” is an excellent idea
3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.
Market it: one building, endless opportunities, just use your imagination. As a parent I don’t want to buy 5 big buildings (for €150 each) for my kids to play with. I want to buy one and then add smaller sets to it. Also easier for family and friends to give playmobil sets as a present. And it can grow with your kids and their interests. With new sets it will be a new building again. Also make sure that wall pieces can be bought as a playmobil plus set. (And use a wall colour that won’t yellow so much over time).
4. For making a museum: work together with different musea to sell different sets that incorporate famous pieces (make a playmobil version of the statue the thinker for example). Make a steck wall piece where it’s easy to attach (and detach) paintings to.
5. Same skintones in the my figures series (I’ve stated that before).
I’m gonna steal my 6-9 from Ismene:
6. Find the "greatest hits" from previous F?gures series, produce them as non-blind Specials, and sell them on the website for double what a normal one-klicky set goes for. Let's claw back some of that Ebay cash.
7. More famous historical people. They're a great way to reach people who wouldn't normally collect Playmobil. "Oh, congratulations on graduating in chemistry! Here's Marie Curie." Everyone has a field, interest, a historical figure they admire. Let's get a klicky on every desk.
8. Keep on developing $4-$5 animal sets. Get them into bookstores, toy stores, Target, zoo gift shops, natural history museum gift shops, etc. Kids buy impulse toy animals all the time. They aren't buying Playmobil because it's not on the shelves.
9. Lastly, make it easier to buy things. Fix the website, keep popular sets in stock, let foreigners buy from the German website if they are willing to cough up the shipping costs.
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So many great ideas in this thread!
. . . . Keep on developing $4-$5 animal sets. Get them into bookstores, toy stores, Target, zoo gift shops, natural history museum gift shops, etc. Kids buy impulse toy animals all the time. They aren't buying Playmobil because it's not on the shelves.
This idea resonates strongly with me. This year I used various Playmo animals in plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt for my 2 grandchildren (ages 4 and 7) and they spent pretty much the whole rest of the visit playing with them. Of course, being my grandkids, they already have a lot of Playmobil of all sorts but the animals are always a big hit. :)
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Everything I've read about the current problems blame the leadership, but per the thread prompt, I'm working with the scenario that we are taking over leadership. Employees will be more invested in the toy and the brand if leadership isn't driving them to the brink.
I grok you here, I just disagree that having a written policy is important. Policies and laws work only because people make them work - individual human beings with names and tax numbers. Get a good person in at the top, have them clear out deadwood and promote talent, and things will change. For all we know PM already has a written "ethics policy" - it makes no difference if no one is implementing that policy.
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3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.
They tried this a little with 6220, definitely should have leaned into it
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This idea resonates strongly with me. This year I used various Playmo animals in plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt for my 2 grandchildren (ages 4 and 7) and they spent pretty much the whole rest of the visit playing with them. Of course, being my grandkids, they already have a lot of Playmobil of all sorts but the animals are always a big hit. :)
I love the idea of a Playmo Easter egg hunt! How fun!
I grok you here, I just disagree that having a written policy is important. Policies and laws work only because people make them work - individual human beings with names and tax numbers. Get a good person in at the top, have them clear out deadwood and promote talent, and things will change. For all we know PM already has a written "ethics policy" - it makes no difference if no one is implementing that policy.
They probably do; most companies have something of the sort. But either it has been thrown to the wayside or the focus of it is not where it should be. People are key, but policy provides consistency as those people come and go. Yes, it's just step 1 and useless if not enforced. I envision something more along the lines of core values rather than corporate covering-of-the-backside. It could encompass fair labor practices, play value of the product (versatility, longevity, education value), environmental considerations (reducing waste, again durability, ecofriendly packaging), etc.
3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.
Market it: one building, endless opportunities, just use your imagination. As a parent I don’t want to buy 5 big buildings (for €150 each) for my kids to play with. I want to buy one and then add smaller sets to it. Also easier for family and friends to give playmobil sets as a present. And it can grow with your kids and their interests. With new sets it will be a new building again. Also make sure that wall pieces can be bought as a playmobil plus set. (And use a wall colour that won’t yellow so much over time).
Modern steck would be fabulous! Even if you did spring for five big buildings, they would have so much more play value if they could be mix, matched, and reconfigured.
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Steck could also be great for the pirate theme, they only ever produced one small steck prison for the theme and it did come with several unique pieces.
A tavern with docks in front would be great to see, or a fort with a dock. Even if it's only small forts it could still all be combined in a bigger fort like the Steck prison they made which is probably still the best building the soldiers ever got in the Pirate theme.
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You are out in charge of Playmobil, what do you do ?
Fire most of the current upper management
make it an employee owned company
Go back to conservative roots with basic wholesome themes
Embrace & support the collectors
Make the box’s as small as possible
Get rid of the new eyes and excessive printing
Work tirelessly on brand recognition
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Steck could also be great for the pirate theme, they only ever produced one small steck prison for the theme and it did come with several unique pieces.
A tavern with docks in front would be great to see, or a fort with a dock. Even if it's only small forts it could still all be combined in a bigger fort like the Steck prison they made which is probably still the best building the soldiers ever got in the Pirate theme.
That wall of bars was a brilliant piece. It was a pity the steck sheriff's office bars weren't full sized.
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I love a lot of the ideas that others have already given. I'd focus on history and culture, building a niche as more of a learning toy with a coolness factor. There are tons of opportunities to do a series of historical knight characters for each country, like Edward the Black Prince or Bertrand du Guesclin. Or legendary knights, like King Arthur and the round table. They could also do classic literary themes -- Pride and Prejudice, Pollyanna, Frankenstein, the Secret Garden, Arabian Knights, etc. I'd like them to do more with regional mythology and folktales, like Baba Yaga. This would be a way to combine storytelling with a toy and make them collectable. I'd steer completely away from modern violence and weird licensing (ghostbusters). There's plenty that could be done with existing molds.
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Couldn't agree more. There's a VAST OCEAN of culture, myth and literature, all free of copyright, that is available to be made into klickies. Why it's being ignored is anybody's guess. ???
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I guess with some things it will depend on how known it is in the countries Playmobil is sold in, how much it would appeal to children. But I do agree they could do more.
For the western theme, I could see them releasing different batches of Native Americans called directly after specific tribes and with the accurate houses, hairstyles, etc.
They could get actual Native American consultants of a specific tribe for this, to portray their culture more accurately while still of course being a toy for children.
For the Romans, buildings should be made that are not an arena. Same for Greeks. The Greek Mythology theme has just a terrible mount Olympus set as the only building.
More focused themes of Greek Mythology would be the way to go, I think the Trojan war would be perfect for a whole theme.
A big wall set with a huge gate would be perfect for that, a higher wall than we usually see and a gate big enough to fit a trojan horse through it which would be a different set which has room for four clickies to sit inside.
In the same theme Paris and Helen could be a set, Hector on his horse with some trojan soldiers, Penthesilea with some amazon warriors, Agammemnon with his tent and officers, etc.
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I’m curious if the concept of “go for broke” is a business strategy or a desire to squeeze a few sets, themes out of a failing business
I see a lot of members suggestions that require more investment into molds. The company itself recognizes the mold manufacturing issues and, as far as I can tell, subbed it out to a third party vendor.
The company is trimming the fat through layoffs and cost cutting measures .
When I was in business if we were failing due to our own negligence or the economy , the last thing we would consider was more debt through investments. We leaned up, tightened the belts , fired inefficient staff, found efficiencies strategies, and looked at ways at increasing revenue with the least expense
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Many of these ideas are for the ten-year plan, not right away. PM does need to stabilize the ship before taking on another big project. They could start by making it easier to buy things.
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I see a lot of members suggestions that require more investment into molds. The company itself recognizes the mold manufacturing issues and, as far as I can tell, subbed it out to a third party vendor.
To be honest, Playmobil have a habit of making new items which seem entirely pointless. They could easily keep re-freshing a number of lines with the use of existing items/recolours
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Not everything needs new molds though. They could have made like 10 more lines of Steck castles without having to use much new molds at all.
Could have just done some different colours, maybe use the big pointed roof from the Museum in a castle too, or the double arch also from the Museum.
By now there sure are plenty of molds for medieval weapons, shields, armour, hats and such too. Can experiment with new colours, bring older helmet designs back, etc.
Main thing that I think could use a new mold would be on pirate ships, and not like the garbage design of the newest pirate ship that lacks a cabin. Last time they released a ship without a cabin was the fastest time we saw another pirate ship released after that, old reliable once more.
I'm personally pretty tired of the oldest pirate ship design. I personally like the 5135 pirate ship the best, the one that came with the huge treasure island batch.
Only big pirate ship I own too. It's slightly bigger and just has a way better shape to it, and I prefer it's colours over the earlier 3286 of the same shape.
They could still use this design more often. It's only been used twice while if I am counting correctly, the first design has been used seven times.
Might also be nice to see smaller ships with a cabin, or maybe like a Spanish type galleon that has a cabin at the back but also a smaller cabin in the front. and seriously, the soldiers should get the big ship for once.
Could also be nice to have a big ship with a more open deck where you can actually place four cannons below deck through gun ports. Wouldn't be weird if the ship comes with only two cannons and two more come from other sets, since the cannons could be moved to the other side. Only tend to fire from one side after all.
Could also be neat if a ship was actually designed to hold the big mortar gun at the front of the ship, instead of just having a mortar while it does not really fit anywhere on the ship.
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To be honest, Playmobil have a habit of making new items which seem entirely pointless. They could easily keep re-freshing a number of lines with the use of existing items/recolours
I believe all of the musem and Greek myth sets use old molds. There's an immense amount that could be done with what's already on the table.
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Great ideas....
Me.. Let's see.. So MANY things.
1 - End all sect promoting sets.
2 - End ALL those weird klicky types. No more weirdos. Just stick to normal + speedo. No more klickys that can't stand either (they disgraced me with the german footballers - if they were crippled, I could have ignored them). Invest in some new molds and stuff - for women, for example.
3 - End printed faces. Fire/relocate whoever is supposed to line up the printings, since most weird body tipes look like idiots, with the face either printed on the forehead or the neck. And no more weird mouths. Or red mouths (I REALLY don't like the bright red ones).. I happen to like the eyes, except the stoned/drunk/sleepy/whatever-that-is-supposed-to-be that appeared with novelmore.
4 - End ALL system WHY buildings (that goes for the stupid system X castles, that are ALMOST system WHY). Make compatible stuff. So, invest in new steck and system X parts (I am sure I could hire a bunch of people off the 3D section in KW, for example) - parts that can be used and reused.. no more huge parts that are just pointless.
5 - Hire people who know or can be taught what playmobil has done in the past. People who care. And that show respect and knowledge. And I could go on. But will not.
6 - Stop with the idiotic split of boys and girls - boys are not violent jerks, and girls are not airheaded jerks. There's a graph for that: image (https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/8046/811e37c76ff143cf9f2f170a5e97c274.jpg) (link here: INFOGRAPHIC: How to tell if a toy is for a girl or a boy (https://www.news24.com/life/archive/infographic-how-to-tell-if-a-toy-is-for-a-girl-or-a-boy-20191213) - link to news24.com)
7 - Stop with the weird colors. No more beautifully sculpted METALLIC PURPLE medieval wagons! Make things in nice colors.
9 - Stop hating collectors. We buy a LOT. If they let us, we buy more. Sell stuff to people. Whatever they want. Make army building packs. Figures expansion packs (in non idiotic colors)
10 - Bring back playmobil-blue boxes. Instead of the current mess that gets confused with other (inferior) stuff. And remove the max age limit (WHO thinks of this!?). And the idiotic "note to parents" - just say it takes about THIS time to assemble - "to whom it may concern". Put the contents nicely visible in the back of the box, not as tiny images on the side. Make the boxes so that they can be opened without damaging them. Also, make the boxes standard sizes, as they were of old. And stop with the weird packaging (fire/relocate whoever thought of the wildtopia packaging, with the animals out :'( ). Make the boxes small enough so the contents don't rattle and possibly break. As small as possible. Or at least as small as possible so the set can be put back inside... which leads to the next point..
11 - If it's assembled, make sure it's easily DISASSEMBLED. Most people don't have dedicated rooms. And those who do, also can't afford to have all those huge pieces in there!
12 - Stop having sets disappear after a year. Or whole themes. Expand themes - not just fight for the knights, for example. Make peasants, merchants, all sorts of people...
13 - Make ALL playmoshops available to ANYONE. And ALL PARTS. With free shipping over certain order amounts, depending on the store and buyer country. (Hire people who can PRINT an address in a different country).
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All solid ideas
You got my vote
Now go apply for a job there
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12 - Stop having sets disappear after a year. Or whole themes. Expand themes - not just fight for the knights, for example. Make peasants, merchants, all sorts of people...
I've often thought a nice cross-over (if that's the right word?) would be to have a knights-theme and a fairy-tale theme with a similar design feel (so a castle that's maybe more dolls-house orientated but still in a gothic style, a Rapunzel's tower that could be attached to a 'fighting' castle etc). Similar to the 'magic' theme in the 90s that was it's own theme but felt like it fitted in the universe of the existing knights theme.
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I'm still pretty new, so I don't have a ton of major complaints yet. There is a huge one though that I have a good solution for.
Mystery bags are scummy, so don't lock the many spectacular characters behind them. If I were in charge and could do whatever I wanted regardless of profit, I'd end the mystery line at series 30, and then start re-issuing the figures in new forms. Future mystery figures would be upgraded to Special Plus or My Figures sets, and re-issues of fan favourite mystery figures would be released in multiple yearly advent calendars. These calendars would compile the best of three series for both boys and girls, and be released in groups of four every year.
The first year would release the following.
Mystery Advent Series 1-3 Boys,
Mystery Advent Series 1-3 Girls,
Mystery Advent Series 4-6 Boys,
Mystery Advent Series 4-6 Girls.
Keep doing that every year until you're caught up. 3 x 10 is thirty, so you could keep that going for five years before it ended. A good long time without going on for too long.
Once all thirty sets have had an advent calendar, you can now start a new line of My Figures sets that re-issue all of the Mystery figures that WEREN'T featured in the calendars. By the time those are all used up, the mystery figures line would outright end, and fully be replaced by new and more frequent Special Plus and My Figures sets.
That's what I'd do if I could do anything I wanted at the company. I'd also hire someone to make it so I can actually tell what's new in those awful catalogues. Just put all the new stuff on the first few pages. :lol:
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Great ideas! In the current setup (before your autocracy begins), the one sticking point is this
...fan favourite mystery figures...
Geobra don't want to talk to fans.
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Great ideas! In the current setup (before your autocracy begins), the one sticking point is this
Geobra don't want to talk to fans.
And why would they, they are emotional
All Geobra wants of it’s fans is ……cash
If Geobra can crank out some older playmo and sell it on their own web store, bypassing the middle woman, research and design departments, it’s just more profit
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Or more simply, keep the Fi?ures mystery bags for point of sale, I suppose children like the surprise factor, but sell the invididual pieces online for collectors, so if I want ten Sami men I can get them easily and all the money goes to the Gnomes. Why do they not do this. ???
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Or more simply, keep the Fi?ures mystery bags for point of sale, I suppose children like the surprise factor, but sell the invididual pieces online for collectors, so if I want ten Sami men I can get them easily and all the money goes to the Gnomes. Why do they not do this. ???
The original point of blind bags is to get people to buy more than they would to get that figure they really wanted. Conversely a blind bag as a first point of contact for a child could be quite negative if they don't like the character. It could sour them on the whole brand. Blind bags are great in an existing market but I think they're a poor introduction to those not familiar with playmobil.
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I’ve also always hated the mystery bags concept
In my opinion it was Geobras reaction to LEGO and their mystery bags
Unfortunately both have different demographics in fan base so what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the other
The only part about the mystery bag I do like is the constant variety of klickies
As a collector I am always interested in at least 3 of each round and sex