An Integrated Media Campaign for Hasbro Studios
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An Integrated Media Campaign for Hasbro Studios Richard Rodriguez Integrated Communication Hawaii Pacific University November 23, 2015 Executive Summary MY LITTLE PONY is a brand introduced by Hasbro in 1983 targeted at girls age 4-9. Over the years it has established itself as a leading brand for the company, promoted through numerous animated TV series, home video releases and a theatrical film. In the late 2000s Hasbro hired animation producer Lauren Faust, whose credits include The Powerpuff Girls, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Super Best Friends Forever, to re-imagine MLP for a new generation of fans. The result was the TV series MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, which premiered in 2010 and became a surprise runaway hit and fan culture phenomenon. Faust’s contributions have made FIM the most successful MLP franchise in the brand’s history and the company’s leading brand overall for the past six years. The life cycle of the current MLP franchise is nearing its end. To ensure the brand’s viability against newer competing brands, the company is taking the best values of FIM and the most beloved characters from its entire history to develop the next generation of MLP, to be known as MY LITTLE PONY: TWO OF A KIND. Just as Hasbro Studios partners with creative stewards to re-imagine, revision and re-ignite its brands as TV and film franchises, so it has partnered with Honolulu public relations firm Newport Muse Hawaii to develop an integrated campaign to introduce TWO OF A KIND to the diverse MLP audience and continue the brand’s commercial and critical success. Background Since its introduction in 1983, MY LITTLE PONY has become an iconic Hasbro brand for girls age 4-9 just as Transformers and G.I. Joe are for boys in the same age range. It has periodically been refreshed with new lines or “generatons” to maintain its appeal. The second generation appeared in 1998 and the third in 2003. To develop the fourth generation, Hasbro hired animation producer Lauren Faust to re-imagine MY LITTLE PONY for a new generation of fans that would include parents as well as their young daughters. Faust grew up playing with the original line in the 80’s, and she set out to shatter all preconceived notions of what a cartoon aimed at young girls should be like. She introduced deep character development and backstories, continuing story arcs, strong educational values, and wild slapstick comedy reminiscent of her work on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. The result was MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, which premiered on The Hub cable network (now Discovery Family) on October 10, 2010. To everyone’s surprise, even Hasbro’s, it became a huge success not only with its target audiences, but also non- traditional, unexpected groups such as teenage and adult males attracted to its colorful design, comic storylines and catchy songs. These fans, who call themselves “bronies”, have become a cornerstone of the MY LITTLE PONY fan base and enthusiastically support the brand through fan art, dedicated comic and fantasy conventions, social media groups and campus fan clubs. The brand’s current line has been extended with a parallel series called MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS, which visions the popular pony characters as human teenagers in an alternate universe. This extension has proven to be popular in its own right and has helped prolong the brand’s current life cycle. MY LITTLE PONY is presently Hasbro’s leading brand in sales and popularity, and the current generation is far and away the most successful in the brand’s 32-year history. However, as with other brands that have been on the market for several years with sustained commercial success, the current MY LITTLE PONY generation nearing the end of its life cycle. In the past few years, new competition for the brand’s audiences have entered the marketplace, such as Mattel’s Monster High, Disney’s Gravity Falls and Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe. Lauren Faust’s work in creating the fourth generation of MY LITTLE PONY now defines the brand as a whole, and what next generation will be compared to and judged by Faust’s trend-setting legacy. Target Audiences GIRLS BRONIES MOMS T1 T2 T3 • Age 4-9 • Teens and adults age 13-25, • Age 25-49, parents of key • Brand’s key audience especially males audience • Interest in brand toys and TV • Students and young • Make buying decisions for their series professionals daughters • Connect primarily with brand • Unexpected fans attracted to • First generation to grow up positioning (friendship, family, TV show’s humor and writing with brand as children fun); secondarily with • Account for large amount of • Hold to brand’s original T1 characters and storylines audience and purchases positioning • Follow brand on social media • Very active on social media • Concerned about T2’s interest and MyLittlePony.com • Fringe element threatens in brand brand Situational Analysis The Brony Factor Unlike in previous generations, MY LITTLE PONY currently enjoys a fan base that transcends age, gender, income and background. In addition to its target audience of young girls age 4-9 (T1), the brand has unexpectedly picked up fans among males age 13-25 (T2) though the influence of positive social media posts of the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC animated series. Hasbro has responded by marketing MY LITTLE PONY to T2’s through licensed products such as apparel, comic books, collectible card games, and even prepaid debit cards. Writers and voice actors for the TV series interact with T2’s through comic and fantasy conventions and have cultivated good relations with that audience. Social Media Issues Many T2’s share MY LITTLE PONY’s values of friendship, family and fun. However, a small fringe segment of T2 threatens brand integrity. Our research of brand-related posts on Hasbro’s official YouTube and Facebook pages revealed abusive and explicit messages from users identifying as “bronies” against Hasbro and other fans. Fan fiction and art on sites such as DeviantArt, Tumblr and FanFiction.com feature the ponies in very adult situations. Situational Analysis Inconsistent Brand Monitoring Hasbro diligently monitors YouTube, Tumblr and other social media networks for leaked animation assets or unauthorized use of brand material, but it has little or no moderation of its own social media channels concerning negative or inappropriate posts. Filtering or previewing of submitted posts is nonexistent. Keeping True to Key Audience MY LITTLE PONY is targeted primarily at T1’s and is Hasbro’s leading girls brand. T1-specific products such as the EQUESTRIA GIRLS film series and related toys, as well as the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC toy line, have retained loyalty with that key audience. Young girls who played with MY LITTLE PONY in the 1980’s and 90’s are now T3’s and share the brand’s original vision with their T1 daughters, making the brand multi-generational. Balancing the Audiences T2’s have been an unexpected yet welcome addition to the brand’s popularity, but their existence, particularly the T2 fringe, raises concerns among some T3’s for the safety of their T1 daughters. T1’s and T3’s see MY LITTLE PONY as a traditional T1 brand, while T2’s vision it as an entertainment brand with a bit of an edge like Spongebob Squarepants or even Family Guy. SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES • Legacy brand – on market for over 30 years • Stigma as a girls’ brand despite mass appeal • Strong fan base – multi-generational • Must constantly develop new life cycles to stay • Strong entertainment value competitive (every 6-8 yrs) • Strong educational/prosocial values • Lauren Faust’s specter – G5 may be judged by G4 • Good relationship with fan base on social media • Wildly divergent fan base; T2 is large part, many T2’s reject Hasbro’s family-friendly vision outright • Large amount of existing fan art by T2 is NSFW OPPORTUNITIES THREATS • Cultivate relations w/fan base to build support, buzz • Could be a victim of its own success; G4 set a very for G5 rollout high bar • Reassure existing fans that G4 creativity, vision is still • Fringe within T2 is vocal, could threaten image on there for G5 – same characters in new setting social media with negative, NSFW content • Modular, flexible studio structure = quick • Competition from newer, similar brands (Steven deployment of new content across all media Universe/Cartoon Network, LEGO Friends, Nick, channels at low cost Disney) • Build on success of G4 w/o radically altering brand; • May be perceived as tired, old brand not reinventing the wheel • Engage all audiences w/shared values, ideas The Next Generation The brand’s fifth and next generation is MY LITTLE PONY: TWO OF A KIND, drawing upon the most popular qualities of FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC and EQUESTRIA GIRLS and bringing them together in a new combined setting. The centerpiece of TWO OF A KIND is a new half- hour animated series depicting the primary pony characters, known as the Mane Six, and their human counterparts in “slice of life” situations around Ponyville and the nearby Canterlot High School. The new series continues the positive character values represented in the familiar Elements of Insights Harmony (laughter, • T1’s and T2’s would like to see ponies and humans interacting kindness, loyalty, honesty, • A popular subject in MY LITTLE PONY fan art and fan fiction generosity, and the magic of friendship) along • Expected as the next step in franchise’s evolution with other prosocial • A desire to see EQUESTRIA GIRLS in a TV series values such as respect, • Willing to see a new “combined universe” with ponies and cultural diversity, patience humans together and stewardship.