To empower the next generation to reach for the stars, LEGO Australia has launched an integrated, earned-first campaign that embraces the limitless potential that lies
beyond our planet.

With research revealing 70 per cent of children want to travel to space, LEGO Australia continued its long-standing partnership with Thrive PR & Communications and asked the agency to devise an out-of-this-world idea to celebrate creative play and beam attention onto the latest SPACE range.

Thrive responded with a unique idea to build a mysterious crop circle in regional NSW, setting the scene with a secret exploration with some of the country’s highest-profile space-loving talent. The crop circle spanned 50 metres in diameter and was large enough to be seen from space, creating speculation in media and online. Talent and an above-the-line campaign further amplified the idea, sparking a nation of conspiracy theorists.

“We couldn’t take kids to space, but we had an ambition to bring SPACE to earth,” said Thrive executive director Clare Basire. “The technical and logistical considerations are not obvious. Those with a keen eye could discern that the crop circle design drew inspiration from the iconic LEGO Minifigure , with scaled dimensions of a LEGO Minifigure hand and head forming part of the geometric design which was perfectly accurate to meet global brand guidelines.

“We were told by many that the idea was logistically impossible yet we called upon our event partner, SoldOut Events, who have a long history in Olympic and other epic activations. After a month-long location scout, SoldOut found a viable crop in far Western New South Wales. We had severe weather conditions against us and needed to time the crop harvest to get colour variations visible from the sky, whilst lining up timings with creative and content teams, talent and media who were all secretly flown in. With guide posts and pickets in hand, we set up an ‘investigation area’. It then took teams three full days to flatten the crops and create the crop circle,” Basire said.

The small regional town of Narromine was a perfect selection as the location for the crop circle for its low light pollution and the region’s strong space legacy. Sitting 40 minutes outside of Dubbo, the activation was close to the famous ‘Dish’ at the CSIRO’s Parkes Observatory which offers world-leading radio astronomy. Australian and international talent including trained astrophysicist Kobi Brown (@AstroKobi), Steph Luck (parenting and family), Karstan & Maxine (travel and discovery) and Vaughan Smith (NZ family and storytelling), visited the site and captured the experience. At the same time, content partners, Brightworks, shot dramatic video and drone footage that was shared with media and creators to drive talkability of LEGO’s Space range.

News was shared in stages, with a two week ‘teaser’ phase leaning into internet conspiracy theories with supporting nano creators , while paid creative and radio placements by media agency Initiative, also heightened discussions around the earned narrative in the lead up to a mass, general distribution.

LEGO Australia and New Zealand then declassified the mission, revealing that it was responsible for the stunt tapping into the curiosity of space explorers of tomorrow.

For the campaign’s launch and reveal, LEGO Australia and New Zealand announced a collaboration with the Australian Space Agency and the first astronaut trained under the Australian flag, Katherine Bennell-Pegg . The alignment was a seamless integration, as both LEGO Australia and the Australian Space Agency are unified in their mission to support the next generation’s aspiring and curious attitudes towards space.

“This is a campaign that lights up kids’ imagination. We wanted to evoke feelings of exploration and wonder to bring kids to space in new and exciting ways. We have a unique opportunity to educate and entertain kids so have crafted this campaign to do just that,” said Justine McKenny, LEGO Australia and New Zealand marketing director.

“Our challenge to Thrive was to bend the rules and deliver an integrated campaign that was a 10/10 on the coolness scale to excite kids aged 6-12. When they proposed the idea of collaborating with the Australian Space Agency, we knew this would become a stellar partnership that would go above and beyond the original brief. Since the campaign’s launch in late June, this component helped to generate ‘out of this world’ talkability across earned, owned, paid and social channels. We wanted to see space through children’s eyes, and create a launch pad for their wildest imagination. By all accounts, we’ve achieved that!”

“Imagine the opportunity to ‘Rebuild the World’ with LEGO. It’s a very special partnership with the LEGO Australia & New Zealand team. This brief allowed us to insert the LEGO brand into the cultural zeitgeist of space thanks to creative thinking and a collaborative communications strategy,” said Leilani Abels, Thrive PR founder and CEO.

The partnership with Katherine and the Australian Space Agency also landed in the heart of Sydney on Tuesday, July 16th. Joined by comedian and event host Matt Okine, Katherine appeared at the World’s Largest LEGO Certified Store in Pitt Street Mall, meeting kids and encouraging them to explore space their way .

As well as hosting a panel for Aussie kids to ask all their questions, Katherine revealed one of 15 LEGO Space Bricks created by the European Space Agency (ESA), where Katherine did her Astronaut training. The ESA used dust from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite to 3D print bricks—similar to a LEGO brick—to help design astronaut shelters in space. The ESA LEGO Space Bricks will aim to inspire the builders of tomorrow and show how LEGO brick building can help solve universal problems.

McKenny reflected on the big mission that was ahead of them at the start of 2024. “As the first ever homegrown IP, cross-category solution, LEGO SPACE is a unifying portfolio that embraces multiple genders, ages and skill levels, meaning that no matter who you are, there is something for you in the LEGO Space range.”

“The LEGO Group’s brand mission ‘Rebuild the World’ challenges us to think differently and create inclusive play opportunities for all the world’s kids. Taking this approach in the launch of LEGO Space in ANZ allowed us to embrace bold storylines, creative and narratives that Thrive helped us bring to life with stellar results.

CREDITS:
Campaign: LEGO SPACE
Brand: LEGO Australia
Senior Director, Head of Marketing: Justine McKenny
Brand Manager: Hollie Hill
Brand Relations Managers: Leah Russell and Millie Williams
AU/NZ Agency: Thrive PR & Communications
Founder & CEO: Leilani Abels
Executive Director; Clare Basire
Integrated PR & Talent/Social team,Thrive PR & Communications: Jenna Woods, Amy Lee,
Hugh Preston, Chloe Koutsoukis, Lilli Kargiotis, Samantha Drummond, Lucy Lee, Bethany
Fuller, Ashleigh Bruton, Briar Barratt-Boyes, Madi Hewett
Event Agency: SoldOut Events
Managing Director : Kim Voss
CEO: Thomas B. Staunton
Media Agency: Initiative
Client Director: Sharyn Keller
Content Production: BRIGHTWORKS
Producer/Director: Cam D’Arcy