rachael

Wow, thanks for the positive feedback, guys!

Well alrighty then! This is my fifth and final year in my business program, so I'll do my best to apply the concepts to Hasbro and the Brony Demographic. I don't have numbers in front of me, but I did some cursory research. Hasbro Company Product Profile: Hasbro makes toys and board games. They own the G.I. Joe, Tonka toys, Mr. Potato Head, Nerf balls, and My Little Pony lines. They also license Disney and Marvel characters to manufacture. All of their toy lines target children. They manufacture board games under the name Milton Bradley (Scrabble, Candy Land), Cranium and Parker Brothers (Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly). Milton Bradley targets children to younger adults, Cranium targets teens to young adults, and Parker Brothers targets young/older adults. Hasbro's My Little Pony Line: Their My LIttle Pony line has been around for a couple decades, and that line has always targeted young girls ages 5 - 10 or so through their toys and other licensed merchandise like books, clothing, bedding, a short TV show run etc. This year is no different, except they sprung for the big bucks with Lauren Faust to revitalize their line - and I believe the success exceeded expectations. Why spring for the high-level creative? I'm guessing they keep re-inventing their MLP product line because it keeps entering the mature decline phase of it's cycle every 6-10 years, and My Little Pony's art and storytelling did not seem to intrique or relate to the young girl's generation. Who is the Brony demographic? By this point, a Brony can be anyone... male or female. However, it's generally accepted that males outnumber females. From what I've learned, they are generally high school age - mid thirties, so let's say it's concentrated in ages 15-30. They appreciate the level of animation, and on a twist from general convention, look at MLP as a reprieve from darker, more serious, or more violent story telling styles. It's refreshing, and for some, it's nostalgic. It brings back that coveted aura of Saturday morning cartoons, and it's become a kind of cult following and has created it's own sense of belonging. Why isn't Hasbro targeting more than one market? So, Bronies actually have decision making and buying power, unlike the young girls. So why doesn't Hasbro add them to their marketing mix? As I said before, it may be expensive for Hasbro to begin producing it's own line of pony toys that are made for the Brony Demographic. If they stuck with the young girl manufacturing, they might be achieving better economies of scale. In other words, they don't want to stretch themselves too thin. Remember, they aren't just looking to make more money at whatever cost, they are looking to do the things that they do the best, the fastest, and the cheapest. They want to maintain or exceed a certain profit margin - producing for the Brony demographic might thin that out. I do think they could bring blind bags to the U.S. However, there is probably a reason their aren't here - their distribution network may not be as strong, or the network overseas might be unique enough to distribute their product while maintaining the right profit margin. Hasbro really is doing the smartest thing they could do - licensing their own My Little Pony line to people that can make products (i.e., WeLoveFine) that would suit the Brony Demographic better, faster, and cheaper than Hasbro. Licensing brings money into Hasbro, and it simultaneously doesn't slim the margins. Woo. That has to be the serious post I've ever written about My Little Pony.

Hey guys! I'm new here, but I wanted to post a topic on some of the shirts that I've made in case you guys are already thinking about Christmas. I've got a wide range of subtle and not-so-subtle tees. To see all my shirts http://bit.ly/ponyshirts My shirts have two ideas mashed together, like Rainbow Dash has an airline or Twilight Sparkle + Fight Club. That way, they are parody shirts, and I can sell them legally as my own idea without the licensing issue. It's a lot like what websites like TeeFury.com or ShirtPunch.com sell everyday. Anyway, I love suggestions and ideas! If you have something you've been dying to see on a shirt, let me know! Below a couple of examples, but I have over 20 shirts for sale in my store. (Shout out to any of you that watch Epic Meal Time)

RedBubble's quality is really good. I've bought and sold shirts on there, and I'm always impressed with the print quality on detailed artwork. The shirt fabric is comfortable too.

I think they are hesitant because of the cost of diversifying into other kinds of toys. They may not be able to achieve good economies of scale to go into a different target demographic. The best thing they could go for is licensing their brand to a pop-culture manufacturer - someone that can make older-demographic stuff better/faster/cheaper, and that's what they did with WeLoveFIne. Oooooh man, I need to take my marketing hat off now.

Haha that is amazing. Such detail in the background!

That looks great!