To celebrate the 53rd UAE National Day, Lego and Mercedes Benz Middle East collaborated to set up an activation that showcased an almost life-size Lego model of the car brand’s G-Wagon.
Visitors can jump on board the Lego G-Wagon, take photos, and interact with the model with buttons on a panel that “starts the engine,” turn on the “headlights,” “brake lights,” and even put the “blinkers” on.
The activation site also includes an end-to-end wall dedicated solely for visitors to build the UAE flag out of Lego bricks.
Campaign Middle East spoke with leadership at Lego and Mercedes Benz to understand the brand strategy behind the activation.
The ‘why’ behind the Lego G-Wagon activation
“We have worked with selected car brands over the years and I would say Mercedes Benz is one of the most distinctive. Our first project together goes back to 2011 and it’s become even broader over the years,” said Kristian Imhof, General Manager of Lego Middle East and Africa.
Imhof explained that the activation supports bringing positive awareness to the Lego brand through shock and awe of seeing a well-recognised car model in the region in Lego form.
“People are always impressed by seeing products like a car in almost life-size made out of Lego bricks. That’s why we had the idea of creating a nearly life-size model of the G Wagon,” said Imhof.
The benefit of showcasing the model in the UAE, according to Imhof, is “because in our part of the world, not everyone knows the Lego brand.” However, he surmised that people in the region are extremely familiar with the Mercedes Benz G-Class series.
“So we’re almost using the halo effect of Mercedes Benz and its G-Wagon to bring awe to the life-size creation by Lego,” he said.
The activation also hopes to harp on Dubai’s love for the G-class series to celebrate UAE National Day.
“If you ask me ‘What is the city that first comes to mind where people love the G-Wagon?’ I would say Dubai. The model is part of the cityscape,” said Michael Stroband, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East.
“The G-Wagon is such an inspirational vehicle in this part of the world where people love cars. It brings prestige, a touch of luxury and adventure at the same time,” added Imhof.
According to Imhof, this mix ‘fits well’ with consumer needs in the region. Imhof explains that including Lego’s qualities of ‘creativity, imagination, learning and development’ brings an element of playfulness and community-thinking to the occasion.
“It’s a great match in terms of celebrating the UAE but also Mercedes Benz and the Lego brand,” said Imhof.
Expectations for ROI
Creating a near life-size model of the G-Wagon out of Lego bricks is no easy task. The model consists of 445,971 pieces and took a team of ‘Master Builders’ 2,285 hours to build. In terms of ROI, Campaign Middle East wanted to know how such a labour-intensive activation aims to drive conversions.
“We were thinking more along the lines of brand awareness and brand desire that leads to conversion,” said Imhof. He explained that the main objective of the activation was to drive brand awareness towards Lego, therefore leading people to buy a set. “People with a passion for cars, but not necessarily a passion for Lego, might look at this and say, ‘Oh I really like the G-Class series, let me buy a Lego set of it and try it out.'”, Imhof said.
“Hopefully they enjoy the building experience, enjoy how it looks, and make it a display model maybe in their office or in their house. They would then be asked about it and this brings more people to the brand,” he continued.
Stroband also emphasised the importance of picking Dubai Design District as the site for the activation. “Having the activation in the vibrant loction of Dubai Design District combines expats, tourists and locals. I think this is the perfect way to bring everyone together to celebrate UAE National Day,” he said.
The activation launched on Thursday, 28 November and will be available to visit until Saturday, 7 December at Dubai Design District.
