You’ve hit on something we ought to consider. Some teens might think they’re too grown up for the Crayola brand. To counter this the premise of Liv Crayola had to be smart and more sophisticated to entice older kids. I think the merchandise selection, the new name and the marketing approach using social media is quite a departure for Crayola. It clearly aims at a different audience than young kids. They seem to be doing this intelligently. As you stated: time will tell. One question I had: did the signing of a deal with Target limit the scope of its potential distribution? How much more exposure and sales opportunities would Crayola have if all retailers and etailers could offer the new product line? Just wondering what Daily Fix readers think about this. . . .Thanks, Sophie. I appreciate your weighing in on my post.

I love the way you brought Lego into this discussion! Lego’s extension of the brand to adults who have fond memories of playing with the bricks as children makes perfect sense. This is what I think: Liv Crayola will appeal to teens because it enables them to express their creativity in a more sophisticated manner than simply drawing with crayons as they did when they were younger children. That doesn’t mean the company couldn’t launch a crayon coloring campaign, however. Encouraging teens as well as adults to do some creative artwork in a major national contest might be a good idea. Giving prizes out for various age groups would be an inducement. And then featuring the artwork on SM sites would create a great deal of buzz. I think your idea has merit and if the folks at Crayola see this, I hope they’ll give it some consideration. Thanks, Phillip, for adding a great dimension this discussion.

I think Crayola is trying to do what Lego has already achieved in “growing up” with their consumers. Lego has an ambassadors program where they give adult enthusiasts the chance to represent the company and if they win they get paid in Lego bricks! They also have a certified professionals program where they find artists who are doing amazing things with Lego and give them a spotlight on their company website.

Instead of extending Crayola’s brand, it should be strengthening its brand among teen hobbyists who still love Crayola past their childhoods. They should find people who love it and pay them in crayons or they should find artists who use Crayola.

Those are my thoughts anyways. Would love to know what you think.

Thanks for weighing in on my post. Agreed: I think some companies with kids’ brands generally understand there are fond memories and pleasant associations in adults’ minds as a result of their childhood experiences. Yet, they seldom look for ways to leverage that or extend the brand in a meaningful way for an older demographic. That’s why I thought this case study important to blog about. And, yes, the way to reach the 13-18 year old demographic is primarily through social media, but some traditional advertising helps drive them there. I hope this gets brand managers thinking. . .