INTERVIEW WITH LIONEL, LLC MARKETING MANAGER, JENNA EGAN
The following is a recent interview with Jenna Egan, Marketing Manager, Lionel, LLC, an official licensee of the Boy Scouts of America.
Licensing Insider: What does Lionel make and who are your customers?
Jenna: Lionel is one of the most recognized brand names in the model train market. Our core product line, electric trains, is bought by hobbyists, collectors, and families. It is a multi-generational product that has stood the test of time.
Licensing Insider: Where are your products distributed?
Jenna:
Our trains can be purchased through our network of 1,200 Authorized Value Added Dealers or through major mass retail partners and internet shopping sites. Additionally, Lionel sells direct to consumers through www.LionelStore.com.
Licensing Insider: How does licensing with the BSA help you grow your business?
Jenna:
Licensing with the BSA has been a great fit because Lionel provides a wholesome family centered activity that spans many generations just like the programs provided by the BSA. Also, there is a wonderful nostalgic feeling about the BSA experience that translates well to our Lionel consumers and their nostalgia with train sets. Lionel sets are fun! You are the master of your universe when you play with them. Make it go forward. Reverse it. Blow the whistle. This is your experience. You are the conductor and you control your experience, powered by your imagination!
Licensing Insider: How do you innovate in your business?
Jenna:
We are reaching out to younger audiences with our Lionel Little Lines Train Play sets (ages 2 ½ and up) and Battery Powered G Gauge line (ages 4 and up). Now, there is truly a Lionel train for every member of a household.
Licensing Insider: What are your plans for marketing support and new product development?
Jenna: Lionel markets through its own website, Lionel catalogs, Lionel newsletters, hobby magazines, train events and conventions, targeted email blasts, web advertising, and model railroad clubs.
We have also been partnering with other organizations to encourage children and families to take up the hobby of toy trains. For example, we had an event with the National Toy Train Museum in Strasburg, PA where children ages 8-12 spent the night at the museum (with a parent or guardian) and together built a 5' x 9' train layout that remained on display in the museum through 2010.
Additionally, we are committed to going where the consumers are going. We have had seasonal pop-up stores in New York City and have operating displays in storefront windows, in Grand Central Terminal and other heavily trafficked areas. We want everyone to be aware of the fun factor with Lionel Trains!
Licensing Insider: What is the single most important ingredient in Lionel's culture that contributes to its overall success?
Jenna: Unlike fads that come and go over time, there are few childhood toys that have proved to be more enduring than a Lionel train set. And true to tradition, Lionel trains are still being passed down from generation to generation.
Over 110 years later, Lionel continues to manufacture high quality products making it one of the most recognized brand names of all times. In fact, now more than ever, the Lionel dream lives on as the company continues to rekindle old traditions while inventing future technologies for children to enjoy for years to come.
For more information on Lionel, please visit www.lionel.com
Lionel Introduces Eagle Scout® Boxcar
In honor of the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program, Lionel has introduced a 10 ½ inch long Boy Scouts of America® Eagle Scout® Boxcar.
Adorning this patriotic red, white, and blue die-cast metal boxcar is the well known Eagle Scout® phrase, "Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle". Additionally, the design includes the Eagle Scout® medal and badge and doors that slide open and shut.
To purchase this boxcar, locate a dealer near you by visiting the Lionel website at
www.lionel.com
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