LEGO Space
Inspiring the space generation
Background
In a child's imagination, space has always sparked wonder. Looking up at the stars inspires curiosity and dreams of exploration in young minds. This fascination with the cosmos presented a perfect opportunity for LEGO Australia & New Zealand.
The LEGO Group launched LEGO® Space, a new cross-franchise category bringing together seven product lines within the brand's portfolio. With space identified as one of the top 10 passion points for kids, LEGO ANZ knew this could ignite imaginations and foster creativity and STEM learning among children aged 6-12 and their parents.
While LEGO ANZ couldn't physically take children to space, we brought space down to Earth through an audacious PR activation. Together with our partners, we created a 50-metre wide crop circle in regional NSW, visible from space, literally planting the brand into the Australian landscape.
Insights
Research from the LEGO Group revealed that 70% of kids dream of travelling to space. This powerful statistic gave Thrive PR a clear direction for connecting with their audience of kids, and parents.
The team identified a crucial insight: the mystery of space captivates children of all ages and backgrounds. By tapping into this fascination, LEGO ANZ could create a meaningful connection with the ‘Space Generation,’ children who embrace the limitless potential beyond our planet.
Thrive PR understands that today's fragmented media landscape makes it harder for brands to capture attention through traditional channels. However, being at the forefront of culture, Thrive recognised the internet conspiracy culture around unexplained phenomena drives significant engagement and organic sharing. This presented a unique opportunity to generate talkability through mystery and intrigue, cultivating curiosity before revealing LEGO as the orchestrator.
By leaning into children's imaginations and the unknown elements of space, LEGO could drive excitement and genuine buzz around their brand while establishing themselves as champions of creativity and innovation. This strategy focused on inspiring the next generation of explorers, scientists and dreamers.
The Challenge
The objectives for LEGO ANZ's Space campaign were clear:
Develop a compelling, culturally relevant storytelling moment to insert the LEGO brand into the space conversation
Drive awareness and talkability through positive earned media and influencer storytelling
Establish strategic relationships with partners, ambassadors and influencers to increase brand credibility and educate parents on how LEGO supports creativity and innovation
Creating a 50-metre wide crop circle in regional NSW was considered logistically impossible. Finding the right location with appropriate visibility, agricultural conditions and accessibility presented enormous challenges. Severe weather conditions added complexity, making harvest timing critical for aerial visibility, while coordinating talent, media and content teams under strict confidentiality.
Strategy
Thrive PR designed a multi-layered strategy drawing upon deep creative thinking and strategic partnerships to create a campaign that would resonate with and inspire children and parents alike.
The team launched an integrated, earned-first, multi-phased campaign with the immersive experiential idea as the centrepiece. After a month-long location scout, they identified a viable crop in Narromine, New South Wales. This regional town was chosen for its low light pollution and strong space legacy, located near the CSIRO's Parkes Observatory, home of the iconic Australian space-themed movie 'The Dish'.
The crop circle design drew inspiration from the iconic LEGO® Minifigure, with scaled dimensions of a Minifigure hand and head. It included visual metaphors representing how LEGO Play unlocks imagination. The Minifigure hand seemingly holding ideas, drawing them from the minds of future space explorers, created a powerful narrative.
Covering all angles to capture the relevant audience, the execution strategy involved:
An initial mystery phase with anonymous YouTube channels posting teaser content, tapping into niche nano-creator communities
A carefully orchestrated media reveal where journalists and media personalities from Australia and New Zealand were immersed in a government-style classified operation
Leveraging astrophysicist Kobi Brown as a spokesperson to build credibility
A milestone event at the World's Largest Certified LEGO Store in Sydney, featuring Australia's first astronaut Katherine Benell-Pegg and NSW State Premier Chris Minns
These partnerships with scientific experts, government officials and influential creators elevated the campaign beyond product promotion to a cultural moment celebrating curiosity and innovation.
Impact
The LEGO SPACE campaign inspired a generation of young space enthusiasts while delivering exceptional business results.
Commercially, the campaign drove a significant increase in consumer sales across the space passion point. LEGO Space sets contributed to a higher share of business than like markets, demonstrating the power of strategic thinking and emotional storytelling to drive results.
The true magic was visible in the children who participated. Hundreds of families queued for over three hours at the LEGO Certified Store to meet Australia's first astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg. Young space enthusiasts clutched their LEGO sets, asking questions about the stars and sharing their dreams of becoming astronauts.
The campaign generated 840 positive media hits including coverage on 7 News, TODAY, The Project, ABC, SBS, 9News, 10 News, Buzzfeed, K-Zone and Kotaku (65% was broadcast) totalling 126M earned reach across Australia and New Zealand. This mainstream visibility helped normalise interest in space and STEM subjects for a new generation.
Digital engagement was equally impressive, with 6.3K visitors to the LEGO.com.au/space website within the campaign period.
The campaign was recognised as 'Launch Campaign of the Year 2025' in the Mumbrella ComsCon awards. This work was delivered in partnership with LEGO, Initiative, Brightworks and Soldout Events.
Through this bold campaign, LEGO ANZ didn't just promote products, they inspired dreams, fostered creativity, and helped children across Australia and New Zealand look up at the stars and imagine the possibilities.