Kjeld To Close the LEGO Ambassador Network: “It strayed too far away from LEGO’s core values”
It was announced earlier today that third-generation owner of Lego, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, has initiated the closure of the LEGO Ambassadors Network.
For those who are unaware, the LEGO Ambassadors Network (LAN) is a “community network to provide valuable dialogue and collaboration activities for the mutual benefit of Recognized LEGO User Groups (RLUG), Recognized LEGO Online Communities, Recognized LEGO Fan Media (RLFM) and the LEGO Group ( TLG )”
There were no reasons cited for the closure but a source close to the upper management that Kjled was disappointed that the LEGO fans his family developed over the last eight decades felt neglected and unheard.
“We realised that a core group of our fans were not being supported in a meaningful way” ~ Kjeld
The LAN started as a platform where LEGO fans from all over the world could collaborate and share ideas to support one another but it has devolved into a tool for LEGO Group to control the narrative that they see fit.
“They were more interested in how they look to the public than tackling actual problems. Everything they give is a public relations answer” ~ Fanurians Enjoying Duplo
According to the LEGO User Groups, there has been a lot of communication breakdowns as well as back-peddling in their messaging to the recognised fan groups.
One example cited by a fan that during the pandemic, Recognised LEGO User Groups were reassured that their membership to the LEGO Ambassadors Network would not be revoked as a result of inactivity. Yes more than twenty RLUGs have been off-boarded since that announcement.
On top of that, the members of the LEGO Ambassadors Network has been sending in feedback for years with little to no positive change in the way that things are managed.
“It’s like the higher ups have no clue what actually goes on in the communities. We fill up surveys and send in feedback but no one is listening…” ~ United Pregale Studs
Even while achieving record profits each fiscal year, support for their fan partners has been slowly reduced over time. Support in the form of sets and bricks for the LUGs to hold events have dwindled over the last half decade with the most notable being the recent withdrawal of review sets to Recognised LEGO Online Communities (RLOCs).
“They call us “partners” but honestly, it feels really one sided” ~ Derneucans Hoards LEGO
LEGO Ambassador Network will be shut down as of today and resources will be redirected to assess how to communicate and support their fan base better.
There will be plans introduced to separate the LEGO User Groups (RLUGS) and Recognised LEGO Online Communities (RLOC) from the Recognised LEGO Fan Media (RLFM) as their needs are entirely unique.
The LEGO Group do acknowledge that representation matter, even at the management level, so there will be greater emphasis to recruit community managers who are sensitive to the different cultures and the needs of LEGO’s diverse fanbase.
“These are the fans who has been with us when the company was down and we were almost bankrupt. It would be a disservice not to take them seriously and hear them out.” ~ Kjled
The closure is slated to begin on April 1st, 2022.
Disclaimer: This is a parody article to commemorate the first of April. It was written purely in jest and not to be taken seriously. It is a joke, not a d**k. Don’t take it too hard.
3 responses to “Kjeld To Close the LEGO Ambassador Network: “It strayed too far away from LEGO’s core values””
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well, you put it as a satire, but you tackeled some real issues I hear AFOLs are complaining about (and spending less and less time on LAN, more as a task and a must to satisfy needs for reckognited status. and you put it as a joke! Now LAN and LEGO can;t punish for bad review, as it was a “joke”, but also, you say so much, listen to this:
““We realised that a core group of our fans were not being supported in a meaningful way”, “They were more interested in how they look to the public than tackling actual problems. Everything they give is a public relations answer” “It’s like the higher ups have no clue what actually goes on in the communities. We fill up surveys and send in feedback but no one is listening…” “They call us “partners” but honestly, it feels really one sided” “These are the fans who has been with us when the company was down and we were almost bankrupt. It would be a disservice not to take them seriously and hear them out.”
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