The Lego.com website does a nice job of integrating entertainment and online shopping and of simultaneously addressing both children and parents. The My Lego Network children’s community takes a number of measures to protect children’s safety and involve parents in their children’s online activities. It also turns parental supervision into an opportunity to market Lego products to the whole family.
The registration page alternates messages for children and for parents, with separate explanations of the website’s benefits.
The registration form is simple and clear enough for children to complete it themselves. Depending on the year of birth entered on the registration form, the user is sent through an adult registration process, or a separate process for children.
When the year of birth entered indicates that the user is a child, the form requests the parent’s e-mail address, rather than the child’s own. An activation e-mail is then sent to the parent, who must consent to the child’s membership, confirm the child’s personal details, and set a password for the child. This gives the parent complete control over the child’s participation (assuming that the child actually provided a parent’s e-mail address as instructed). Here is the activation page displayed for parents:
Children are welcomed and assisted on the My Lego Network website by a “Lego TV” set, where a robot with a slight stutter provides tutorials about different website activities.
Some safety measures promised by the My Lego Network children’s community:
- Children are never asked for personal information.
- Child users can only communicate directly with each other via pre-written messages.
- User communications do not happen in real time — all messages are reviewed before publishing.
- Moderators supervise the site to prevent bullying in online games.
The website encourages parents to play with children on the site and offers a separate section for parents, including activity ideas, a guide to suitable Lego products according to the child’s developmental stage, and a parents’ discussion forum.
They even try to draw in grandparents as well!
By offering a safe, fun environment for children, bringing in adult family members to supervise, and providing content and activities for the adults as well, Lego creates a positive brand experience for users of all ages and attracts traffic to the Lego.com shopping pages, which are integrated with the community pages via highly visible navigation tabs.
