Geobra redundancies and outsourcing, restructuring Playmobil (Autumn 2023)

[Klickteryx]

The last 5 years was like gradually shifting into a near constant state of cognitive dissonance. A constant state of restructuring -

Do you see anything positive in that time? Are the nostalgia vehicles a good direction for instance, what lines do you think will do well? I recall you saying you were there when the whole Novelmore theme was created so I assume you're happy with that.
We can discuss here all we like about what we like but that probably differs from what the market wants at times.

[playmofire]

The last 5 years was like gradually shifting into a near constant state of cognitive dissonance. A constant state of restructuring - perhaps better to call it a destructuring - where literally everything had to change at once but without a clear view of what things needed to change into.

A problem that goes back thousands of years; Petronius Arbiter, a Greek naval commander, is said to have written the following in AD 66:

"We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beiginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganised.  I was to learn later in life that that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while only producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation."

[collectobart]

Do you see anything positive in that time? Are the nostalgia vehicles a good direction for instance, what lines do you think will do well? I recall you saying you were there when the whole Novelmore theme was created so I assume you're happy with that.
We can discuss here all we like about what we like but that probably differs from what the market wants at times.

I am proud of Novelmore, what we created with our little team then under the circumstances that were already tilting back and forth will always be memorable. It was also my dream to closely combine story, character and toy and that worked pretty well, even though the company was not and is still not ready to really succeed in carrying it through in their communication and vision. Unfortunately long-term projects like Novelmore are very sensitive to all the sudden shifts in management and strategy, so it is in a way bittersweet to reflect on what it could have been and where it is ending up now.

Focusing on "What the market wants" is for PLAYMOBIL a dangerous trap. PLAYMOBIL set out to be a timeless toy, but the more they chase the market trends and their competitors, the less they achieve that "timeless" aspect. If i look at the new PrincessMagic castle sets, that is really a HASBRO product, with very little pieces but with a price you can only charge within a well cultivated My Little Pony brand. Not for something as generic as "PrIncEsSmAgiC" or "Horses Of Waterfall". So i am not optimistic about PLAYMOBIL sales going better any time soon.

I however think licenses are in essence good, the problem is that PLAYMOBIL nearly stopped developing or broadening it's classic lines and invested almost entirely in the development of licenses and franchises.

                 

[collectobart]

A problem that goes back thousands of years; Petronius Arbiter, a Greek naval commander, is said to have written the following in AD 66:

"We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beiginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganised.  I was to learn later in life that that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while only producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation."

Really nice quote, the Germans have a really nice word for it btw: "Aktionismus". Doing "something" is always better than having to admit you have really no idea what you are doing in the first place.

[GrahamB]

I too liked that quote from Petronius Arbiter. My footnote (is that what they are called?) quoting Douglas Adams is for me in the same area; doing less (stopping fiddling with the controls) is sometimes more effective than doing more (especially if you don't know how the controls actually work!).

[GrahamB]

... I recall you saying you were there when the whole Novelmore theme was created...

I recall collectobart saying he was more than just 'there,' but a key part of the whole development of Novelmore, which could have been really great, let's hope it still can.

[StJohn]

I am proud of Novelmore (...)

You should be. It is so nice, especially because it aims to be a complete and immersive play world. A bit like the noughties, when the Lion Knights (3268, etc.) and Dragon Knights (3269, etc.) were co-existing and even a third, mysterious faction ("Barbarians" a.k.a. Bull Knights of 4435, etc.) was around, but way more ambitious: I was quite taken aback when Sal'ahari Sands and Violet Vale were unveiled - so bold!

I guess the sets are now being rushed through, if they don't get cancelled, and can see what you mean with a lack of vision: the story doesn't seem to get the time or space to breath and develop – even on the playmobil website, Novelmore gets crowded out by other product lines. Perhaps the current market doesn't favor complex toy lines, with retailers demanding a quick turnover of new products, or perhaps the company failed to secure a good spot for Novelmore on the market (for what it's worth: the commercials that I have seen I consider very loud and annoying). Perhaps it would have helped if the episodes had been aired on TV instead of being offered for free on youtube – that creates a cheap impression, which the product doesn't deserve (am I right that the shows were originally intended for regular broadcasting and not for youtube?). The magazines are nice, though.

Do you have any idea about the sales figures for Novelmore? Did it meet expectations?

I would quite like to know a bit more about the overarching vision that you and the team had in mind when developing Novelmore, and what bits got scrapped. At any rate, thank you for the love and energy that you've put in the product. It really shows.

[collectobart]

You should be. It is so nice, especially because it aims to be a complete and immersive play world. A bit like the noughties, when the Lion Knights (3268, etc.) and Dragon Knights (3269, etc.) were co-existing and even a third, mysterious faction ("Barbarians" a.k.a. Bull Knights of 4435, etc.) was around, but way more ambitious: I was quite taken aback when Sal'ahari Sands and Violet Vale were unveiled - so bold!

The 2004 Knights was one of my first projects at PM, i created an online game which already was flanked by an animated story introducing all sides :-)

But Knights had always been "Generic" at PLAYMOBIL: You had a King, a Prince but apart from that all other Knights were just troops for the Army. Hard to make a complex and textured narrative around.

What we did with Novelmore was a different approach, we first developed the world, created the world map, the factions we wanted to have in there, the characters and their backstory. We also engaged talented concept artists to help us further define that world and its characters and that provided a lot of inspiration for the lead toy designer and his team. And the awesome creativity of that team then fed back into the story development and an even more unified design.

Releasing Sal'ahari Sands so fast and alongside the Violet Vale is where it went wrong i think. It really conflicted with the initial mix of keeping 50% classic elements and adding 50% fantasy. Better would have been to have Violet Vale be flanked by some new Novelmore faction sets that could help with the Twilight Demon threat in the Vale.

Things got completely out of our control though when Lars Wagner (ex Disney) left and Mr. Hoeger stepped in - a person without any idea of the media or the brand and apart from closing down our entertainment department he also chose to drop Novelmore on youtube instead of on tv channels and Netflix. Probably the immense failure of the PLAYMOBIL MOVIE gave him the blessed wings to take everything down, even though we did not have anything to do with the Movie. No one really at PLAYMOBIL until it was already too late.

But... Whereas sales were really strong the first two years, after that Novelmore sets stayed on the shelves. I see various reasons apart from the 50/50 spread, i think generally the assortment went into a direction that made people loose interest. Too much fragmentation with franchises, licenses and higher prices that did no longer correspond with the lowering play value.

And Novelmore as a concept now seems to have imploded back to Novelmore vs Burnham, i don't think there is any appetite to create the 3 remaining realms that were envisioned in the original 5 year plan.

[GrahamB]

It's a sad tale. The vision was blocked by business interests, personified it seems by Herr Hoeger. The commercial world is no longer a place for those with good ideas, unless they are simple enough to be seen as money-spinners by board members.
Thank you collectobart for sharing, once again.

[Rasputin]

I’m confused , the heavy fantasy presence in the classic Medieval theme was a good or bad thing ?