Welcome to another TFW2005 Event Coverage. Hasbro’s Annual Investor Day concluded mere moments ago. It’s a pleasure for us to bring you all the Transformers goodies from Hasbro’s Investor Day 2013. Also, Hasbro is delighted to be back with their annual event, after two years of absence. For those who need an introduction… Hasbro’s Investor Day is an annual event held to reveal company’s plans for the coming year… And in this case, for the Year 2014. So… sit back, relax and enjoy the show!
This year:
- Transformers 4 Sneak Peek
- Global success of the Transformers Brand
- Transformers: Age Of Extinction Toyline Plans
- Transformers 4 Kre-O
- New Transformers Video Games in 2014
- Transformers: Generations
- Transformers Rescue Bots
- And… Transformers Construct-Bots
Learn about these and MORE, after the jump. Remember, to visit TFW2005 Sister Site HISSTANK for all the G. I. Joe info from Hasbro’s 2013 Investor Day. On to the main event. Hasbro’s Investor Day 2013 started off as usual with Debbie Hancock introducing none other than the CEO of Hasbro himself; Brian Goldner. Mr. Goldner is also the executive producer of Transformers 4 a.k.a Transformers: Age Of Extinction.
Transformers 4 Sneak Peek will be shown to the investors at the event. However, since we are joining via phone we won’t get to see it. Sorry folks. (But we were not disappointed; as you’ll find out later on).
Brian mentioned that China will become a huge market for Hasbro in the coming future. Russia is also a growing market.
Mr. Goldner mentioned that Transformers Brand grew by 2 times even without a movie. Bravo. My Little Pony is the second best brand. Entertainment Driven Toys will have a higher price tag than Non-Entertainment Driven Toys. Hasbro fondly recalls the memory of Transformers 2007.
In China 57 Million kids watch Transformers: Prime. Whoa!!! TF: Prime, G1 and Rescue Bots is a massive hit there.
Hub Network is doing great. New TV Shows planned.
Transformers: Age Of Extinction Sneak Peek time. Brian told everyone not to write about what [they are] about to see. Told everyone to enjoy watching it instead. Producers of the movie has told Hasbro to keep everything confidential. Investor eyes only. He then told that we will be disconnected from the conference call for few moments. It’s a very very sad moment for this newsie. But rules are rules. The Sneak Peek went on for 10 whole minutes. What did they show!?! What is it!?! *Crying*
People clapping hard. Everybody there enjoyed it seems. However, Brian said the CGI is not fully incorporated and that was not the final finished footage.
Note: Tiny bit of info about what was shown was told later. Read on.
Hasbro has acquired rights to manufacture Disney Princesses. Also, sneak peeks of new Marvel Movies will be shown later. Again, only to the Investors.
Activision continue to be the Developer of Transformers Video Games (Consoles).
Deb Thomas came onto the stage next to explain the Financial Aspect of Hasbro. This newsie didn’t take notes since it felt there is no major need.
Chief Marketing Officer John Frascotti came to the stage next. It seems as though Play-Doh took the place of G. I. Joe as a “Franchise Brand“. Joe brand is no longer on the top 7. Marvel and Star Wars toy contracts were extended to 2020. Kre-O and Furby may become Franchise Brands in the future.
Speaking of which, it was told that Kre-O line will be updated next year (2014) with Transformers: Age Of Extinction.
Mr. Frascotti said that Transformers: Construct-Bots is a great venture. Hasbro is really happy about it.
“Construct-bots give boys Control, Customization and Competition” said John Frascotti. “With Construct-Bots, kids can build, arm and transform their Ultimate Transformers in hundreds of different ways. And also our Construct-Bots App give kids to customize their bots share their creations and play mini battling games. So, it delivers that fluidity between Physical Play & Digital Play that boys have come to expect.”He just teased the audience that we’ll be hearing some info about an upcoming game. Used the word “Transforming” a lot, when teasing. I wonder!
Right, it’s time for lunch. Time for a small break. More info to come after lunch it seems. Can’t wait. 1 hour to go.
… and we’re back. No Slides from now on. Presentation is now unscripted.
After lunch Samantha Lomow came to tell us about Hasbro Brands for Girls. Noting major was told. It was mostly about My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf: Rebelle.
IDW is to hit 1 millionth comic book sold for My Little Pony. There will be a Signature Clothing Line. Debut in Paris. A video was shown about “Crystal Princess Celebration Fantasy” (I’ve no idea what that is). Miss Lomow talked briefly about Equestia Girls. People at the room are taking away MLP Toys.
Next, Littlest Pet Shop. It seems the show is gaining popularity each day.
Furby next. It was a video.
Next on the stage it was Eric Nyman to talk about Boys Category. Started off with… what else? Transformers!
Transformers Toys (specifically future toylines such as Transformers: Age Of Extinction toys) will target 4 aspects (known as the 4 Point Plan):
- Boys Action
- Construction
- Pre-School
- Gaming & Digitally Integrated Products
There will be “all-year entertainment” planned for the Transformers Franchise.
Transformers: Generations line was also mentioned fondly. “Transformers is a brand with very broad appeal” said Mr. Nyman. “We’re developing differentiated product experiences for different consumer groups. Product and Marketing merge well with each group. We recruit our young fans with Rescue Bots and engage them in age appropriate entertainment and age relevant products. We engage 4 to 10 year old boys with action and entertainment and creative play like Construct-Bots and our Kre-O Kreons and Play Sets. And we retain our passionate and very loyal consumers with Transformers: Generations; so our boys will never leave the franchise but instead graduate to become a Collector”.
Transformers: Beast Hunters Toy Line will continue onto 2014. (Of course you already knew that via our coverage of BotCon 2013 *wink*).
AND onto Transformers 4 a.k.a Transformers: Age Of Extinction…
“In 2014 our great entertainment story continues” said Eric Nyman. “We deliver a full new Transformers story with the release of Transformers 4…. 65 Million Years In The Making. You saw some of the footage this morning. Our great Autobot Heroes team up with… (he didn’t tell who) and defeat new villains and save the earth.”
There is going to be new Transformers Video Games on 2014. (It may turn out to be the 3rd War For Cybertron Game and the Video Game for Transformers: Age Of Extinction. But this was not clearly mentioned.)
Talked about Construct-Bots: “We have a new TV Campaign; featuring a fresh CGI approach; driving the product and a new Mobile App. Success drives new product purchases and digital integration and available across all platforms.”
Finally for the Transformers portion of Eric’s presentation he stated that “With a 4 Point Plan in place we’ll continue to deliver the keys for Transformers Success for 2014 and Beyond. Again we’ll leverage research to inform our engagement to consumer insight. We’ll continue to deliver newness across all screens with a global launch of an all new Movie and TV Programming. Our products will drive excitement with New Theme and New Characters with Boys Action, Construction, Pre-School, Gaming & Digitally Integrated Products. Across all screens will deliver these content, product and marketing.”
Soon, a Marvel Representative came to show off footage from upcoming Marvel Movies. It was told that infrared cameras will monitor those who would record the footage. It went for about 30 minutes.
Then Hasbro handed over NERF guns to the audience and everybody participated in a Nerf War. Talk about awesomeness!!! Which ultimately led to an unscripted presentation about the NERF brand. The upcoming NERF: Centurion made its debut. Dart going 100+ Feet. Whoa! Demonstrations continued. Everybody laughing and enjoying. (This newsie secretly wishing he was there). NERF: Rebelle was demonstrated afterwards and a commercial was followed for the line.
Pre-School Brands next. It was all about Play-Doh (“Great To Play… Not To Eat!”), Sesame Street, Play School Heroes (“Big Boy Brands In Little Boy Hands!”). Rescue-Bots is now really famous. New toys coming soon.
Hasbro Gaming was the next topic. Mostly about Board Games (Monopoly, Telepods etc.)
Victor Lee came onto the stage for Hasbro Digital Marketing. Told Eric Nyman not to shoot him with a Nerf gun while he’s doing the presentation. Mr. Lee talked about how Social Media and the Internet is integrated for marketing purposes. He threw some really good jokes too. Awesome presentation which left the audience with something to think about at the end of the day. Great stuff coming from Hasbro.
Finally at the end, we enter a Q&A session with Brian Goldner, John Frascotti and Eric Nyman.
Large action figures (for Marvel) will arrive due to several reasons. One of them being “the economy”.
People asked about plans for Star Wars. Didn’t went onto details but said they have future plans for the brand. Especially for an Animated Series that will debut next year.
Someone just asked why there aren’t any Male Ponies on the “Mane Six”? At this point this newsie’s eyebrows disappeared into the hair. (“What!?!”). Answer: There are plenty of male ponies in the lore. They are not part of the core six but included throughout the stories.
What other Live Action Movies arriving?
Stretch Armstrong, Ouija, Monopoly, Candy Land and Micronauts.
Brian mentioned that Transformers is already a hit in China even before Transformers Live Action Movies.
After 6 hours, Hasbro’s 2013 Investor Day came to an end. It was not electrifying as the 2010 Investor Day but it was not bad. Hasbro is very cool to share all this information with us. Thanks Hasbro!
And on that bombshell, it’s time for us to end. We’ll see you next time.
Bumblethumper
Maybe so, but leaks are perhaps more likely with movie toys. I believe they have larger production runs at shorter notice, and to meet that demand they have to use facilities they don't regularly deal with.
Lazerwave
Yeah but Beast Hunters came months after the NYCC, which was around the New Year. Movie toys don't go on sale until near summer.
kaijuguy19
I think we'll at least get a glimpse of some of the figures at the New York Comic Con like we did with Beast Hunters the year before.
Steevy Maximus
Possible, but I wouldn't hold my breath since Hasbro has largely "stopped up" most of their leak sources.
I would not expect to see anything until next Toy Fair.
Lazerwave
Do you think we will see some leaked TF4 toys soonish?
Stygian360
Several people have referenced this portion of the presentation as if it's news. For a little perspective here's a quote from Nov '12:
"Whenever we shape out the line, we do have both audiences in mind and both audiences are extremely valuable to us. We like to think that a great toy that delivers a magical experience with a character that everybody loves will delight both kids and adults alike."
– Derryl DePriest, Vice President Hasbro Marketing
Point being, all a fan has to do is take a long and hard look at the Classics/Generations line to see that Hasbro shapes its offerings for that line based on what they feel fans want to see and will be most interested in, practically made to order in some cases. Sometimes it's a hit and other times a miss of course, but this line in particular has always had the fans firmly in mind.
It's important to keep in mind that Transformers is first and foremost a kids toy line. We should be mighty thankful they consider adult collectors at all in how they design their offerings because when balanced with the totality of their profits we're but a drop in the bucket. Yes it's nice to see we adult collectors called out in a shareholders meeting, but I'd argue that Hasbro has never really lost sight of its fans. YMMV on this, but I don't see them giving us the finger at every turn like some seem to.
Lazerwave
I just hope one of those Leader Class figures is Grimlock.
Noideaforaname
Sounds like we *could maybe possibly* be going towards something along the lines of Armada toys. If you think a lot of people are dropping out or focusing on MPs/3rd Parties now…
RedAlert Rescue
The Deluxes will look like FAB's if your lucky… and the next TV show is supposed to be aimed quite a bit younger than Prime which was seen as to scary to young kids.
I foresee the fandom's look of horror when toys have arms moulded as a single piece a door with an arm moulded into it.
SilverOptimus
At HID2013, it was kind of hinted that going forward the Hasbro figures would be big but less articulated. Please, please don't take my word as gospel because Hasbro didn't specifically said that. What happened was, at the Q&A session someone asked a similar question from Hasbro CEO but he only gave a vague answer. Nothing is set in stone ok?
Prime Jetscream
I hope so. TFP would have been so much better if we got the leaders in Leader size, not Voyager size…
SilverOptimus
Haven't heard exact details. But I'm sure we'll hear soon.
mrbrains
Please tell me there making HA and Leader Class figures for TF:AOE
GAUGE
I really like this part right here:
"Transformers: Generations line was also mentioned fondly. "Transformers is a brand with very broad appeal" said Mr. Nyman. "We're developing differentiated product experiences for different consumer groups. Product and Marketing merge well with each group. We recruit our young fans with Rescue Bots and engage them in age appropriate entertainment and age relevant products. We engage 4 to 10 year old boys with action and entertainment and creative play like Construct-Bots and our Kre-O Kreons and Play Sets. And we retain our passionate and very loyal consumers with Transformers: Generations; so our boys will never leave the franchise but instead graduate to become a Collector".
They are finally saying that there are collector's and die hard loyalists and that a line is pretty much geared to them.
At least… That's what i am getting form it.
Mechafire
Nerf war thing is hilarious
shroobmaster
No video of investor NERF war?
I'm just imagining all those 40 year old white collar guys playing with guns and I just need visual confirmation of how hilarious it was.
Oh uh good to know The Hub and Transformers is doing well too. Viva TFP and Rescue Bots etc. etc.
But seriously NERF War video plz
Rodimus Mike
Okay everybody but I just had a major idea about that santa-claus-head-on-a-stick during filming but what if that character is based off a real person/people namely those guys from Duck Dynasty.I can't even begin to tell you how popular they are now,so what if Bay & company decided to use there likenesses as a robot in TF4.
So I ask all of yall if you think I am mental or if its possible,so post away what you think.Later guys.
Lazerwave
Were they any others besides Grimlock?
Anguirus
REALLY LOUD GASP
I missed that! Holy Nine Hells!
Stygian360
With all due respect, renaming GI Joe to Action Force as a rebranding strategy? This wouldn't fix a thing. Perhaps that brand name is better known overseas, so split market; GI Joe stateside and Action Force overseas, but I don't see a need to rename the entire brand across the board, nor do I feel that would help with sales… much.
Moreover, GI Joe/Action Force has shown no greater 'legs' overseas of late than stateside- admittedly a lot of this has to do with distribution just like here- so why go Action Force with the whole brand?
I think I get where you're going with this, but I don't see a rename as a strategy.