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Lego Group, manufacturer of children’s building blocks, is making a

concerted push into brand extensions, with plans to launch software,

films, TV, music, books and magazines by the end of the year.

The move fits in with the group’s strategic aim of becoming the most

powerful brand in the world among families with children by 2005.

Lego Media International, which was set up in 1996, will target children

between the ages of two and 16 with the media products.

The first interactive software titles, Lego Creator, Lego Loco and Lego

Chess, will be launched in time for Christmas this year. A further six

titles will be released during 1999.

Lego tested the market last October with the launch of an interactive

CD-ROM game, Lego Island.

Europe’s leading toy manufacturer is keen to exploit the ’natural fit’

between its play materials and media.

Mark Livingstone, worldwide managing director of Lego Media

International, said: ’Technology is making a huge impact on the playing

patterns and expectations of children. The products will stimulate them

in new ways, expanding their sense of discovery and challenging their

powers of creativity.’

Lego Media International has appointed Clinic to handle product

development, identity, packaging design, advertising, retail point of

sale and corporate literature.

The company will initially focus on creating games software for all

major platforms: PC CD-ROM, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64.

The new software range will encompass four strategic areas: ’games’,

’constructive’, ’learning’ and ’for girls’.