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Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Story | Play, Partnerships, and Personalization: How Hasbro Builds Loyalty Across Generations

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For more than a century, Hasbro has been a household name in toys and games, with a portfolio spanning over 1,500 intellectual properties, from childhood classics like Candy Land to iconic titles like Monopoly and Clue. But in today’s entertainment landscape, nostalgia alone isn’t enough. To thrive, the brand has leaned into partnerships, fandom, and digital innovation that bring their intellectual properties to life in new and engaging ways. 

Lindsey Camell, Head of Partnerships and Location-Based Experiences for North America, is at the center of that effort. Her team oversees partnerships that bring Hasbro’s IP to unexpected places, from McDonald’s Happy Meals to cereal boxes to even family entertainment centers and resorts. With loyalty woven into its DNA through decades-long activations like McDonald’s Monopoly, Hasbro is exploring how gamification, personalization, and cultural relevance can keep its brands connected to consumers for life. 

SPEAKER_01:

Good afternoon, good morning. It's a Thursday, so welcome back to our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series, the Brand Stories Edition. In an era defined by personalization and digital convergence, many brands face the challenge of staying relevant. For a 100-year-old toy company like Hasbro, whose legacy includes beloved toys and strategic partnerships with entertainment giants such as Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and even the legendary Monopoly collaboration with McDonald's, the challenge was clear. Evolve or risk being left behind. Hasbro embraced the moment. With a strong heritage and forward-thinking approach to partnerships, the company has not only survived but thrived in today's dynamic entertainment landscape. Joining us today is Lindsay Kamell. She's the head of partnerships and location-based experiences for North America Hasbro. Lindsay will share insights on how Hasbro is navigating the evolving world of customer loyalty and experience and how strategic partnerships continue to shape the brand's future. Lindsay, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. How are you?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm great. Thanks for asking. How are you?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm doing well. Thank you. For those who may not be familiar, can you give us a brief introduction to Hasbro? You know, how, why was the company started?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. So we are over a hundred-year-old company that is rooted in play. We are one of the world's largest manufacturers of toys and games. If you don't know the name Hasbro, you definitely know our brands. We have over 1,500 different IPs within our portfolio across content, toys, and games.

SPEAKER_01:

Lindsay, in your opinion, what has led to Hasbro's great success?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it's being so rooted in childhood, nostalgia, and play. It's you know a company that is with folks their entire life. So we're typically everybody's first board game, which is traditionally Candyland, all the way up to our adult offering and now the rise of Kid Adult Entertainment. We are a company that through our products and through our pillar of play, consumers are staying with their entire life.

SPEAKER_01:

We also like to get to know those who we're speaking with on a more personal level. So we'd love to know a little bit more about your current role with the company. And also how did you get to where you are today? What led you to this role in customer loyalty?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. So at Hasbro, I oversee two different lines of business. Um, one is our experiences business here in North America. So any kind of brick and mortar location that utilizes Hasbro's IPs. So that can be a family entertainment center, um, a you know, arcade, an escape room, hotels, resorts, casinos, restaurants, literally anything that has a brick and mortar location utilizing our IP. And then I also oversee our partnerships. So anytime we partner our IP with a third-party brand or company that sits within our team. So everything from a happy meal toy to be on a cereal box, to I recently did a partnership with a pregnancy test company to help announce that Peppa Pig's mom was having another baby. So it really runs the gamut of the types of companies that we work with. Um, loyalty falls within our partnerships business here. So we've had you know a long-standing tradition, especially with our brand Monopoly, which is pretty iconic in the loyalty space. But all of our other games as well, we have quite a few that really resonate with loyalty consumers and folks putting together those types of programs.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. When you look at uh your role, uh lots of challenges, disruption right now in uh you know all industries, you know, what keeps you up at night? What are some of those challenges and opportunities that you're facing within your position?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, it's I feel like this year, obviously, it's a little bit different, but it's always an adventure kind of working in this partnership space, relying on other folks' budgets and their planning cycles. You know, we work anywhere from three months to two and a half years in advance, and a lot can change in that time frame. Um, so for us, it really is trying to stay ahead of the curve, trying to predict what's coming, which is super hard, obviously, this year with tariffs and things like that. But also remaining really open and flexible in how we're able to work with other companies, I think has been key in how we can kind of tackle any difficulties that come up.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Hasbro sits at a very unique intersection of toys, games, entertainment, you know, with a pretty extensive portfolio of IP that you mentioned, uh, with you know, the manufactured products uh and how you know how you license them to the media. You know, how does this unique position influence the ways that you are approaching your business going forward?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it does give us a ton of flexibility because we're dealing with brands that oftentimes have been around for decades, they have really high awareness and really high affinity. It gives us that flexibility to pull them into different areas that people might not necessarily expect. So beyond what that toy is, beyond what that game is, maybe it's a content play, maybe it is a loyalty play, maybe it's you know reaching consumers in ways that they never thought possible with some of our IPs. You're not necessarily expecting to see Candyland themed makeup or you know, a Candyland-themed uh QSR coffee program, but it's reaching consumers in really new and interesting ways and keeping things fresh and interesting for them.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. You talked about some of the macroeconomic trends that are impacting brands today. Tariffs, are you gonna have a product, you're not gonna have a product, it's gonna be a pretty significant challenge for you. But when you look at more holistically, what are some of the industry trends that you were watching that could impact customer experience and or customer loyalty?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think really what we've been seeing in the last couple of years is this deeper level of nostalgia and people really embracing the things that they're interested in and going deep into their own fandoms. I think if you look, you know, 20, 30 years ago, adults weren't necessarily interacting with what are considered kids' properties or even a lot of entertainment properties. I feel like we've seen a real rise in collectors, fandom, and folks just really wanting to express their own interest and their own level of fandom through what's holding the most interest for them. So I think that's one area that's been super interesting. It feels almost like we're going from these really broad, kind of focused campaigns to a little bit more niche and really tapping in to some of that fandom.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. When you look at partnerships, uh, that's a pretty big uh area of opportunity for our membership, for our community. We talk about it quite often, but there are challenges now, right? That they used to be one or two-page agreements, now they're simply deeper, uh, making sure that uh the partnerships align with the brand, that both brands are going to co-promote, that uh, you know, you can get it uh integrated from a technology perspective and signed off on from an ROI approach. You know, when you look at uh partnerships, you know, what are a couple key factors that you consider uh that you think are necessary to ensure that the collaboration uh between the two brands is most successful?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think being really aligned at the very beginning is crucial. Obviously, we have things like brand guardrails and the ways that we like folks to talk about our brands, but making sure that everybody kind of has that same, we're all coming from the same place at the beginning of it of what are we looking to achieve together. Obviously, each company has its own goals, but making sure that those are aligned and support each other in a way that, you know, three months, six months in, it's not gonna become a conflict or it's not gonna become um, you know, we're no longer telling the same story together. So I think staying super aligned and really understanding each other's brands and what their goals are at the beginning is crucial.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Um, you talked about a little bit. How do you how do you stay true to Hasbro's brand identity uh while you know giving the partners some ability to access that IP? Uh you know, how do you control the message?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, we definitely have guardrails depending on each brand is a little bit different of how we speak about them and things like the creative assets that go into it. I think to working with brands that have been around for so long, consumers and the folks that we're working with at these third parties are already very familiar with them. Like when we're talking about clue or we're talking about monopoly, people already kind of have in their mind what that means, what that sounds like, what that looks like. So I think it helps us kind of also streamline people come in with their expectation of like what they're hoping to get from Monopoly or what they're hoping to get from Clue. And we're really able to stay hand in hand and make sure that everything feels authentic, not only to our brand, but also to their brand.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. And what's customer loyalty mean to you and a Hasbro?

SPEAKER_00:

Customer loyalty is, I think, a really growing area for us. You know, for Hasbro, big Hasbro, customer loyalty for us is that we are a multi-generational company that is speaking to our consumers from their childhood through their adulthood. You know, we're seeing grandparents and parents introducing their kids to IP and to toys and games that they also grew up with. So from a loyalty perspective of Hasbro Toys and Games, it's huge. We we know that consumers trust Hasbro and we don't take that trust lightly. Um, we know that we are delivering on those play moments for kids. From a partnership perspective, we really look at loyalty as a growth strategy for us and a way to continue to engage with consumers in a really fun, interesting way that they might not necessarily always be expecting.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Another topic uh that you've kind of touched on a little bit, but something we see a pretty consistent interest in and how to get it right is personalization. You know, how uh important is personalization in Hasbro's customer engagement and customer loyalty strategies?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think it's definitely important. It's one of those that can be very tricky from a mass, you know, manufacturing perspective. I think we have some really great examples in some of our locations with getting customized board games and being able to create your own version of Monopoly and plot out what all of the different property locations are gonna be. We definitely have some personalization offered on our direct-to-consumer sites. From a partnership and loyalty perspective, I think it really gives us an opportunity to lean into the digital side of things and create unique experiences for each consumer.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. When you look at personalization uh from the toys, gaming, entertainment perspective, where is that going? Are we gonna get to more of a one-to-many, more customized toys, more customized offerings? Is that something you're seeing from a personalized perspective, you know, personalization perspective, that is, and or where is it going?

SPEAKER_00:

I think category by category, it's really gonna be quite different. I think the digital space is going to be really big with uh really big on the personalization of how do you create a unique experience for folks. When we're talking about the larger kind of toy and game, I do think there's definitely space there almost, and I because I even see it as if you're really deep into a fandom or you're really deep into maybe a licensed IP that we have, it's for us expanding that offering and making sure we're we have something for every consumer and every fan base. I think that's gonna be key as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Uh, what's the next big thing for customer loyalty, customer experience uh that Hasbro is focused on, maybe investing in?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think moving into the digital space is definitely something that we're focused on around loyalty of how do we provide those kind of gamified solutions and bring a little excitement from our game properties into existing loyalty programs and existing technologies, being able to kind of overlay a gamified experience with a game that people grew up with and know and love and are excited to kind of see what rewards they might accumulate through that process, I think is going to be really exciting to see.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. When you look at your customer loyalty program, your customer loyalty efforts, uh, you know, what are two or three things that you are most proud of in the program?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we've had some really incredible relationships. You know, uh McDonald's Monopoly is a program that has been going on for decades. Um, it has been international for the last 12, 13 years and has continued to be incredibly successful for McDonald's. So that's one that all of us are incredibly proud of that long-standing relationship and the way that it has adapted and changed over the years. Now it lives within the McDonald's app. It's fully digital with the physical component that people love because we've, you know, done our own research of people love to peel that little collectible um off of their uh McDonald's fries or McDonald's drinks. So that one's really kind of the crown jewel in our loyalty um portfolio. I think also seeing the expansion into other IPs is something that we're really proud of. We have a great program this summer with Marsden's, which is a pub chain out of the UK. They're doing a trivial pursuit program. Um they were looking to increase their digital orders and our digital um order and pick up service, and it has been phenomenally successful for them. And it's, you know, one that like trivial pursuit has been around for decades and is super fun and adaptable. It's one that we can, you know, tailor what the questions might be and make it really specific, either regionally or topically. Um, that one's been really fun to see um this past summer.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, excellent. And last question, what can Loyalty 360 do to help you and your program?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, honestly, just continuing to have conversations. I attended Loyalty Expo, thought it was amazing, got to meet a lot of different people uh across different companies and industries. So I think kind of continuing the conversations and um providing those opportunities for us all to connect is really key.

SPEAKER_01:

Perfect. Uh and now we have a wonderful quick fire uh round of questions. We like to have a short word, uh one word or a short phrase response, or I get in trouble with the content team. So here's the thing.

SPEAKER_00:

I'll keep it, I'll keep it succinct.

SPEAKER_01:

That's good. Uh what is your favorite word?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Excellent. And what uh is your least favorite word that that you or others use?

SPEAKER_00:

I know I can't be the only one to say moist as my answer.

SPEAKER_01:

Um what excites you?

SPEAKER_00:

Opportunity.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh what do you find tiresome?

SPEAKER_00:

Stagnation.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh is there a book that you've read or once or a number of times that you'd like to recommend to uh colleagues?

SPEAKER_00:

Probably the strength finder.

SPEAKER_01:

Interesting. Uh what profession other than the one you're currently in would you maybe like to attempt?

SPEAKER_00:

Emergency room doctor.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. Uh what do you enjoy doing that you often don't get the chance to do?

SPEAKER_00:

Crafting.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Uh who inspired you to become the person you are today?

SPEAKER_00:

My parents.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh what do you typically think about at the end of the day?

SPEAKER_00:

Try not to think about the next day, but that always ends up kind of being it.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Uh, and how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?

SPEAKER_00:

As someone who was authentic and kind and fun.

SPEAKER_01:

Excellent. Well, Lindsay, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. It was great uh getting to know you a little bit more, but also learning more uh you know about Hasbro, getting an update on some things you're working on or focused on. Again, thank you very much for taking the time to uh join us today.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, thank you so much, Mark.

SPEAKER_01:

Appreciate it. Absolutely. And everyone, thank you for taking the time to join us today. Make sure you tune in every Thursday for a new edition of our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series. Until then, have a wonderful day.