I just realized that there were no NASCAR sets or accessories in the latest Lionel catalogs. Did Lionel end the licensing agreement? I wonder how those sets sold? I had no interest but I did think the NASCAR race cars were very nicely done.
Regards,
John
Apparently, Lionel sent out a hot sheet to dealers and is blowing out Nascar sets and add on packs. One dealer posted prices on the AOL message board and the discounts are pretty deep. It’s likely the Nascar sets are not good sellers.
I always wondered why Lionel chose the Nascar theme. I’ve noticed with our annual street rod swap meets here in Wisconsin (Iola and Jefferson), amongst all the old school car parts, vintage Lionel trains and Tonka trucks are sold as well. I’m sure its this way across the country so maybe Lionel got the idea gear heads would go for the sets.
Lionel would be better off doing street rods that run on Superstreets. Imagine a 41 Willys gasser with super bass sounds and a fan driven smoke unit for doing smoke shows.
As far as the funnel theory is concerned. I think Lionel found their niche with european trains and Thomas series stuff. They are doing quite well with it all and keep expanding the lineup.
Just thinking, could be:
The President of Lionel, Jerry Calabrese, came from NASCAR and had the contacts?
The U.S. Government found Alcoholic Beverage adds on the cars, requiring the “8 to Adult” sticker being changed to “21 to Adult” ?
Dale Jr broke with his late father’s Racing Team, voiding a deal?
Anyone know the facts?
Went to the Lionel gift shop last month. they brought in a whole pallet of Nascar add on cars and sets. Add on sets where going for 50 bucks and the sets for 120. It was a deal for the add on cars cause you got fast track with it too…
I guess it helps if a set has an appeal on its own merits. I know next to nothing about Harry Potter, yet, I bought the Hogwarts set.
I know NASCAR fans buy almost anything related, but I’d guess most of these things are something to put on a shelf, hang on a wall, or wear. Maybe a train set was a too big a leap. Joe
Maybe the NASCAR sets didn’t sell well because the trains would only run in a counterclockwise direction? All the turns had to be left or the train wouldn’t work? [C):-)]
Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me what some people think is a good idea for a product.
Jim
It is hard to tell whether some ideas are good or bad. As stated, NASCAR fans will be just about anything. I like the funnel theory and while the sets did not appeal to me, it seemed like a good investment to find out about market acceptance. Lionel continues to have success (I presume) with Thomas and Polar Express. The Harry Potter seems to be finding an audience as well. Where they go next is anybody’s guess. I just hope they keep trying. If they can increase the market it will help us hobbyists as well.
On another note, I also noticed that there has not been any Disney licensed cars in the recent catalogs. Did that agreement also expire?
Regards,
John
The Disney license expired.
Jim
For my two cents, I am a NASCAR fan, a Dale Jr fan, and a Dale Sr fan and I would not and did not buy any of the NASCAR stuff LIonel put out. It didn’t suit my taste at all and I have better ways to spend both my NASCAR and train budget then buy that stuff. It seemed like an ill concieved idea to me.
Like I said, just my two cents!
Maybe they should have done some more market research first. What should they do next?
Regards,
John
Sounds like the demographic study took a back seat to the exposure theory, Or the product itself didn’t live up to the expectations of those interested. Nascar certainly has a LARGE loyal audience and TV exposure 9 months a year.
A sizeable Lionel logo on a car wouldn’t have hurt.
Jack
That’s an interesting idea, Jack. However, for a company in bankruptcy, marketing dollars are hard to come by.
Regards,
John
I forgot about the private company thing, so raising capital is a tough sell.
I still think the product idea was sound. Nascar has such a broad appeal, across all age groups and knows no geographic boundaries. Just look at the at-track attendance figures and television ratings for Nascar and all motorsports.
What’s the fastest and cheapest way for a capital-starved private company like Lionel to reach a large target audience? Buy a list and use the internet e-mail approach. Bottom up approach. They probably thought of that, it’s too obvious.
Or a top down partership where a deep pockets company or two sees a way to adverise like never before?
Someone refresh my memory about the Lionel freight cars and alcohol…was it Budweiser?
The Christmastime Budweiser commercials are all about feel good, times gone buy, tradition, family togetherness, with the snow, sleigh, clydesdales, country town theme, and memories.
Pull out the clydesdales and plug in a Lionel freight train slowly circling a Christmas tree, fireplace crackling in the background, Bud music theme playing softly, with a wide eyed child or two laying on the floor watching the slowly moving train (smoking steam), with the parents and/or grandparents sitting in the background, basquing in the glow of the fireplace and the peacefulness of the moment.
Add in the Budweiser and Nascar freight cars, and there you have it. Nascar and Budweiser bailing out Lionel. What could be more American than that?
Now how do we get the FTC to agree that this is not pushing alcohol on minors? All of this brainstorming has given me a powerful thirst for a beer.
Jack
Jack:
You are a natural marketer. That is good stuff.
Regards,
John
It is pretty common to see marketing ideas turn out to failures while others succeed. It’s a matter of winning and loosing some. Experimenting so to speak. The Lady Lionel Girls set of the late 50’s was a classic failure. When Lionel started doing Disney stuff in the late 70’s, many of us thought, like the 50’s girls train, the stuff would fail miserableably. But much to our suprise, The Disney stuff took off and Lionel did very well with it. Who knows where the MTH Coors train will go?..Many of us think it’s the ugliest train in History and represents tasteless watered down beer. Others like it.
Uhhh…The train or watered down beer? [:D]
Regards,
John
I got to agree with johnandjulie13, Lionel should have done some market research first. I Lionel sponsored car could be an idea if only for one or two races, maybe Michigan since the company had ties there. I think this would have helped. And the Budweiser/Lionel comercial idea is priceless…It would sell beer, trains and the family attitude!
I was going to buy one of the sets till read the review in last March CTT where it said the set was junk. I am sure that was most of the problem $300 for junk.
[quote user=“RockIsland52”]
I forgot about the private company thing, so raising capital is a tough sell.
I still think the product idea was sound. Nascar has such a broad appeal, across all age groups and knows no geographic boundaries. Just look at the at-track attendance figures and television ratings for Nascar and all motorsports.
What’s the fastest and cheapest way for a capital-starved private company like Lionel to reach a large target audience? Buy a list and use the internet e-mail approach. Bottom up approach. They probably thought of that, it’s too obvious.
Or a top down partership where a deep pockets company or two sees a way to adverise like never before?
Someone refresh my memory about the Lionel freight cars and alcohol…was it Budweiser?
The Christmastime Budweiser commercials are all about feel good, times gone buy, tradition, family togetherness, with the snow, sleigh, clydesdales, country town theme, and memories.
Pull out the clydesdales and plug in a Lionel freight train slowly circling a Christmas tree, fireplace crackling in the background, Bud music theme playing softly, with a wide eyed child or two laying on the floor watching the slowly moving train (smoking steam), with the parents and/or grandparents sitting in the background, basquing in the glow of the fireplace and the peacefulness of the moment.
Add in the Budweiser and Nascar freight cars, and there you have it. Nascar and Budweiser bailing out Lionel. What could be more American than that?
Now how do we get the FTC agree that this is not pushing alcohol on minors? All of this brainstorming has given me a powerful thirst for a beer.
I am surprised they apparently didn’t sell well. NASCAR fans will seemingly buy anything with their hero’s logo/number on it. There is all sorts of goofy stuff out there that are logo-ized. When you go to a race, you have to walk the gamut of huge trailers full of stuff with each driver’s brand. Maybe the original price point was a tad high or it was a tough sell to lug around at the track or to ship. I was impressed with CTT’s review - they seemed really cheaply made.