Curious about the entrepreneurial adventure behind inspiring brands, Brand and Strategic Professional Martijn Arets decided to quit his job, hand in his lease car, ignore all uncertainties and follow his dream. For five months, he travelled more than 15,000 kilometres across Europe in a one-of-a-kind 1971 Volkswagen T2 camper van, meeting with the founders, CEOs and brand managers of 20 authentic European brands in what was to prove a unique trip: Brand Expedition. On popular demand, he has bundled the lessons and stories behind 20 appealing European brands such as Lego, Mini, Skype, The Body Shop and Adidas to create Brand Expedition, the book. More information? Check www.brand-expedition.com or send Martijn a Tweet: @martijnarets.

1. READ OUT LOUD
THE STORY BEHIND
- LEGO-
LEGO IS REALLY ENJOYING THE CRISIS

2. BEFORE YOU START….
please look into your camera and tell
us slowly your name, city and
country… Then you can start reading
this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

3. “In 1960, the Lego factory burned to
the ground. As of that moment, Ole
stopped producing wooden toys in
favor of focusing 100% on the
development of the Lego system. This
was an important turning point in the

4. history of our company.” Kjeld Kirk,
Ole Kirk’s grandson, joined Lego in
1979 and used his commercial talents
to expand the company
internationally and make it global. He
was the driving force behind

5. innovative ideas such as Lego play
themes. In this way, each generation
has made its own contribution to the
expansion of the family company.

6. In no time, Lego became an
international. It seemed as if nothing
and no one could stop its growth. Yet,
during the nineties, things started to
go wrong. Per explains: “Thanks to its
years of success, Lego had become

7. lazy and arrogant. They no longer
used child test panels to test new
products and the designers were given
free rein in deciding what Lego would
introduce into the market.

8. - END OF RECORDING-