Instead of chasing a new audience, a kids' brand was advised to add features for the parents who are already customers. This "Pixar" model—having content for adults—leverages the existing customer base for word-of-mouth growth into the new segment.

Hasbro uses its "GEM Squared" framework (Gamified, Entertainment driven, Multipurpose, Multipurchase, Multigenerational) to guide all strategic and investment decisions, replacing vague concepts like "kidults" with actionable criteria.

Through ethnographic studies, Lego discovered it competed for a shrinking "20-minute play window." This insight shifted their focus from selling bricks to embedding Lego in stories and characters, effectively expanding their addressable market across a child's entire day.

Hasbro is increasingly targeting adults not just for growth, but as a strategic response to a shrinking children's market caused by lower birthrates and an earlier shift to digital entertainment. Adults offer greater spending power.

Taking a cue from how a fish with a bad name was successfully repositioned, Goldfish created adult-focused packaging calling the crackers "Chilean Sea Bass." This small, clever change in naming and packaging completely reframed the same product for a new audience.

By positioning itself alongside hobbies like "puzzling" and "knitting," LEGO successfully transformed its product from a children's toy into an adult activity, or "LEGO-ing." This "verb'ing" of the brand made it an acceptable midlife hobby, dramatically expanding its customer base beyond the traditional toy market.

The breakout success of Nerds Gummy Clusters came from reimagining the product's form factor. By combining the classic sandy Nerds texture with a gummy center into bite-sized clusters, they solved the messy and awkward user experience of the original, demonstrating how physical product design can drive massive growth.

De Soi's initial abstract product names (e.g., "Champignon Dreams") were polarizing and confusing. Switching to familiar cocktail names like "Mule" and "Margarita" made the products easier for consumers to understand and purchase, leading to a 2x increase in sales for the new line.

Despite its heritage in diapers and wipes, The Honest Company discovered over half its customer base has no children. This surprising data is driving a strategic shift to broaden the brand's identity and product focus, highlighting the need for companies to continuously challenge core assumptions about their target audience.