For each major IP, Hasbro assigns a "Global Play Lead" who sits in the brand's primary business unit (e.g., Toys for Monopoly). This lead then coordinates with other verticals like entertainment and gaming to ensure a unified strategy.

Hasbro uses a three-tier system to allocate resources. "Grow" brands get top priority for capital and talent. "Optimize" brands are steady performers. "Reinvent" brands are in a downcycle and receive mostly conceptual, not go-to-market, support.

Lego maintains relevance by replacing over 400 products each year. Their structured creative process blends internal ideas with external cultural trends, leveraging partnerships with major IPs like Star Wars for early insights. This ensures their product roadmap aligns with what will capture kids' future attention.

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.

Hasbro has trained AI models on its IP to act as character co-designers. These AI personas provide feedback on product concepts, helping human designers ensure that new toys remain authentic to the character's personality and lore.

Hasbro liberally licenses IP in markets like China and treats its partners' work as market research. Successful local innovations, like a $400M My Little Pony trading card business, then inform Hasbro's global product strategy.

Hasbro is driving record profits by updating its 30- and 50-year-old games like Magic: The Gathering. They launch new editions featuring popular, modern IP like Marvel and Final Fantasy, breathing new life and attracting new audiences to established franchises without the risk of creating new blockbusters from scratch.

For character-based toys, the path to scale isn't just selling more dolls; it's creating a universe around them. Following the "Paw Patrol" model, toy brands should prioritize creating animated content (even short, AI-generated clips) that builds emotional connection. The toys then become high-margin merchandise for an engaged audience.