The Allure of Being Limited Part 2
THE ALLURE OF BEING LIMITED: continued
Quick Read: Value as a concept to a consumer has 2 key dimensions: perceived benefit and perceived cost of a product. But the moment a third dimension called ‘availability’ is introduced, the equation becomes intriguing and interesting, especially when the former is limited – in reach or time.
Imagine someone unboxing a case of 20 blind boxes – each box contains a sealed wrapper that holds a mystery toy within.
For each foil he unwraps and realises the actual toy within – a miniature character – he lets out an exclamatory ‘aah’. The look and feel of this miniature character makes him marvel at the detail and the exquisite craftsmanship that must have gone into its make, while he also makes a mental note to himself regarding its probable name and where it fits in the larger family of its ‘toy clan’.
And this goes on for each of the 20 blind boxes containing a mystery miniature character within.
Box after box.
And did I tell you that he is an adult in his 30s?
Difficult to imagine, right?
No worries. For there are thousands of videos here showing this very story unfold. Box after box.
This video here is a good representative version. (strongly recommended dose of some infotainment before you read further)
What did we just see?
Adults – acting like kids on a christmas morning, unable to contain their excitement as they hold their breath while they unwrap a foil to discover a pretty little toy character within.
Welcome to the world of Urban Vinyl and Designer Toys – a world where toys become prized possessions and collectibles because of two reasons:
They are works of art designed by prominent international pop culture and graffiti artists.
They are produced in limited quantities – some as few as 10 to a maximum of 2000 – thereby becoming some of the rarest toys of that kind to be ever made.
Qee series produced in Hong Kong by Toy2R, Be@rbrick from Japan and the Dunny series produced by Kidrobot are some of the most prominent examples of Designer Toys and Urban Vinyl.
Let’s take Kidrobot – known to be the Mecca of Designer Toys enthusiasts – founded in the US in 2002 by Paul Budnitz. It calls its limited edition Designer Toys as an innovative cross between sculpture and conceptual art, offering not only a powerful medium for today’s international fashion designers, illustrators and graffiti artists, but also the creative canvas for emerging street trends and pop art.
And due to these toys being ‘limited edition’ in design and make they retail anywhere from $5 to $25,000, and many appreciate in value over time. (source)
(At the intersection of Art and Cult – The Kidrobot Dunny, Source)
A few more fascinating details regarding Kidrobot and its Dunny Series Designer Toys:
Packaging: Each Dunny Designer Toy comes in a foil wrapped inside ablind box. These blind boxes are identical in every way to any other box in a given set so nobody knows which toy is inside. A foil is used to wrap the toy so nobody can open the box and peek inside. (also shown in the unboxing video above)
Product Assortment: While the outer case would have some indication of what characters to expect inside, not all of them can be expected to be contained within. Each toy character would have an odds ratio indicating its probability of occurrence within a set. Interestingly there are some characters called ‘chases’ with unknown odds called out as ‘?/??’, while a few are shown mysteriously only in silhouettes. Occasionally, they also include ‘super mystery figures’ that aren’t even indicated on the box, which tend to be some of the rarest ever made of the kind!
(The odds ratios as printed on the cases of Dunny Series 2012, Source)
Kidrobot’s approach to marketing is anything but ordinary: Read here a short interview with Paul Budnitz where he reveals how he has taken a marketing approach opposite to that of most companies.
How Kidrobot manages its creative capital: Kidrobot’s approach to distribution of decision making power within the company, its open source design strategy, and how it regularly commissions rock star designers rather than in house artists in order to let a sort of ‘fluidity’ permeate the entire company makes for a fascinating read.
Tie ups and Partnerships: Given the cult level popularity and the artistic appeal of Kidrobot’s limited edition toys, it naturally makes for a very coveted partner. For e.g., in Jan 2014 CES, Samsung Galaxypartnered with Kidrobot to land the message about the brand being a new touch point in artistic expression.
(Samsung partners with Kidrobot in CES 2014, Pic source: Slash Gear)
And so it goes on – a fascinating story of how a bunch of unassuming tiny vinyl toys have grown to become icons of pop culture that regularly pull in rabid fans and ardent collectors, who neither mind queuing up for hours outside its stores nor forking out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to buy these designer toys while making its company a multi million dollar brand that it is today.
And when one reads this, sometimes all one can manage to say could be …
Value can indeed become an intriguing concept – especially when it receives this steroid shot in the arm called limited edition.
…while perhaps even wondering on a wishful note to oneself “Where can I get one myself!!”
(Featured Image: Set of Huck Gee’s Night & Day Raku 8” Dunny released in 2011.These were a limited edition of just 500 sets.source)
