GR604 Student Project Milton Bradley Rebranding Book 1

Visual Strategy Guide

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

Contents

05

Initial Brand Narrative

15

Audience Profiles

25

Brand Grids

29

Competitors

37

Brand Attributes

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Chapter 01 Initial Brand Narrative

This part will including brand goal, description, history, soul, new mission statement, rebranding objective, and keywords.

Brand Soul To enhance learning, inspire imagination, and strengthen relationships.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Brand Introduction Key Phrase 1: Collaboration

Description Milton Bradley Company is an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley in 1860, developed and sold over 200 games and puzzles for both children and adults.

The founder Milton Bradley trained in drafting and secured a job during product plans, this sparked his interest in the lithograph business. And then, he launched the Milton Bradley Co. in 1860 to produce custom lithographs. However, the lithograph business wasn’t proving to be particularly successful, and Bradley sought other uses for his specialized equipment. This led him to invent The Checkered Game of Life and transition into the board game manufacturer that you know and love today.

Still attached to the Hasbro Inc. roster, Milton Bradley continues to manufacture board games in the 21st century. However, they mostly switched to manufacturing their old favorites rather than churning out new products every few months.

Nobody can beat the classics. The vast number of Milton Bradley board games still available proves the timeless quality of the company’s creative vision. Over 150 years of manufacturing board games have solidified Milton Bradley as a titan of the board gaming world, and you can pay homage to its stalwart perseverance by playing one of its many classic games with your friends and family.

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Brand History Key Phrase 1: Collaboration

1860

1861

1870

1880

1920

1860

The Checkered Game of Life was created in 1860.

1861

When the American Civil War broke out in early 1861, small game were sold for one dollar a piece to soldiers and charitable organizations, such as chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, and “The Checkered Game of Life.”

1870

In the late 1860s, Bradley became involved in the Kindergarten movement. Deeply invested in the cause, Milton Bradley began manufacturing educational items such as colored papers and paints.

1880

By the 1870s, Milton Bradley was producing dozens of games and capitalizing on fads and became the first manufacturer in America to make croquet sets. The sets included wickets, mallets, balls, stakes, and an authoritative set of rules to play by that Bradley himself had created. In 1880, the company began making jigsaw puzzles.

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Milton Bradley found success making board games. As he reached adulthood, he trained in drafting and sparked an interest in the lithograph business. He launched the Milton Bradley Company in 1860 with the intention of producing custom lithographs. However, the lithograph business wasn’t proving to be particularly successful, and Bradley sought other uses for his specialized equipment. This led him to invent The Checkered Game of Life and transition into the board game manufacturer that you know and love today.

1939

1920

1959

1960

1979

2022

Milton Bradley died in 1911, and in 1920, Milton Bradley bought out McLoughlin Brothers, which went out of business after John McLoughlin’s death.

1939

With the outbreak of World War II, Milton Bradley did not stop creating board games such as the patriotic Game of the States, Chutes & Ladders and Candyland.

1959

In 1959, Milton Bradley released Concentration, a successful memory game based on

1960

Milton Bradley celebrated their centennial in 1960 with the re-release of The Checkered

1979

Milton Bradley developed the first hand-held cartridge-based console, the Microvision.

2022

Milton Bradley is rebranding initiative and shifts its focus to a wider range of market,

an NBC television show of the same name.

Game of Life, which was modernized. Twister made its debut as well.

extends its brand to include new products and playing methods.

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

New Milton Bradley Key Phrase 1: Collaboration

New Mission Statement We provide opportunities to families and communities to energize creativity, cultivate learning, and improve communication.

Rebranding Objective Milton Bradley will continue to keep values of empowerment, self-acceptance, and creative self-expression, make board games for children, teenagers, young people, and adults. In line with the development of technology, they will transform their concepts to make a virtual version by technology, to evolve their line to games in mobile and virtual reality devices. Also, Bradley go back to old business—print, models, toys, and even souvenirs for collection. These by-products sell the sentiment to the original grown-up audiences, and also through the distinctive appearance of the products attract young audiences.

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Keywords Creativity Not only to train and improve creativity, but also can be ready to capitalize on current fads.

Growth To accompany people all their lives, whatever their ages.

Community To interact people and improve relationships.

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Chapter 02 Audience Profiles

In this chapter, I will explore the range of my audience and create eight personas—six who identify with Milton Bradley and two who do not. Name, age, and income (demographic traits) will be far less important than defining “life stages” and personified traits (ethnographic traits).

A. Learning from games.

B. Improving relationship.

C. Training thinking skills.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Gamer Key Alex PhraseMartinez 1: Collaboration

A. He enjoy to learn in life since there are many interesting concepts that will not learn in books.

A. He likes to learn culture out of textbook because it will be fun to understand.

B. He is active and likes to interact with others so he never minds teaching new players.

B. He wants to play with his family because they always play together at weekends before he goes to the university.

B. He likes the feeling that know other people naturally.

C. He can practice all his creative thoughts and never be worried about failure.

Age: 21 Occupation: Student Location: Atlanta, GE Live with children: No

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C. He feels a sense of accomplishment and more confidence because of his creative ideas that are praised by his friends.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Single Father Min Liu Key Phrase 1: Collaboration

A. He finds some kids’ rules are also clever in his office life though he has grown up .

A. He focuses on children’s growth because his daughter doesn’t have love from her mother.

A. He doesn’t want his daughter use digital device often because it is easy to learn bad habits or make bad friends.

B. He enjoys the time playing with his daughter because he needs to maintain good communication with his daughter.

B. He wants to know more about his colleagues because he is the leader in his project team.

C. He thinks creativity is also significant for adults.

Age: 40

C. He doesn’t want to live a boring and monotonous life like many of his peers, so he wants to find surprising for his life.

Occupation: Worker Location: Shanghai, China Live with children: Yes

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Innovator Pasco Washington Key Phrase 1: Collaboration

A. Because he likes to learn in a relaxing atmosphere, he wants others can learn as well as he did.

A. He believes learning is a pleasant activity so he wants more people to experience learn from happiness.

B. Culture is a bridge and a barrier to communication at the same time, so he wants to promote new culture to more Nigerians.

B. He loves living in a world filled with all kinds of friends therefore he is glad to see people have fun in his Cafe.

B. He easily relates to others’ emotions helping them to establish harmony and good will so he believe his Cafe will be a possible way to improve relationship.

Age: 34 Occupation: Investor Location: Nigeria Live with children: No

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C. The social environment is becoming better thence he hopes people can have more opportunities to improve themselves.

C. He wants to open the eyes of Nigerians as well as enhancing creative thinking.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Teeny-heart Molly Key Phrase 1:Jones Collaboration

A. She likes to see her students grow up out of classes because it makes her feel accomplished.

A. She thinks activities are more effective for children to understand some perception.

B. She likes to play with student because she thinks children will present the real character when they are relaxed.

B. She would like to organize students in an activity because it can improve collaboration capability.

B. She can get along well with her students because of her girl’s heart.

C. Real experience in life is more up-to-date and more likely to stimulate creativity than the knowledge in books.

Age: 32 Occupation: Teacher

C. She finds children always have creative thoughts when they do the things they like.

Location: Sydney, Australia Live with children: Yes

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

New Mother Behre1:Smith Key Phrase Collaboration

A. She is not good at looking after a child but she can learn how to become a good mother from now.

A. She finds her child might not have enough patience so she wanted to train him early.

B. She wants to get along well with her child because she wants to focus on the changing of her child.

B. She thinks communication and interaction are good methods to enhance the parent-child relationship.

B. She realizes one of the topics to talk with other parents is children’s growth.

C. She encourages her child to explore the world and keep curious because she focus on improving children’s creativity.

Age: 28 Occupation: Bank clerk Location: Chicago, II Live with children: Yes

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C. She likes to go a trip with family because improve their ability to get along with others and adapt to their environment.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Collector Leon1:Mayer Key Phrase Collaboration

A. He likes to play with young people because he can learn new knowledge of the modern society from them.

A. He prefer to learn to use digital devices because the text size will be friendly.

B. He is bored at home because he is retired and live with his wife and a dog.

B. He wants to experience memory in childhood by modern playing methods.

B. He is old that it is not convenient enough to go outside so staying at home will be a good choice.

C. He always buys some models for collection at home because of his hobby.

Age: 75 Occupation: Retired

C. He thinks old people also need to keep their creativity and thinking skill so he always exercise himself at home.

Location: Germany Live with children: No

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Game Newbie Kotone Abe

A. She works indoor all day so she prefers to do outdoor activities which are better to her health.

A. She doesn’t like to be taught to do something because of her self-esteem.

B. She thinks life in Tokyo is fast-paced so has fewer interests to improve relationship out of her company.

B. She finds people around her have less time to relax because they have much work pressure.

B. Japan’s arcade game development is also very good, so she thinks other methods games are not necessary.

C. She has other ways to improve her creativity thus she doesn’t have to play games.

Age: 30 Occupation: Designer Location: Tokyo, Japan Live with children: No

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C. She thinks she doesn’t need to do thinking exercise because she is young.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Football Fan Arthur Silva

A. Football is a kind of culture in Brazil so he believe he can learn a lot in football.

A. He plays football very well so he would like to play football in his free time.

B. All of his friends are football fan so he don’t need to take part in other activities to improve relationship.

B. It is not convenient for doctors to play a long time game with unstable rest time.

B. He is always busy so he have less time to communicate with family.

C. He thinks he doesn’t need to inspire his creativity because doctor need calmness rather than creativity.

Age: 37

C. He believes football can teach anything, so he thinks it’s enough for his children to play football.

Occupation: Doctor Location: Paulo, Brazil Live with children: Yes

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Chapter 03 Brand Grids

Like people, brands have personalities. Each brand can be described in a very distinct way.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Present

Milton Bradley

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Future

Milton Bradley

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Chapter 04 Competitors

Including current competitors, the companies competing in the same space with Milton Bradley; adjacent competitors, the companies that audiences will spend more money rather than Milton Bradley; future competitors, Milton Bradley would like to be seen in competition with after a successful rebranding initiative.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Current Competition Parker Brother An American toy and game manufacturer, who believes that games should be played for enjoyment and did not need to emphasize morals and values.

Playskool An American company that produces educational toys and games for children, who believes life begins with play.

Avalon Hill Games Inc. An game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games, introduced many of the concepts of modern recreational wargaming.

Ideal Toy Company An American toy company became the largest doll-making company during the post–World War II in the United States.

Games Workshop Group A British manufacturer of miniature wargames, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process.

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Pressman Toy Corporation A toy manufacturer based in Texas, focuses on family games and licensed products.

Waddingtons An British manufacturer of card and board games that due to a boom in demand for playing cards around World War I. Selchow and Righter A 19th and 20th century game manufacturer which is best known for the games Parcheesi and Scrabble.

Transogram An American producer of toys, games, and other leisure products, which managed a transition from playsets to games.

Cadaco Today Cadoco is a vibrant, innovative leader in the toy and game industry specializing in learning games, family games, and magic sets.

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Adjacent Competition Borders Borders Group, Inc. was an American multinational book and music retailer.

West Chester Public Library West Chester Public Library receives over 110,000 visits annually and circulates over 150,000 items per year from a collection of 50,000 items.

Board Game Arena A platform for playing a selection of board and card games online , directly from your browser, simultaneously or “turn-based”.

Coursera A U.S. based massive open online course provider.

It works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, certifications, and degrees in a variety of subjects.

Great Oaks Charter Schools A joint vocational school district that has operated in parts of southwestern Ohio since 1970.

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Mattel An American operator of for-profit child care and early childhood education facilities founded in 1969.

Atari A charter school operator in New York City. It has 47 schools in the New York area and 17,000 students.

Swing Education A United States-based company connects reliable, high-quality substitute teachers with the schools and students.

Fisher-Price An American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered.

Flatiron School An educational organization based in New York City and teaches software engineering, computer programming, data science, product design, and cybersecurity engineering.

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Future Competition

ArtScience Museum A museum within the integrated resort of Marina Bay Sands in the Downtown Core of the Central Area in Singapore.

Camp Boggy Creek Since 1996, Camp Boggy Creek has made it possible for children with serious illnesses to enjoy a camp experience in a safe, medically- sound environment.

TED Conferences, LLC An American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan “ideas worth spreading” MindWare The award-winning creator, manufacturer, and distributor of Brainy Toys for Kids of All Ages to make the world smarter through playful learning.

SaltCON The largest Board Game Convention in Utah held annually in Layton at the Davis Conference Center with the “aim of bringing people together with games.”

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Yize Zhao

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Art From Ashes Art from Ashes (AfA) is a Colorado nonprofit that encourages creative empowerment through artistic expression for struggling youth age 9 to 24.

GameFly A privately held American online video game rental subscription service that specializes in providing games for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft systems starting from the sixth generation onwards.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America A national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people.

Science Museum of Minnesota An American museum focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science, and mathematics education.

Gamewright A game publisher creates the highest quality family games with outstanding play value, is guided by themes and experiences that transcend age to foster laughter, learning, friendship, and fun.

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Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Chapter 05 Brand Attributes

Identify some words as brand attributes that are common among the current and adjacent competitors.

Yize Zhao

Fall 2022

GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

Brand Attributes

Words hopes to “own” Growth Realistic Profound Classic Fascinating

Relevant/good/positive words Fun Competitive Attractive Historical Imaginative

Bankrupt/stale/negative words Complex Lengthy Incomplete Disappointing Identical

Neutral words Strategic Visual Amazing Random Optional

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GR 604: The nature of identity

Milton Bradley Company

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