Lionel in the news

The article cost about ten dollars.

SHIFT Communications Named Lionel Trains Agency of Record

Lionel Trains Turns to SHIFT Communications for Public Relations and Social Media Activation

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jul 11, 2013) - SHIFT Communications (www.shiftcomm.com), a 2013 Agency of the Year has been named the public relations and social media agency of record for Lionel Trains. SHIFT's consumer team in New York will lead the account and has been tasked with broadening Lionel Train's visibility in the media and aiding the Company in reaching a new generation of lifetime fans.

"We wanted to partner with an agency that could propel our brand into the digital age," said Peter Burgess, Senior Vice President Marketing, Lionel Trains. "SHIFT has the experience and the smarts to steer Lionel's iconic brand, while leveraging our rich history and heritage. We want Lionel to reach new audiences and be top of mind all year round -- and SHIFT is just the agency to help us do this."

The team will spearhead the launch of Battle Train, Lionel's first digital iPad gaming app, execute consumer and trade campaigns, and manage the Company's social media program, aligning overall brand messaging.

"The opportunity to work with such an iconic American brand is exciting for SHIFT," shared Todd Defren, CEO of SHIFT. "Lionel fans are passionate about the Company and its products. We want to tap into this emotional connection to shape experiences around Lionel Trains, especially as the Company forays into the digital frontier."

About SHIFT Communications

With a dedication to innovation in communications and social media, SHIFT Communications is an award-winning, privately held national public relations firm that represents some of the best-known enterprise and consumer technology brands, including McDonald's, AOL, H&R Block, and Salesforce.com, as well as numerous groundbreaking startups such as Appirio and Topo Athletic. SHIFT Communications' 100+ employees are located in the Boston, San Francisco and New York metros. For more information on SHIFT's high-tech public relations, consumer public relations and content marketing programs, visit http://www.shiftcomm.com. You can also follow SHIFT on Twitter, Instagram, or like us on Facebook.

About Lionel Trains

Lionel Trains is a model train company that's captured the hearts and stirred the imaginations of both young and old since 1900. The Company offers a wide product range of interactive train sets, accessories and memorabilia. For more information on the company's 113 year-old heritage, please visit http://www.lionel.com/. For more information on Lionel Trains' products, please visit the Lionel Store at http://www.lionelstore.com/. You can also follow Lionel on Twitter, Instagram, or like us on Facebook.

Thanks much, Gerry!

Well I'm happy to read that Lionel is connecting with a group who as their eye on the future.

I know Lionel has us and always will. But, as for me and many of us the cell phone is still a new toy. 

Not sure of the benefits....but it sure can't hurt.....hope it works on some level.

I still don't understand how this "Battle Train" thing is going to help sales of real product.

Personally I don't get "Battle Train". But then again I failed to get such concepts as TMCC, DCS, high end scale product, not to mention scale Polar Express.

So my perception of what's going to work in the market place has proven to be highly questionable.

IMHO, most of the folks who try "Battle Train" won't care that was "made by Lionel", and may not even know what Lionel is. But it could be a money maker for the company.

If they make a version for Android or Windows 8, I might even try Battle Train.

Poor Thomas will never be the same.... Run Forest Run!

I guess I'm too old and set in my ways to appreciate this kind of stuff.  I just don't see a connection that can be reasonably made between this game and Lionel trains (the real deal).  Nevertheless, I wish Lionel well with this venture.

I don't see a physical Battle Train set being made. The train set could only pale in comparison to what the virtual train set has and does.

I generally don't play electronic games. Do purchased games generally come with advertising? I would think that would be a turn-off, and hurt sales. Maybe some product placement?

It appears Jerry C. is looking for other avenues to make money for Lionel. Most likely because in general it's a dying hobby. (you know deep down it is) How many hobby shops have closed their doors in your area? Here in N. Ohio many have, and few are just barely making it, even in "wealthy" cities.

Battle Train is about as far removed from what us older guys grew up on as you can get. Another "shoot'em up, aggressive action" video game. Whereas when we were young, we learned the skills of carpentry in building a train table, then skills of electricity wiring it for the track and accessories, then skills of making scenery to be somewhat realistic, and last building our own little world to look as realistic as our imaginations could go. All in good clean fun that made us better persons.

Does anyone see these skills in todays youth? Heck, when I'm in restaurant check out line, if the digital cash register is broken, the teenagers can't even add or subtract!

What practical values do any of these video games instill in our young ones?

IMHO the best thing Lionel could do is bring production back out of China and put some value into "Made in USA" in their trains. North Carolina would be ideal for a place to do that (I live in Ohio) and then they could saves tons of overhead by getting out of New York City, which seems to have done no good being there to date.

Really this hobby is dying? I would like to look at as its taking an age shift.

Shoot em up is not new. How many here grew up with a BB gun or GI joe, or some sort of WW2 models?

I believe Lionel is trying to attract the younger kids to their product. ( sort of like getting people into the car show room).

How to do that is a struggle. Kids are definitely drawn to the new Apps, phone games, and tablets. The next step though from a phone game to actually layout building is a big one... and that is going to take some help from guys like us....

I have seen the game. On it's own merits, it looks like a fun game that kids (and many adults) will enjoy.  IMHO, the WHOLE point of this exercise is to get the Lionel Brand name in front of a new generation of people. Trains aren't in the public eye anymore. Kids aren't exposed to them in mass these days. I'm sure there will at the very least be links to the Lionel website, if not products directly. I applaud Lionel for trying something new. This is advertising 3.0 pure and simple.

No offense to anyone here, but the fact that nobody seems to "get it" tells me that they are on the right track. Kids will get it, play it, and be introduced to the Brand in a way that is current with the time that they understand. Bravo Lionel.

Amen, Jonnyspeed.

That is exactly what the new game and SHIFT representation of the Lionel brand is all about.

Gerry C. made that clear in the interview he did with us on the Forum recently. Really cool Lionel Christmas ornaments anyone?

Ed Boyle

No offense to anyone here, but the fact that nobody seems to "get it" tells me that they are on the right track. Kids will get it, play it, and be introduced to the Brand in a way that is current with the time that they understand. Bravo Lionel.

BINGO!

"Does anyone see these skills in todays youth? Heck, when I'm in restaurant check out line, if the digital cash register is broken, the teenagers can't even add or subtract!"

Seriously? And we older people wonder why younger people don't always respect us?  Clueless prejudice, unsupported generalizations like this are a disgrace to our supposedly older, presumably wiser generation. Maybe if we try giving some respect, it may help. 

Younger people have grown up in a different culture (better in many ways: for example, examine the dictionary under sexism, racism, tribalism).  Do you realize how

appallingly damaging this sort of glib condescension and intolerance is?  The world will change and it won't be the world of our youth or middle age.  You don't have to like rap music (I don't) to realize our parents felt the same way about rock and roll .  You can go back to ancient Greece and even Mesopotamia to find the older generation whining about the dissolute nature of the younger generation.  When will we ever learn to grow old without curmudgeonly ignorance and lack of nuance?

I have dealt with generations of younger adults in my job, and they are just as idealistic, well mannered and sincere as we were as twenty year olds.  They just have a different set of expectations and experiences that reflect the world in which they came to maturity.  They will inherit the earth so treat them with the tolerance, kindness and generosity you would expect for your children and grandchildren.

Whatever our feelings, eventually the young people will take over. I think they will do just fine.

Jonnyspeed and Landsteiner, you are both right on the money!

Landsteiner

Unfortunately, that stereotype is all to often correct.

I am forced to admit, I have a young relative who graduated High School this year.

Can't Tell Time or give you change for a dollar !!!

Her parents had to take legal action to take permanent control of her life.

She is never going to pass the nieve (sp) schoolgirl phase of her life.

BUT THEY GAVE HER A DIPLOMA !!!!!!

I Love her and she is a sweet young lady, but she cannot cope with numbers at all.

how is she going to function in society?

In my eyes this degrades all diplomas to a useless piece of paper.

Now how do you eval a job applicant without giving them a test?

Battletrain will rise or fall on its own merits.  But it will be going up against game franchises like Halo and Call of Duty, which as I understand, have some measure of popularity.

Rusty

I have a four soon to be five year old, and a two year old.  They cannot get enough of electric trains.  Other kids that come over the house have to be pried out of our playroom / trainroom.  The issue is getting exposure.

As far as Battletrain goes, I haven't tried it but if the name is indicative of the game, I don't like the idea of making trains into some sort of war game.  There is enough violence around us, on TV and in society generally.  I want "Lionelville" to be a war and violence free zone.  The kids will have plenty of time to learn the harsher aspects of life.  Right now, I want their imaginations to grow, and I want them to learn in an environment not polluted by violence, to the extent that is possible.  That's why I was never a fan of the late 50s and 1960s war-themed sets either.  Not a version of Lionelville that I want my kids around.  They grow up fast enough as is.

That issue aside I am totally in favor of Lionel developing new product lines, whether it be die-cast, other games, or other toys generally. 

I do agree that the use of electronic calculators and computers in schools has left the current generation of "kids" with less of the ability to calculate numbers in their heads or even on paper.

On the other hand, I find it ironic to be criticizing the "kids" for their math skills when you see some of the grammar and spelling on this forum by their "elders."  

So Lionel is dying eh!! When I got into trains back in the 70's all the old guys told me to find another hobby because Lionel is at the end. I was told the exact thing in the 80's, 90's and now today. 

Boy I am glad I never listen to those guys and now that I am one of the old guys I see nothing but more great things to come from Lionel. 

So you see with every generation there are groups of people looking for the end of Lionel,the hobby,  the world and God only knows what else. So enjoy the hobby for today is the greatest time to be into O gauge trains. 

And the youth of today will complain about the young as they get older. 

It's the circle of strife.

Rusty

The "good old days" are only relevant to those who are "old." Everyone else lives in the present, thankfully with antibiotics, vaccines, statins, diuretics, cell phones, Netflix,

and gelato which weren't available in the good old days .  The one thing that consistently turns off everyone except the speaker is a statement to the effect that the current generation is going to heck in a handbasket.  It's like mentioning Nazis on the internet: automatic disqualification  .

By the way, by most definitions, I am among the old.  Just not yet among the dead.  The future is the only future we have. No use complaining. Get on with the business of making the part of the world around you a better place!

I am not all that thankful for cellphones...I was rearended by a turkey, not youthful, either,  in a junk pickup on his cellphone!

Hi Robert E, I have undeniable proof that your wrong and that is my eighteen year old son. He is one smart kid! I know this because of all the times he corrects me in just abouit everything. Yea, everything from diction to math.

In fact, after he took his college entrance exame and was told that he did so well in his essay that he could skip English in his frist year, it really got rough dealing with him.

I think the subject of his essay was "Being a A Smart-***".

Yea, these kids are plenty smart today. Not like we where, humble, attentive listeners, but dumb as a rock.

Or is that just distorted hindsight on my part talking?

Come to think of it the only bigger eighteen year old pompus *** I ever know was the kid in my mirror.

As for the future of the hobby, it will be just fine. There will always be those folks who wont to create their own little worlds. So what if the table they build on is totaly out of square. They will learn to fix that quick enough the first time they lay track.

Bravo!!!

I love this forum but the thing that bothers me the most are the folks with the "Those **** young'uns!" attitude.  There's a reason the US leads the world in research and innovation.  Our kids are well educated and darn smart.  Maybe some folks on this forum don't see that but I know my kids are and I'm proud of them.

"IMHO, the WHOLE point of this exercise is to get the Lionel Brand name in front of a new generation of people."

I'm thrilled that Lionel realizes they need someone who understand the New Media paradigm in order for them to expand their reach.  This quote from the press release is very telling to me. "The Company offers a wide product range of interactive train sets,"  Interactive?  Never heard trains referred to like that before but it's spot on.

ANYTHING that expands Lionel's market (and therefore revenue and profits) is a winner in my book.

Lionel hires a publicity company that will put the Lionel name out to the public, yet they still do not have a handle on the shipping of items that will keep them in business. 

the shipping schedule had a date change today 7-12 yet the 100 items to ship in June 2013 have still not shipped and no new date.

seems to me Lionels priority is in a different place.

The new Ornaments look great and well made but I have doubts as to that product line suceeding.  People look to Hallmark for ornaments...or Danbury Mint.  Lionel is better off licensing the rights to those companies.  I mention Danbury Mint because they have a huge following for their Made in USA gold plated brass ornaments.  Since the mid 70's.  No doubt the Made in USA brass Lionel ornament is made by the same vendor.

I am a long time PC Gamer and Model Railroader, and despite that I agree with Allan.

If there is a connection between trains and games I don't see it nor do I like it.

Lionel should spend their money more wisely.