A Call to Action for TVC Fans

For years, 3.75" collectors have been asking "What's wrong with the Star Wars line?" The reasons are many. We believe that there are three main issues that cover most of the problems we've seen over the past 10 years:

1. Hasbro Mistakes
2. Poor Distribution and Anemic Product Buys by Retail Partners
3. Corporate Decisions by Hasbro / Lucasfilm / Disney Detrimental to 3.75" Star Wars Figures and Toys

Recently, there has been a noticeable crescendo in the outcry of disappointment from 3.75" collectors over the direction of the line, the lack of available TVC products, and the dismally small quantity of reveals of upcoming TVC figures. All of this, which has been building, particularly since the abysmal 2018 launch wave (but given a brief reprieve with the joyous HasLab Sail Barge), seemed to reach a tipping point over the past week and a half, starting with yet another weak showing for TVC during the 5/1 Fan First Friday Livestream.

Banthaskull has worked to be a part of that crescendo, and it's time we all take that energy and focus it on helping to correct what we believe are the major issues outlined above. To be absolutely clear, while Bantha Skull is a strictly 3.75" site, and while we tease our Sixer friends when we can, we are not looking to disparage other collectors, what they are interested in, or urge Hasbro to dump other lines in favor of 3.75". There are plenty of collectors and fans of the 6" line, and we say, "More power to you. Enjoy." But we as a 3.75" fan community cannot sit back and merely complain while the subject of our own passion slowly dies out.

How do YOU #FightForTVC? Let's look briefly at each of 3 issues outlined above, and then what YOU can do about each one.



During the fan site Q&A session last week attended by Bantha Skull, it was mentioned that Hasbro is only reacting to "the market" with regard to the recent low volume of TVC product offerings. As a counterpoint, Banthaskull penned an impassioned rebuke of that notion outlining Hasbro's mistakes over the last 10 years of mistakes that have hurt the 3.75" line, despite our strongly held belief that there is a viable consumer market of collectors, fans, and casual buyers that should easily support a robust line at retail. We must acknowledge that mistakes for which we directly blame the Star Wars Brand Team are nevertheless made in good faith. In no way, shape, or form, do we believe the Team is purposely trying to sabotage the line. We unequivocally believe that the Team's efforts are genuine, as is their enthusiasm for the line. But those errors appear to have been avoidable, and we will continue to call them out when appropriate.

How do YOU #FightForTVC?

CLEAR communication is key. The Team should be commended for their unprecedented fan outreach. They make themselves available and are constantly seeking fan input. In an effort to help TVC succeed, Bantha Skull does everything within its power to communicate the desires of the 3.75" community with the Team. We attend conventions, participate in Q&A's, and take advantage of every opportunity to speak with Team members and build relationships. We work hard to ensure that we streamline the fan input we receive on our site and our social media channels. The success of this community effort is apparent (if underwhelming to some collectors) because we can tell you with confidence that it has worked with regard to understanding the reasons behind the 2018 launch wave failure, clarity about the balance of repacks versus new figures, and the near unanimous desire for more product sourced from The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars.

We must continue to communicate our wants via collector site comments and social media posts. Always convey what YOU want, and do not speak for others (i.e. "everybody wants a Sim Aloo" or "Nobody wants Sequel Trilogy figures"). This communication is working. Hasbro is listening, and the Team is doing what they can, within the limitations of the current product scope.



Recognizing that Hasbro is ultimately a wholesaler, there is a middle man at play. As Hasbro's main operating model is not direct-to-consumer, they must sell their product to their retail partners before we can by them. We have to consider forces at work that are largely out of Habro's control. While it is their business to make great product that consumers will buy, retailers like Walmart and Target must actually purchase that product in bulk, and then distribute it properly (at the right price) throughout their brick and mortar locations so that consumers will make that final purchase. Hasbro has ZERO control over how Walmart or Target distribute product within their retail systems. Hasbro can only sell their product to their partners, and then perhaps advise them of how best to serve their customers, but there is no obligation to take that advice. Distribution is a retail issue, not a Hasbro issue.

In our "market" post linked earlier, we declared that collectors comprise the market, and we say we need more product. That's true to an extent. Hasbo's market, however, more directly corresponds with the retailers themselves. If Walmart and Target aren't convinced that TVC would sell, bring in foot traffic, and help generate add-on sales in stores, then the desires of the collecting community are almost rendered moot. We can only speak with our wallets if there's something to buy. And there's only going to be something to buy if we can find it in stores.

How do YOU #FightForTVC?

If the community puts forth a vigorous effort to communicate our desires to see The Vintage Collection in stores, then we need to tell those stores. To this end, we posted simple instructions of how to tell Walmart's customer service that it would benefit their overall traffic and store sales if they actively stocked TVC in their stores. We even provided a an example letter for "cut and paste" purposes. That same effort should be made with Target, as well as any other major retailer that would carry TVC. Walmart and Target, are by far, the biggest of the big box retailers in the United States. If Walmart and Target are actively buying and stocking TVC figures and toys from Hasbro, that would be a huge boon to the line, and provide the exposure necessary for TVC growth. Tell Walmart and Target you want TVC. If enough feedback is generated, they might take notice.



We know that Hasbro is a very successful multi-billion dollar international company. We know that like any other company, they are driven by profitability. We know that as a public company, they are also driven to please their shareholders. Many intelligent and talented people work for Hasbro, and they are professionals who get paid to drive the company's bottom line. Hasbro spends millions on market research, and they have tons of financial and consumer data at their disposal. We can safely say the same for Disney and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm.

Why is it so hard to get a new TVC figure? It seems that Hasbro, likely with guidance/pressure from Disney, has decided that the 3.75" scale isn't what is most profitable. While some of these decisions were in the works before the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm, Hasbro often seems "all in" on converting the collector-focused line to the 6" scale. Simultaneously, for years Hasbro had been reducing articulation, detail, and accessories for 3.75" figures with the goal of lowering the prices of figures and connecting more with kids. This was happening as early as the 2012 TPM / Walmart debacle, when TVC 1.0 was not only dealt its death blow, but under-articulated and cheaper figures crept into the 3.75" market. When the 6" scale was launched in 2013, it wasn't the first time it was offered to Star Wars consumers, and most long-time collectors dismissed it as another short-lived fad. But this time was different, as the 3.75" line was suffering from a mortal wound and in its weakened state was unable to snuff out the "competition" as it had so easily done repeatedly in the past. All of this was compounded by reducing 3.75" collector-focused figure output, and then offering it up in the depressing packaging of the Black Series. The fun was gone. The One True Scale was given another gut punch when the "5POA" figures made their big move by over-saturating the market with unwanted TFA product.

All of this, without any doubt, was done with an eye on profitability. In the end, that's the most important measure of a company's success, and the decision makers were doing what they were paid to do. It wasn't personal, it wasn't malicious, and it wasn't self-defeating. It was about money.

How do YOU #FightForTVC?

This one is the hardest to address. It can be aided in part, by the efforts made in the first two points above. Ultimately, the 3.75" community needs to make it clear that we have lots of money waiting to be spent on TVC product. Point 1 is already well underway, and it lays the groundwork. Point 2 is our current effort. We all need to reach out to retailers and let them know they can be more profitable by stocking Star Wars in their stores. Point 3 will follow, once the executives up the chain realize that 3.75" is far from dead, and that with the support of old-time collectors, the line can grow and be visible at retail to the point where it will grab new and casual customers, and grow it indefinitely. To further this end and hopefully speed up that realization, we can also pen similar letters to the corporate offices of Disney (and Lucasfilm).



By no means is Bantha Skull the only site/community that is part of this effort. We are certainly one of the very few solely TVC/3.75"-focused collecting sites out there. But among all the collecting sites, there are also Facebook Groups, Instagrammers, and other social media clusters of hardcore fans that are passionate about injecting life back into TVC. There is already a growing campaign of hashtags, such as #BackTVC (popularized by Bossk’s Bounty), along with #save375, which can be found in various social media circles. These are great, and we support them. But we offer another option: #FightForTVC. We feel that "fight" conveys the requirement that the collector switch from passive to active engagement in order to affect positive change upon the 3.75" line.

We ask that anyone with a social media account use the hashtag #FightForTVC (and also #BackTVC and #save375) in every social media post they make, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or wherever. Be sure to tag Disney, Lucasfilm, and Hasbro when doing so on whichever platform you are using, which will also make them aware. Do this every time you post. It doesn't work if you just do it once and then walk away. If the community truly has the passion for TVC that we know it does, the only way to help is to be active, and stay active.

We are choosing the hash tag #FightForTVC because we want the messaging to be clear.  This is a call to action for YOU, and no one else.  We are asking for activism.  What’s in this for you?  What’s at stake? The very health, and possibly even long term exsistence of TVC. At the very least, we hope that a concerted effort will help get product in front of mass consumers, and allow the line to expand from its current anemic state. More figures and more toys.  Know that any collector who does no join us in this battle will curse themselves and hold their collections cheap upon St. Crispin’s Day!

We are asking you to get the hash tags trending.  Make sure you @Hasbro and @HasbroPulse.  Let your voices be thunderous.  Most importantly, as these battles in the #FightForTVC get more visible, you have to do your part.  Do not think it will not matter because it absolutely does.

We are currently working on a fan petition with other fan outlets.  We are tying to make sure that this isn’t hastily done because we would only get one shot at this.  If we fall short of our goal, it will do more damage than good and prove the naysayers right.  It will be our D-Day moment.  Failure is not an option.  When we call on you, understand this will be the most important aspect in the #FightForTVC.

The Barge did not get made because of someone else.  It didn’t get made because corporate behemoths took all the risk.  It didn’t get made because of all the evangelism of the fans sites.  It got made because of YOU, and YOU can do this too.

#FightForTVC!



Disclaimers

Now, again, as is usual, we must pause to make these disclaimers. Both Chris and Bret, current proprietors of Banthaskull.com, are fortunate to have been able to interact fairly closely with the Hasbro Star Wars brand team for several years, particularly since the re-launch of TVC. The Team has evolved, but without exception, those Team members have, in our opinion, been nothing but genuine with us during our interactions. We all understand that there is a certain level of "corporate speak" that is a part of any of these conversations. We are also not employees of Hasbro, and as such, we certainly aren't privy to the mountains of marketing and financial data that Hasbro collects and uses to help make their decisions. We also must acknowledge that the Brand Team members are not the ultimate decision-makers on all things Star Wars. Senior executives at Hasbro, Lucasfilm, and Disney dictate the direction of product lines as well as the budgetary constraints under which the Team must operate. We all have bosses, and none of us have a blank check to do whatever we want. We can wholeheartedly say that every member of the team with which we have interacted over the years is knowledgable about Star Wars products, while genuinely caring about Star Wars, its history, and the fans that make everything possible. While the team is absolutely fair game to be taken to task for how we perceive they perform their jobs, we in no way will ever condone any personal attacks, name calling, or trolling of the Hasbro team.

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