Multi-brand assortment
A multi-brand assortment is an assortment of toys typically released in multiple waves, with the individual toys from different waves being branded as part of different toy lines or franchises. In other cases, toys within the same wave are branded as part of different toy lines or franchises.
Typically, whenever Hasbro launches a new toy line, all the various size classes are reset and relaunched with new assortment numbers for the new line, regardless of whether they are sold under the same price point or not. This makes sense from a marketing standpoint, as it signalizes to retailers "Hey, this is new product, completely different from the old product!"
However, in some instances, an assortment is continued under a new line's banner with new product. This mostly applies to store exclusive assortments and side lines that only have one wave per franchise; because the figures in a subsequent wave are sold at the same price point, Hasbro decides to simply continue the assortment rather than reset it.
This is similar, but not identical to rebranding: Instead of rebranding the figures (or rather their packaging) themselves, the assortment is rebranded, but the actual products sold under different brands are not the same. It's also not the same thing as a subline imprint, which is still marketed as part of the same main line or franchise.
Examples
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- The 2000 Beast Machines Deluxe (number 80465) and Ultra (number 80475) assortments mixed Dinobots-branded figures with Beast Machines-branded ones within the same waves. Both shared the same general packaging design template, but the Dinobots figures lacked the Beast Machines branding.
- The Robots in Disguise Tiny Tins releases of the Spychangers were sold under the same same assortment number (47668) as the Tiny Tins versions of the Armada Mini-Cons, at least the Race Mini-Con Team members Mirage, Dirt Boss and Downshift. In the United States, those were sold in Universe packaging, while in Europe, they were instead sold in Armada packaging.
- In a particularly bizarre instance, the 2003 Walmart exclusive Dinobots mini-line shipped as part of the Armada line's general retail "Super-Con" assortment (number 80702).
- The KB Toys exclusive Deluxe assortment that contained Energon-branded redecos of Armada Demolishor and Cyclonus was given a second wave the following year branded as part of the Universe line (though with the packaging sporting various design elements taken from the concurrently released Cybertron line) that contained redecos of Energon Downshift and Snow Cat, sold under the same assortment number (27271).
- The Titanium Series 3" Robot Masters figures arguably count; for the first seven waves, the assortment was released as part of its own line, sporting the Transformers title in the font used by a plethora of lines from 2001 through early 2007; but for the final three waves, it added characters from the live-action film series, with the packaging being accordingly redesigned to match the standardized look of the 2007 Transformers movie toy line (an instance of co-branding), while retaining the same assortment number (33901).
- Arguably, the Transformers: Prime line's Cyberverse Legion Class assortment (number 37980) also counts: The assortment's second wave contained Soundwave, Mirage and Evac, three characters from the live-action film series universe, alongside the Transformers: Prime character Breakdown. In the United States, the three movie-based figures came on blister cards designed in the same style as the other figures in the assortment (including CG renders of the Prime cartoon's main cast), but were simply branded "Transformers", without the "Prime" moniker… hoooowever, their European versions did feature the "Prime" branding on their packaging.
- The 6" PVC Titan Guardians assortment released under the Beast Hunters brand, consisting of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Shockwave, was given a second wave (now named "Titan Warriors") under the 2014 Transformers line, this time with Generation 1 versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave, all of them sporting the same assortment number (A6107).
Not multi-brand assortments
[edit]- The MicroVerse playsets don't qualify… as far as the Transformers portion is concerned: Although the "G.I. Joe Battle Batalion Assortment #1", the "Tonka Tough Trucks Series #1", various Batman figure and vehicle collections, the "Superman Kryptonian Battlesuit vs. Lexoskel-5000" set and various The Lost World: Jurassic Park dinosaur and vehicle collections all shared an assortment (number 55000), as did the the Superman "Metropolis Micro Playset", various Batman & Robin micro playsets, The Lost World: Jurassic Park "T-Rex Trap Micro Playset", the Harley Davidson "Service Center Micro Playset" and the Goosebumps "A Night in Terror Tower Micro Playset" (number 55005)… for some reason, the Beast Wars "Maximal Orcanoch Micro Playset" and the "Predacon Arachnid Micro Playset" were released as their own assortment (number 55025), which they didn't share with any other brand. (For that matter, there was also the Microverse Deluxe Playset assortment, number 55010, which only saw a single release, "The Lost World Lab Micro Playset", while the Goosebumps "Horrorland" playset was never released.)
- In Europe, the Micromaster Sixteams were not sold in Universe packaging like their KB Toys exclusive US market counterparts, but in Energon (Protectobots, Constructicons) and Cybertron (Railbots, Aerialbots) packaging. Although the European packaging featured no assortment numbers, the instructions did feature the same assortment number for the Protectobots and Constructicons as their American counterparts (29460)… but the Railbots and Aerialbots were given a new assortment number (29514).
