Barbie: She’s Everything and so is her Marketing
It was around this time last year in July 2023 when my world turned pink momentarily. This was the summer of Barbie (and the global shortage of pink paint). The film became the highest-grossing movie directed solely by a woman and is currently the 15th biggest global release in history.
Its success is due to no shortage of smart and effective marketing. In this blog post, I’ll be exploring the art of brand storytelling through different channels and how Barbie became a cultural icon and a global phenomenon.
Who is Barbie?
“Barbie is all these women. And all these women are Barbie” — Barbie, 2023
The Barbie brand means so much more than just a doll for children to play with — it’s a symbol of empowerment for young children (in particular young women) to dream big dreams and become anything they want to be. Barbie’s reach spanned generations from more mature viewers who remember Barbie as part of their childhood to younger viewers who are still playing with them.
Even before the movie launched, Barbie’s unique marketing campaign captured the world’s attention, hearts, and wallets (with the film ending up grossing over $1 billion worldwide in revenue). The genius in their marketing campaign really began even before the launch by understanding what the Barbie brand stands for and an understanding of their audience’s sentiment: celebrating individuality and diversity.
From their digital content, merchandise, brand collaborations, to social media activities, all of them align to tell a compelling story about Barbie and the brand as well as encourage the audience to join the movement by expressing their individuality through “Barbie core” outfits and social media posts. Barbie gained 438 million impressions and $750K in earned media through influencer partnerships.
Taking a page out of Barbie’s marketing playbook
We marketers should take a page out of Barbie’s marketing playbook and learn from the campaign’s success. Breaking down the factors:
- Social Media Buzz: the campaign’s success is due to its multi-channel strategy which helped garner anticipation following the release of the trailer and created a wave of excitement for the movie as the audience jumped online to embrace and share their take on the Barbie concept.
- Strategic Brand Partnerships: Barbie partnered with over a 100 brands, across all industries ranging from clothing retailers to hospitality, to homeware, to fast food chains (e.g. Burger King x Barbie), and the list goes on. Barbie successfully got almost every brand to promote their brand!
- Barbie in Real Life: From plastic boxes to real life, Barbie’s success also came from organic user-generated content. The Barbie Selfie Generator was launched in partnership with PhotoRoom, an AI-based photo editing tool. The selfie generator went viral on social media with over 13 million users. The interactive filter allowed users to take selfies and create their own version of ‘Barbie’, further bringing Barbie into real life with even celebrities such as Rihanna and Pedro Pascal using filter.
In conclusion:
The Barbie campaign is a prime example of effective digital storytelling. It engaged me through nostalgic marketing by bringing my childhood memories back into the present, resonating with my sense of individuality which fit seamlessly into the brand’s overall narrative and story. The campaign’s brilliant execution was highly shareable due to user-generated content, ranging from Barbiecore fashion to the selfie generator.
Barbie’s marketing success lies in effectively engaging with the audience’s emotions, promoting a two-way dialogue, and strategic collaborations with brands that resonate with the audience.
With the right approach and deep understanding of your audience, KENything is possible.
