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Dissecting Barbie: The Ultimate Case Study in Movie Marketing
This Barbie is breaking box office records!
Barbie has been dominating at the box office since its release on July 21st. Within a week, the film has amassed close to half a billion dollars worldwide, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
With predictions that the film will soon join the prestigious billion dollar club, the success of Barbie is now being examined. There are several key factors that can be attributed to Barbie’s outstanding performance.
The enduring strength of the Barbie brand, coupled with the widespread recognition of one of the most beloved toys of all time, played a pivotal role in drawing audiences to the theaters. There was also extremely high anticipation for the film because of the director Greta Gerwig and an outstanding cast, led by Margot Robbie.
Lastly, the film benefited from an incredibly well-executed marketing campaign that generated substantial buzz surrounding Barbie. Together, these factors contributed to the movie’s success, but the ultimate triumph lies with the Barbie brand, as the film served as a catalyst for its return to modern-day relevance.
A Failure To Stay Relevant
Since Mattel created the Barbie doll in 1959, Barbie has evolved from a fashion-forward toy to an enduring cultural icon, symbolizing empowerment, aspiration, and limitless possibilities.
The doll has undergone multiple iterations, including the addition of Ken and various friend dolls. With the rise of the digital revolution and changing cultural zeitgeist, Barbie was gradually becoming irrelevant to both children and adults.
In the early 2010s, Barbie’s sales continued to drop and in 2014, Mattel performed internal market research that revealed Barbie’s diminishing appeal and an inability to reflect the diverse world we live in.
“There were studies that were coming out that were saying if Barbie was expanded into human size, she wouldn’t have enough room for a liver and she wouldn’t be able to hold her head up.” Kelly Giblom said on the NPR Broadcast, The Indicator from Planet Money.
This was a pivotal wake up call to Mattel, prompting them to recognize the necessity for a significant overhaul to restore Barbie’s reputation.
Barbie’s Rebranding Strategy
Mattel launched a comprehensive rebranding strategy comprising four key components. Richard Dickson, president and chief operating officer of Mattel, outlined this rebranding strategy with Fortune magazine.
To rejuvenate Barbie’s image and reestablish her relevance, Mattel embarked on a four-pronged rebranding strategy. Firstly, they revisited the brand’s core purpose, realigning it with the original vision of “inspiring the limitless potential of girls everywhere.”
The second crucial aspect involved a redesign of Barbie, reflecting the diversity of the world we inhabit. This resulted in the introduction of dolls featuring varied body types, skin colors, disabilities, and heights, culminating in the groundbreaking release of the first-ever Barbie representing individuals diagnosed with Down Syndrome in 2023.
The third component centered on reintegrating Barbie into the contemporary cultural landscape, capitalizing on current trends through endeavors like expanding the Barbie YouTube channel and establishing a film studio.
The fourth component was a standard, to achieve the previous three components with excellence. Safe to say, the rebranding strategy has made more progress than ever in 2023.
Unraveling the Success: A Closer Look at Barbie’s Marketing Strategy
The relentless efforts of Barbie’s marketing team knew no bounds in ensuring widespread exposure for the Barbie film, and their hard work has undoubtedly paid off.
Not only did Barbie achieve the most impressive opening weekend box office performance of the year thus far, but the overwhelming success has already prompted Mattel to consider potential sequels. Here’s how they did it.
Using Memes To Go Viral
A key metric that box office analysts use to predict a movie’s performance is unaided awareness. Unaided awareness involves surveying the moviegoing public about their awareness of upcoming films, gauging their knowledge without any prompting. Notably, The Quorum highlights unaided awareness as one of the most reliable indicators for predicting a film’s success.
Barbie’s unaided awareness was higher than any other film The Quorum has tracked this year. Much of this achievement can be attributed to the pre-existing brand awareness associated with Barbie but it also speaks to the power of user generated content.
Barbenheimer
One of the biggest sources of UGC was about the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. By a serendipitous twist of fate, both Barbie and Oppenheimer, a film centered on the “father of the atomic bomb,” were scheduled to release on the exact same day, July 21st.
The stark contrast in aesthetics, tone, and target audience between the two films sparked a viral conversation, with people passionately debating which movie they intended to watch and even contemplating the possibility of seeing both in a particular order.
This engaging discussion eventually evolved into a meme, humorously highlighting the unique event and becoming a lighthearted expression of the cultural moment.
Barbie Image AI Generator
Barbie set the stage for their marketing campaign on April 4th with the release of the full trailer and official cast images. They also launched a Barbie Selfie Generator, a website that allows users to to transform their own photos into Barbie-styled graphics akin to the cast images. The result was a wave of AI-generated memes that inundated social media platforms, saturating them with Barbie-inspired visuals.
This creative user-generated content didn’t just resonate with those eagerly anticipating the film, but also caught the attention of other brands that swiftly seized the opportunity to join in on the Barbie-themed excitement. For those who grew up with Barbie, the UGC proved to be the perfect nostalgic delight in the lead-up to the highly anticipated movie.
Audience Segmentation
With a keen understanding of their diverse audience, the marketing team skillfully tailored their approach to resonate with both children and adults who hold a special place for the beloved Barbie brand.
For the younger audience, the campaign focused on highlighting the film’s imaginative and lighthearted elements, while also celebrating the brand’s timeless influence on the aesthetic for generations of girls.
For adults, the appeal for the film came from the cast and crew behind it. Greta Gerwig’s reputation for crafting subversive and compelling coming-of-age narratives with a focus on female characters created a sense of anticipation for her approach to the Barbie film.
The cast announcements of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling further heightened expectations, leaving audiences eager to see what this talented team would deliver on the big screen.
Upselling The Target Audience
In terms of marketing, Barbie’s approach wasn’t solely focused on promoting the film; it was also about creating a captivating event that people could actively engage in as the movie’s release date drew nearer.
This strategy, often referred to as experiential marketing, aimed to immerse audiences in a memorable and interactive Barbie experience. Barbie had many brand partnerships, promotional events, and products but the most notable endeavors were their promotional experiences. Here are a few Barbie experiences that took us by surprise:
- Barbie created a Malibu Dreamhouse that is available to book on Airbnb
- A Barbie-Themed Hotel
- Pop-up Barbie locations like the cafe in Chicago
- Barbie-Themed Boat Cruise
- Barbie’s Giant 3D Ad in Dubai
Brand Partnerships
Barbie’s marketing team engaged in extensive collaborations with numerous renowned brands for cross-promotional endeavors. These strategic partnerships proved instrumental in expanding the movie’s marketing outreach and introducing the Barbie film to fresh audiences.
Remarkably, the film boasted an impressive 165 brand partnerships, each contributing to its widespread visibility. The marketing team’s astute approach aimed at capturing the attention of multiple generations, transcending traditional Mattel toys. They ventured into consumer product partnerships encompassing video games, fashion retailers, and even rug manufacturers.
Leveraging Brand Recognition
Barbie’s long-standing reputation and global recognition were pivotal in the movie’s marketing success. Just by using a shade of pink, the marketing team was able to capitalize on the brand’s iconic status.
The colors, style, logo, and general aesthetic of Barbie was integrated into all of the marketing campaigns, both online and offline. This strategy not only strengthened the brand’s image but also tapped into the nostalgic and emotional connection between the audience and the iconic legacy of the toy.
The Barbie Revival
Embracing diversity, inclusivity, and contemporary values, Barbie has shed its outdated image, embracing a fresh, modern identity that resonates with today’s society. The Barbie movie is the culmination of their rebranding and marks a significant achievement bringing the brand back to cultural relevance with a renewed sense of purpose.
If you want more valuable marketing insights about the current trends, check out our Reveel For Business website. In the meantime, here is a visual guide for Barbie’s marketing campaign.
