Mattel’s iconic doll’s specific shade of pink has taken over everything, here’s what you can learn from the Barbie marketing campaign.
Feature image credit: website screenshot/Mattel, Inc.
Mattel’s iconic doll, Barbie, is known for its signature shade of pink, which has become synonymous with the brand. The Barbie marketing team has utilized this color to its advantage, leading to significant success.
The upcoming Barbie movie, featuring Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Ryan Gosling (Ken), is a prime example of effective marketing. The campaign incorporates various strategies such as recognizable brand colors, strategic partnerships, experiential marketing, and UGC (user-generated content). These elements combined to create a viral marketing campaign for the much-anticipated film.
Even if you never played with Barbie as a child, the marketing campaign for the movie has struck the right chord for Warner Bros. The campaign perfectly targets the movie audience, which is not exactly the same as the traditional Barbie doll audience.
The Barbie brand is strong, and its marketing team knows it. They incorporated artificial intelligence and interactivity to develop a selfie generator that allows users to create their own Barbie movie poster with photos. Plus, they have collaborated with numerous brands to produce a wide range of products catering to kids and adults.
The Barbie girl in you will be delighted to know you can explore everything Barbie-related… From makeup and clothing to furniture and even a Barbie-themed cruise experience. You can even stay at Barbie’s Malibu DreamHouse with Ken, thanks to Airbnb. If you’re hosting a Barbie-themed event, you can have life-size hot pink packaging boxes to make us feel like a Barbie doll. The Barbie marketing team has left no stone unturned, extending their reach to the Meta-verse. Go ahead and search ‘Barbie the Movie’ on Google and see what happens. They even got their put their stamp on the search experience.
3 Lessons the Barbie Marketing Team Taught Us
Here are three valuable lessons we can learn from the Barbie marketing team:
1. Stay culturally relevant by reimagining your brand story. Barbie’s marketing team managed to tap into the nostalgic memories of many people, including myself, by reigniting that connection and making her excited about being part of her next adventure.
2. Your product’s evolution should prioritize inclusion. Despite facing various challenges over the years, the Barbie brand has become one of the most diverse and inclusive doll lines on the market, featuring 9 body types, 35+ skin tones, and 94+ hairstyles.
3. Make your customers feel like heroes by giving them the spotlight. Barbie utilized technology to enable users to create relatable content that showcased themselves reflected in Barbie, which made them feel like they belonged.
Barbie’s pink publicity machine pulled off the marketing campaign of the year and caused a pink shortage. They not only recognized that individuals had their own preconceived notions about Barbie, but managed to generate interest by shaking things up.
