There is only one woman who has had every occupation imaginable, is the star of many films, and has inspired generations and building a community: Barbie. When we hear the name Barbie, we immediately think of the iconic hot pink color, fashion, femininity and its empowerment, the cursive spelling, and so much more.
The live action movie released in 2023, and even though it generated so much attention, Barbie was a brand before that.
Barbie is more than a doll; she is the brand. As mentioned, Barbie is known worldwide based on her logo, cultural presence, ideals, and much more; not only that, but she has built an emotional connection, has (many) strong identities, and empowers and influences globally. Key components of a strong brand are Blueprint, Relationship, Agreement, Nature and Distinctiveness. Let’s break down these elements:
- Blueprint: the foundation and core identity. Barbie has infinite possibilities; thus, her core identity is empowerment and a sense of belonging. Many girls, especially impressionable ones, see themselves reflected in barbie, thinking to themselves I want to be, and can be, that when I grow up. This influence resonates with diverse audiences at a diverse age, reinforcing the belief that every individual has the potential to achieve their dreams.
- Relationship: the emotional connections and trust between a business and consumer. Barbie’s relationship is strong with her audience, not only because of the empowerment, but because of the continued appreciation of representation. For example, in July 2024, Barbie represented individuals with down syndrome, individuals who are visually impaired or physically impaired, individuals with vitiligo, and many more. By creating these new dolls, it helped foster an emotional sense of belonging in young children and adults as well.
- Agreement: The expectations and promises between a brand and its consumers. This goes back to representing possibility and inclusivity, Barbie is not just one doll, she represents aspirations, ambition, and progress. Mattel has listened to its consumers and is still dedicated to representing individuality; this allows for consumers to trust Barbie and reinforce her credibility as more than a toy.
- Nature: the inherent character, personality and purpose. Barbie is a role model in more than just aspiration. Whether it’s her diverse career choices, fashion expression, and media entertainment. She breaks barriers, inspiring many to dream big.
- Distinctive: unique qualities that set the brand apart. Barbie is not one doll stuck in time, her symbolisms as empowerment evolve with trends and still inspires many; in other words, her ability to grow her audience, while committing to inspiring her audience is unique.
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Marketing Strategies.
Businesses benefit from a buyer persona to draft a fictional representation of their ideal customer (based on market research and other data). This persona will include details such as name, age, occupations, geographic location, hobbies, behaviors/personality traits, motivations, age, and more. All the gathered information allows them (businesses) to craft more direct and personalized messaging, enhanced product development, better customer experience, sales, and market segmentation.
For the Barbie movie, the marketing team needs to create campaigns tailored to specific personas. Without these personas, it gets difficult to dive into the mind of the target audience, the following is an example based off millennials:
- It’s targeted to millennials because of their childhood memories, especially with all the new merchandise available. These products included clothing, phone cases, accessories, and many more. By tailoring their messages to this persona, they increase brand awareness, engagement, and overall excitement.
- Identity and sense of belonging are normal feelings. Creating a persona puts the business at an advantage to the insights of the needs and values of a target audience. Since Barbie keeps up with society, they remain a relevant, trusted, and quite an unforgettable brand.
- Understanding interests and behavior patterns can inspire experiences for buyer personas. Barbie-related experiences were held, such as pop-up events, and it helped strengthen the customer experience.
- Nostalgia plays a big role with millennials. The buyer persona allows businesses to focus on their resources and budget. All the brand collaborations meant that they saw Barbie everywhere, I know I did.
Since Barbie is already a very recognized brand, the marketing team needs to know where this brand stands. A brand audit is an analysis that examines the health of a brand, the values of the brand, and ways to make the brand improve. Barbie never lost sight of her blueprint, her purpose to empower. However, for the movie, it’s likely the marketers took a deep look into the brand health, sources of brand equity, opportunities for growth. For example, for the Barbie movie:
- We need to showcase the brand and how it embodies empowerment and nostalgia.
- The look and feel for a campaign should (and did) align with the iconic hot pink style
- All the brand messages should be consistent with the others, this includes empowerment, fun, inclusive, and creative.
In addition, buyer personas directly connect to consumer behavior so marketers can understand, predict, and personalize their strategies. Two main consumer behavior factors are Cultural and Personal.
Consumer Behavior Cultural Factors: these are very broad influences that marketers must learn about. Cultural values differ in a country’s market, and we must understand how to best market a product or service. These factors influence the messaging, brand collaborations, cultural relevance, and even products, or merchandise. For example, Japan values community and harmony; this means that for the promotion of the Barbie film, the marketing focuses on family and connection. Whereas in the U.S, independence is celebrated – both topics of which are represented in the movie.
There also exists a factor reference group, meaning that all the groups that have an influence on a person’s behavior or attitudes are as followed:
- Aspirational Groups: person hopes to join. Barbie is a symbol of empowerment; so, collaborating with influencers (with many followers), can make the Barbie movie more appealing and aspirational.
- Dissociative Groups: Values or behavior rejected. Barbie challenges stereotypes, the movie displays societal expectations, appealing to many feminists and other rejects the norms of society.
- Opinion leader: a person who offers informal advice on a specific product or category: Barbie has with pop culture figures like Dua Lipa and John Cena, inviting their fanbase to see it, endorsing Barbie.
Consumer Behavior Personal Factors: these include topics such as age, stage in life cycle, occupation, economic circumstances, personality and self-concept, lifestyles, and value. These traits can influence a consumers purchase decision; let’s take into account Barbie.
For the promotion of the film, we need to elaborate on the characteristics.
- Age and Stage in Life Cycle: We take into consideration critical life events, based on what we would typically experience around specific ages. Barbie was targeting children (5-12 years old), due to the colors, tone, and the brand recognition of that age range. Teens and young adults (13-25 years old) because the film has culture references, powerful messages, humor, and recognized throughout social media and collaboration with brands. Adults (26-30+ years old) grew up with Barbie, causing a feeling of nostalgia. Barbie also speaks on society and its stereotypical norms and roles, making it relatable to adults, primarily women.
- Occupation and Economic Circumstances: Marketers try to identify the occupational groups and patterns that might have an interest with their product or service. Barbie is often seen as a role model with many professions, inspiring career-driven individuals. For example, Barbie collaborated with STEM in efforts to highlight career diversity.
- Personality and Self-Concept: These two concepts lead to a (relatively) consistent and enduing responses to environmental stimuli. Barbie remains playful by featuring Ken doing humorous quirky moments, Barbie filters, and social media viral challenges/activities (like the #ThisBarbieIsACoffeeLover – talking about themselves)
- Lifestyles and Value: We search for relationships between their lifestyle groups, and interests, beliefs, etc. For example, it appeals to families because it presents itself as fun and welcoming, limited edition Barbie dolls and other merchandise, Collaboration with brands, etc.
Overall, Barbie connected with a broad audience and crafted created very creative campaigns that reflected, and took to the opportunity to enhance, its brand. The buyer persona played a key role in identifying how to market the movie and who to market it to.
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