The Barbie Movie: Genius of Marketing Creativity

Barbie has been a distinctive childhood memory for most of us, but the movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has taken the brand to new heights, moving beyond just dolls and toys for children. Barbie has become a brand of culture, breaking stereotypical boundaries of gender, and embracing us with a spirit of joy, humor, empowerment, and self-awareness. But what came before the movie and how in a time where trends and topics fade in a matter of days, one movie managed to sustain a buzz that lasted an entire summer!

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the webinar titled ‘Barbie: The Machine Behind the Magic’, featuring Grégory Schuber, the Senior VP of Marketing Communications & Franchises at Warner Bros. Discovery; Marion Pistoresi, the Marketing Director - Cinema at Warner Bros. Entertainment; and Besma Baghdadli, the Head of Licensing at Mattel France.

But what came before the movie?

It all starts with the first official look at the upcoming Barbie movie, which was released on April 28, 2022, during CinemaCon. It included Margot Robbie as Barbie sitting in a bright pink car with a vivid pink background, thus creating the perfect interpretation of Barbie. This was then followed by Warner Bros. releasing an image of Ryan Gosling as Ken, which was also the perfect portrayal of the Ken doll. Subsequently, the first teaser trailer was released after months of anticipation, which was a very interesting yet clever take on the Space Odyssey Introduction, first displayed before AVATAR 2 in some theaters across America. This was enough for Warner Bros. Studios to spark the interest they wanted.

BARBIE BREADCRUMB

These ingenious ideas, part of their breadcrumb strategy, show that marketing moves beyond just a one-way street of communication, proving it to be more of a conversation rather than just information and raising awareness. This is evident when memes and conversations about the movie were sparked among the audience on social media platforms as more and more bits of the movie were released by Warner Bros. Studios. This added to the plethora of images used as templates to generate memes and created a sense of relatability with the onscreen characters even before the movie was released – a brilliant example of earned media. Don’t think for a minute that this was not planned; this was exactly what the studio was going for. Their target audience was between the ages of 15-24, who are highly active on social media in terms of voicing their opinions, being part of communities, and engaging in social interaction. To add to that, the studio collaborated with iconic pop stars like Billie Eilish, Ice Spice, Nikki Minaj, and even Dua Lipa, all at the peak of their careers, with the singular notion to promote empowerment and fluidity through a variety of songs that engaged all sorts of emotions and feelings. This was fuel to the fire when it comes to earned media as it was the perfect catalyst to promote Barbie on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with the target audience creating 'reels'.

But this wasn’t enough. 

You can raise awareness about a product, but the person must reach the end of the marketing funnel, which is intent to purchase. There was a general lack of intent in countries like France, and the studio overcame this problem brilliantly by portraying the movie not just as a joyful and heartfelt comedy, but as a comic satire with a strong message buried in all that pink. This was done subtly in their integrated communication strategy through offline and online modes, where the creatives they released in France highlighted Barbie and covered Ken’s face.

This matrimonial pairing of the rapidly growing earned media attention earlier, along with the paid media and outdoor media launched close to the date of the movie's release, was enough to ensure the success of the Barbie movie.

A new movement

Now Barbie was a movement; it was beyond a movie; it became a social compulsion. This was the perfect opportunity for outside brands to jump on this bandwagon and capitalize on the rapidly growing customer base. Brands as big as Balmain, Zara, Gap hopped on to create exclusive products and collections. NYX pulled out all the stops by not only creating a product line specifically for Barbie but also collaborating with influencers, remodeling their stores, hosting events, and actively engaging with their social media audience about the Barbie brand. This is the perfect example of how co-marketing can help promote a brand.

THE DAWN OF 'BARBENHIEMER'

Finally, to finish this extraordinary effort was a magical stroke of luck – “Barbenhiemer.” While Barbie was actively in a marketing war with Oppenheimer at the time in terms of offline & online media, this did not hamper the success of either movie. In fact, it created a new movement altogether termed as ‘Barbenhiemer’. This surprising pairing led to a somewhat merger of the two target audiences who made it mandatory for themselves to watch both movies on the same day. This was a social obligation at the moment.

What happened after the release?

Barbie created the Halo effect for itself through the massive buzz marketing and coverage it received. Magazines and newspapers were lining up to write articles and publish them before the rest. This further stimulated more co-marketing campaigns and even came to a point where companies started aligning their marketing efforts in the tune of Barbie, sometimes copying the text font, color palette, phrases, and even movie dialogues. This also influenced the success in the form of earned media as a result of the Halo effect.

What to take away?

Barbie perfectly understood the target audience and accurately crafted the marketing strategy, which is a result of market research and consumer understanding. Goal setting plays an important role as it provides direction and understanding to the marketer and what they want to achieve. Regulated ad frequencies – marketing efforts must be regulated according to customer perception and not be very aggressive. It needs to be well scheduled and released appropriately. Lastly, don’t be rigid in your marketing plan, don’t be disheartened if the audience reaction is not as expected, because it could even be for the best.