Written by: Vickie Sullivan | June 18, 2024
Transforming Your Brand: Insights from Barbie’s Evolution
Barbie’s renewed success goes far beyond the box office and toy sales. It has reshaped its marketing model forever, says Mattel executive vice president and chief brand officer Lisa McKnight in an interview in The Drum.
At a time when we need to broaden our reach, you can emulate some of Mattel’s brand strategies on a smaller scale.
• Go beyond the obvious. By positioning the Barbie toy as a representation of an idea, Mattel expanded Barbie’s role into a movie, etc. Many of us use this strategy by using our background as context for an idea. Now that ideas have saturated content marketing, perhaps it’s time to position your insights as standing for something more aspirational.
• Expand your client’s role. By shifting from consumers to fanbase, Mattel’s increased engagement opened the door for the adult market. To apply this tactic, stop measuring your clients’ value by revenue. Instead, look at what your enthusiasts can do to educate new buyers and make you the go-to resource.
Mattel used Barbie to create an intellectual property-driven model that propelled them from a toy manufacturer to an entertainment empire. They thought long term and created a system that can be adapted to their other product lines. If you’re willing to create a bigger marketing wheel, you can expand your world, too.
Listen: Turn Your Idea into Something Bigger
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