Ever since it was announced that a
live action Barbie movie with Margot Robbie as Barbie and director Greta Gerwig at the
helm, people were excited —
me included. As the movie's release date got closer and closer, the colour
pink and mentions of the movie itself
took over the world.
That is all because of
good marketing!
Scroll on as media update's Alrika Möller takes a look at the next-level marketing for the Barbie movie.
They know their audience
While many,
many people are
excited for the movie to finally be released, there are some (mainly men) that view the movie as
corny. The marketing team heard those people and said:
So what? This team knew who they were
targeting right from the start, and they hit the
bullseye. They knew that
women are the main audience for this film and the marketing campaign.
They also know that most,
if not all of these women played with
Barbies as children and that they are
familiar with the
iconic pink, the dream house and the
general vibe of
Barbie.
This is why there are billboards covered in Barbie pink with no writing, movie title or image, just the date — 21 July. So simple, yet so genius.
Another
stroke of genius came and the marketing team created
actual Barbie dream houses in Malibu.
To clarify,
no they did
not build giant plastic toy homes; they took actual houses and turned them into
Barbie's Malibu Dream House with some paint, furniture and
a lot of accessories.
These houses were available to rent on AirBnB, causing people from all over to flock to them and hold
Barbie-themed parties and live their
dream life for a short period of time.
The houses themselves, as well as the posts from the people renting them
blew up on social media and suddenly
everyone wanted a taste of the
Barbie lifestyle.
The team included the fans
We already know
everyone wants a piece of
that Barbie life, but this movie's marketing team made us feel like it is actually possible.
Good marketing:
- spreads the word
- speaks to the audience
- involves them, and
- ultimately, calls them to action.
In this case, they ticked
all the boxes, especially speaking to the audience and involving them.
When the posters of the movie were released, we had a
tiny look at what the movie was going to be like, but the marketing team did not stop there.
With AI integration and the collaboration of social media apps like TikTok, they made it possible for people to put themselves on a Barbie poster. Naturally, people loved this! The posters were everywhere. People put themselves, other celebrities — even their pets — on the Barbie posters.
The
buzz for the posters wore off but the
buzz for the movie was on an
all-time high, so they decided to go
higher.
We were given a glimpse of the
Barbie set when Robbie gave us a tour of the
actual dream house built for the movie set on
Architectural Digest's page and Youtube channel.
The publication is famous for its Open Door celebrity home tours, and now they can add Barbie with her Dream House to the star-studded list of celebrities they visited.
The Youtube video received 11 million views and went viral. Naturally, it got everyone excited to see the house and Barbie in action.
They never underestimated the power of fashion
Every woman that had a
Barbie as a little girl knows that there is
one thing Barbie does better than everyone and that is
fashion! The marketing team knows this, that is why they created
Barbie collaborations with just about any and every clothing or accessories company that was willing.
Cotton On joined in with a line of
Barbie clothing and accessories. Aldo made
incredible Barbie shoes that came in
toy-like boxes, and Fossil is giving us enough
Barbie-themed
bling to fill just about any toy store. These are just the
tip of the iceberg.
With these
collaborations, you can now feel like a
Barbie, with accessories sold separately.
All these
Barbie collaborations caused the colour pink to be the
biggest fashion trend of the season and now you cannot enter a single clothing store without
something pink.
With Robbie playing the
infamous doll in the movie, she has become integral for the movie's marketing. At
every event, premier or interview
Robbie can be seen wearing an outfit
inspired by actual
Barbie dolls sold all over the world.
This is not just a
fun choice for the actress but also created a lot of
press and
conversation for the film itself. Everyone is excited to see what she is going to wear next and then we
run to the Internet to find out what
Barbie she is channelling this time. Fingers crossed that
Astronaut Barbie is next.
The Barbie movie marketing team proved that Barbie can literally do it all!
So what can marketers learn from this?
There is a lot marketers can learn from the
Barbie movie, as it truly became a
worldwide sensation. And if there isn't a
Marketing Barbie yet, there
definitely should be!
Marketing is not just
one thing. It can be
anything and
everything. The key is to bring your audience and your product or brand
together.
If you want to be
memorable, don’t be afraid to do something
new and different and incorporate the brand into the
audience's world. Take your lead from them and what they like and know.
Unconventional marketing tactics like
fashion on the red carpet and
memes on the Internet can sometimes be the best way to
spread the word and
get people talking.
The most important thing to take from the Barbie movie marketing is to never be boring and to always have fun!
What is your favourite marketing moment from the Barbie movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
*Image courtesy of Canva**Image font courtesy of FontBolt