Building a brand 101: Unveiling the secrets behind Barbie’s marketing success

As the great pinkification comes to an end with new box office blockbuster “Blue Beetle” stealing the spotlight after a month of Mattel domination, there is a lot to marvel at regarding the achievements of the Barbie film during its peak. Through its launch efforts, the Barbie movie marketing campaign has become a masterclass in how to build excitement for a brand. The team’s strategic and creative approach has made constant buzz, successfully generating hype before the release and keeping Barbie a constant topic of conversation.

How do you bring this same success to your own brand?

Find below our top takeaways enacted by the marketing masterminds behind the movie’s promotion, and how you can apply it to your own communications strategy moving forward.

Build an Immersive Brand Experience

The Dreamhouse extravaganza proved to be an extraordinary success, garnering extensive media coverage and demonstrating the marketing team's genius in thinking beyond norms. They transformed advertising into tangible experiences. The Barbie marketing team went beyond traditional advertising and created real-life touch points that gave fans an opportunity to step into Barbie's world, between Airbnbs, clothing, makeup and more. This immersive experience left a lasting impact on audiences, showcasing the power of creating unique brand experiences that resonate with consumers.  Ask yourself: How can my brand become a lifestyle for my customers? How can I make it an integral part of their world?

Create Compelling Narratives

The Barbie campaign focused on creating evocative content that resonated. This underscores the power of crafting content that evokes emotions and connects with consumers on a deeper level – whether through words, videos, filters, spin-offs or imagery. What unique aspects define your brand? Claim a colour or tagline, tell a compelling story that sticks, and stand out. Everything under your brand needs to have a purpose and an individuality about it, that connects with your relevant audience - something that is uniquely you.

Harness the Power of Social Media

Barbie tapped into social media’s force, creating community and interaction. Learn from them: don’t reinvent the wheel, just refine it. Scale the power of social media for your audiences. Barbie created interactive features, behind-the-scenes content, and user-generated content to encourage audience participation and foster brand loyalty. Social media is a powerful tool in marketing to younger audiences – not being there means missing the news cycle.

Embrace Influencer Marketing and User-Generated Content (UGC)

Barbie joined forces with influencers to promote the movie. Leveraging their incredible reach and influence, these influencers became brand ambassadors, sparking conversations and generating buzz among their followers. Influencer marketing has a powerful effect on expanding brand reach and engaging with target audiences, so make sure you choose influencers who are a good fit for your brand and who have a large following.

User-generated content including the Barbie selfie generator and Barbie filters multiplied engagement exponentially. By giving the public the tools to create and showing them how to do it, the world did the movie’s marketing for it. Think about ways you can incorporate interactive elements and encourage UGC in your own business and your brand affinity will only grow.

Ignite All 5 Senses

The Barbie movie did something incredible, and went beyond plastic to a fully-faceted brand. They sparked nostalgia and interest through all 5 senses – creating a dedicated music album, igniting touch through clothes, houses, merchandise, and the toy itself, sight with the pop-up activations and, of course, the movie, smell through candle collaborations, and taste through food – Grill’d, Chatime and beyond.

Think about how your brand can ignite the senses. How does it taste, smell, feel and look?  Once you hit all 5, you are on your way to an all-encompassing marketing campaign.

The Barbie movie marketing campaign serves as a roadmap to build excitement and create a lasting impact. By adopting immersive experiences, evocative content, social media strategies, and influencer partnerships, your brand can effectively connect with your audiences, too.

Ready to learn more about how We Are Brooklyn can create a tailored marketing plan for your brand?

Contact us now or drop us an email: hello@wearebrooklyn.com.au