The Unbelievable Social Media Comeback of Barbie
When it comes to social media comebacks, it’s Barbie’s world & we’re all just living in it. Let’s be honest, the Barbie account has been LaCkLuSTer for the past couple of years but 2023 Barbie? She’s freaking killing the game (or, rather, her marketing team is). Let’s break down Barbie’s brilliantly orchestrated social media comeback.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Although Mattel’s Barbie was meant to be an empowering toy for all women, that has definitely not always been the reality! Barbie’s brand has been criticized for years for its outdated stereotypes & lack of diversity. In short, they were disconnected from their audience / audience’s needs and that was coming out in their advertising, social medias & their profit.
Making a Big Mov(i)e.
Obviously something had to change about the way Barbie was perceived & how they were connecting with their audience/the world. Enter: the best social media marketing strategy we’ve seen. Seriously, whatever their marketing team was making, they deserve a MASSIVE raise.
And since we are all just marketing girlies who also probably deserve massive raises, we’re diving into our favorite Barbie branding moves & how we can replicate it.
Dropping Breadcrumbs.
Long before the Barbie movie would have ever been on anyone’s radar, they began teasing the film. They dropped a super cryptic trailer that captured everyone’s attention and then let.it.sit. They didn’t release a more explanatory trailer for 4 months. By the time that dropped, everyone was already interested & wanted to know what the buzz about Barbie was all about. If you want an audience that is dying to see what you’re doing next (hint: you do), TEASE the heck out of your next move and watch engagement soar.
Collaborations.
It seems like everyone and their Ken collaborated on a special edition Barbie product this year. Xbox, Coldstone, NYX Cosmetics, Airbnb, Google, the Bachelorette, ETC all created specialty products/events for Barbie. Once those big names started rolling out the pink carpet, literally everyone else did too! Small businesses everywhere scrambled for a way to include something PINK in their offerings - becoming a *free* marketing boost for Barbie that they didn’t even have to touch. The lesson here is to utilize influencer collaborations in your marketing - the exposure to a broader audience who doesn’t want to get left behind can be unmatched.
Trend Setting.
The Barbie team made it possible for everyone to be a Barbie. They created filters and selfie generators for major social media platforms and shared meme-worthy content that could easily be customized by the masses. They made it easy for people to jump on the pink bandwagon by giving them the tools they needed to be on-trend. Don’t be afraid to think out of the box and create content that is both true to your brand & easy for others to customize and share. You never know when you’ll be the next trend setter.
Making it an Experience.
If you weren’t one of the pink, glittery-clad ladies rushing to the theaters for girls night to see Barbie, chances are you know someone who was. Barbie utilized the power of social media to make it look like it was the fun, highlight-of-the-summer, must-do girl’s night activity. They even went the extra mile and made easy Barbie Box photo ops in theaters! So when people went to see the show, they could easily pose in the box and have instant content to post to their social media - making everyone want to go too. Leverage the power of FOMO in your marketing and make your brand something no one wants to miss out on.
Okay, I could probably write a term paper on this, but I’ll stop there. If you’re looking for inspo on how to revitalize your brand, don’t be afraid to bring these tips from Barbie’s dream marketing into your real world! And if you need a little extra help, shoot us a message ;)
