With a 65-year legacy of empowerment, the Barbie brand had a unique positioning leading up to the premiere of Barbie the Movie. Across generations, Barbie has 99% brand affinity and the movie buzz was a chance to not only expand our reach, but also deepen it. We aimed to re-capture the hearts of those who thought they grew out of Barbie, create exciting moments for lifelong fans, and introduce newcomers to the bright pink world of Barbie. The marketing materials, merchandising, and experiences went beyond generating movie excitement, it became a sweeping movement, uniting communities, proving that decades after her debut, Barbie continues to inspire and delight.
Building from our core audience, our mission was to make Barbie omnipresent like never before. From the window displays at favorite retailers, including Bloomingdales, Riachuelo, Myer, Selfridges, and the DreamHouse recreation at Zara, to the Barbie the Movie-themed settings on Alexa devices, we took over a wide range of spaces, both digitally and physically. In this triumphant 8-month journey, we tapped into nostalgia and painted the world pink, pioneering an unparalleled integrated marketing campaign. We leveraged the Barbie brand’s position as a unifying cultural touchstone, inviting all to play. Love Barbie or hate Barbie, this campaign was for everyone. We expanded our reach with influencers all over the world, ramped up fan engagement, and deepened the connection with our audience on @Barbie, @BarbieStyle, and TikTok. With a wide range of partnerships and product collaborations, there were no shortage of ways for fans to express themselves as they flaunted their Barbiecore looks in droves at immersive experiences like the World of Barbie, Malibu Cafe, and local premiers for the movie. The campaign was the culmination of bringing together two powerhouses, Mattel and Warner Brothers, magnifying their significant reach and impact across multi-generational, global audiences.
With unparalleled fan engagement and remarkable sales performance, Barbie the Movie became the billion-dollar phenomenon that took the world by storm. Global doll sales reached $50MM with the release of the movie doll collection, including the Margot Perfect Day Barbie, Weird Barbie, and the “I am Kenough” Ken with hoodie. The social media drive led to an $7MM in media value, 23MM social engagements, and a 15% YoY growth. We boosted followers by more than 3MM and #BarbietheMovie amassed an astounding 4.6B views. Through 244 influencer partnerships, Barbie gained 438MM impressions and $750K in earned media, while the Barbie channel on YouTube recorded over 1.6B views in 2023, a 21% viewership increase YoY. With over 160 partnerships, key collaborations ignited the sales, with multiple collections selling out within minutes of launch. Public relations efforts culminated in 3.3B impressions worldwide. The combination of these cross-platform strategies resulted in a sales surge across major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. The marketing campaign’s immense success set a new global benchmark for integrated marketing.
