Sick of hearing about Barbie? We’re not. We’ve been fascinated by all the marketing hype.
Here are 5 takeaways we think you’ll find relevant.
1. Uncommon Thinking
Undoubtedly Barbie’s budget is huge, but they did some great work that didn’t cost the earth – and got people talking.
Barbie took over the Barbican station sign, which obviously triggered a lot of social media hype.
This is called guerrilla advertising. It is a brilliant example of outthinking rather than outspending.
What relatively cheap ideas can you implement that trigger word of mouth?
Image Credit: Allontheboard
2. Be Distinctive
Think of bright pink… and you’re probably not far away from thinking of Barbie.
Barbie has an incredibly strong brand identity.
It stands out, it’s timeless, and it hasn’t changed much over the years.
You may not be Barbie – but how can you do things differently to stand out?
We find most small businesses follow convention, and look very similar to those they compete with.
Have you looked at your market from the eyes of a customer? What makes you more attractive than the rest? Can you break your category norm and do something a little different?
3. Have A Strong Point Of View
When you don’t stand for anything, you fall for everything.
Barbie has a strong view of the world.
The film, if you’ve watched it, leaves you with a change in perspective.
Barbie is a strong cultural icon and has used that fame to project a message out into the world.
Do you have a strong point of view, but don’t really use it as a tool for differentiation?
Whether you are challenging an existing category like Surreal cereal, making banking easy like Monzo, or dating apps like Thursday – all these businesses have a strong view of the world, and it helps them cut through the noise.
Having a point of view helps you stand out, connect with new audiences and be more likeable.
What can you talk about?
4. Strategic Partnerships
Mattel partnered with over 100 companies for the marketing. The partnerships helped land more exposure and widen the audience.
Is there another brand out there who you could collaborate with, that would benefit you both?
If you are a company offering divorce services, could you partner with a counselling business?
If you sell engineering components, could you collaborate with other innovative businesses?
Or if you sell sofas, could you collaborate with interior brands?
5. Build Hype
There’s strong evidence that correlates your share of voice (SOV) with the amount of market share you have.
Barbie’s marketing budget was higher than the budget for the film.
The marketing drove demand, got everyone talking and built hype around the film.
Barbie does have a seventy-year-old brand to match, but they built a lot of hype around the film that got non Barbie fans curuious.
How can you create fame for your business?
In Google trends, you can see how Barbie turned up the hype in the run-up to the film launch.
