How Mattel’s ‘Barbie’ movie playbook will push the toy giant forward

It was the year of pink. Following months of memes, activations and brand collabs, millions of consumers donned their rose-colored duds to see the “Barbie” movie this summer—from dads in pink polo shirts to toddlers in fuchsia-bowed pigtails and everyone in between. The film’s record-breaking box office success cemented the transformation of Barbie from a controversial doll shunned by some parents to an empowering brand adored by multiple generations. But it also validated a new strategy for parent company Mattel. The El Segundo, California-based company now has a playbook replicable for the dozens of other brands in its catalog, including Hot Wheels, American Girl and Fisher-Price. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Stitcher. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! “This is about a long-term opportunity for Mattel,” said Lisa McKnight, who was promoted earlier this year to executive VP and chief brand officer from executive VP and global head of Barbie and dolls. “What the movie did for us, it proved out a key pillar in our corporate strategy, which is to not only be a high-performing toy company, but be an IP-driven company.” See our 2023 Marketers of the Year here By deploying a long-tail marketing strategy that began more than a year before the July release and included 165 collaborations with other brands, Mattel was able to capture a large share of cultural awareness before eventually also attracting shares of wallets. Following the success of “Barbie,” which boosted Mattel’s earnings, advertisers are now lining up for new partnerships and even pitching Barbie herself as advertising talent. And Mattel will have plenty to offer them. The company now has 14 other films slated for production for brands such as Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket and Masters of the Universe, though the timing is still uncertain on when the next movie will debut. Mattel is also involved with 30 TV shows, including “Hot Wheels: Let’s Race” and “Barbie: A Touch of Magic.” Also read: “Barbie” named one of Ad Age’s Hottest Brands New set of instructions The moves follow a playbook that rivals have already grown adept at executing. For example, Hasbro made its first “Transformers” movie 16 years ago; six sequels have followed with a seventh due out next year. Spin Master released its second “Paw Patrol” film earlier this fall. “Spin Master and Hasbro have been doing this for years already; Mattel is a little later in catching up,” said Linda Bolton Weiser, managing director and senior analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co., who covers Mattel for the financial firm, adding that movies help enhance the place of toy brands in culture. But Mattel, while late, did it better than most, posting impressive results under Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz, who has made it Mattel’s mission to build film franchises. In September, “Barbie,” which was produced with Warner Bros., became the highest-grossing movie of the year, raking in more than $1.4 billion globally in box office revenue. The gains extended to Mattel’s toy sales—it reported third-quarter revenue of $1.9 billion, a 9% year-over-year rise that surpassed analyst expectations, along with net income of $146 million. Barbie sales were up 16% over the year-earlier period in the quarter. By contrast, chief competitor Hasbro reported a 10% decline in third-quarter revenue. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BARBIE (@barbiethemovie) Scattering breadcrumbs Prior to “Barbie” hitting theaters, Mattel used a digital-first marketing approach of dropping periodic breadcrumbs, such as first-look images from the movie, along with ways for fans to engage, including a Barbie selfie generator. It helped that brands that weren’t even partners got in on the action with their own interpretations—Home Depot put its “Skelly” 12-foot skeleton in a Barbie box as part of its Halloween marketing over the summer, for example. Further boosting Mattel’s efforts was a hefty movie studio marketing budget. Warner Bros. focused on digital paid programming to market the film and Mattel relied on social media content on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, as well as earned media from buzzy collaborations. “Our budget was not up dramatically,” said McKnight. “We were able to lean into programs we would have done normally and make them focused on Barbie and the summer of pink.” The company kept pushing consumer interest through the crucial holiday season by promoting more merchandise, including the Barbie Dreamhouse. Mattel has also dropped several new toy items from the film, such as the character Weird Barbie and a Ken doll wearing a “I am Kenough” sweatshirt. Next year marks the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, and the company is planning to continue to build on this year’s momentum for the milestone. Mattel is currently searching for a new creative agency to lead the charge on marketing Barbie. Read more: Barbie looks for a new agency “They captured the American imagination for a long period this summer and they still have,” said Chris Byrne, a toy industry expert and consultant. “That will have a halo effect on the brand moving forward—certainly on Gen Z,” he added, noting that the new Barbie marketing has appealed to multiple generations of consumers. Yet he cautioned that other brands in the Mattel portfolio do not have the same universal appeal as Barbie, a challenge the company must consider as it releases new entertainment offerings designed to replicate Barbie’s success. “Lightning doesn’t always strike twice, but there’s an intention to create some storms around some of these,” Byrne said. Related: 4 Gen Z marketing trends Indeed, one of those storms might be around “Masters of the Universe,” a live-action He-Man adventure film. Mattel is currently in talks with Amazon MGM Studios to produce it after Netflix dropped the project earlier this year. The toy company is also working with J.J. Abrams on the Hot Wheels movie—cue the automotive brand collabs. In addition, Polly Pocket and American Girl films are also expected to hit the big screen in the next few years, though no release dates have been announced. Mattel is also thinking beyond the toy aisle when it comes to the possibilities for its Uno card game, including its expansion into digital gaming and other monetization opportunities. “We are absolutely thrilled about the response to the ‘Barbie’ movie as a proof of concept—we think it’s going to be an unlocker for our entire business portfolio for years to come,” McKnight said. “It’s exciting to see how our consumers are becoming emotionally engaged and attached to our brands. We’re starting to think of them more as fans rather than consumers.” See our 2023 Marketers of the Year here

How Mattel’s ‘Barbie’ movie playbook will push the toy giant forward

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