The marketing of the Barbie movie, and what we can learn from it

If you are up to date with cinema news, you know that a new hit has been among the highlights in the media in recent weeks. The new film Barbie, by director Greta Gerwig, is now on the big screen and its success earned the film the title of highest grossing film of 2023.

In addition to the success, another detail has intrigued marketing professionals, regarding the strategies for promoting the film, as well as the event that this period became for some brands.

After all, it's almost impossible to go on social media or walk through a shopping mall without seeing some promotional material featuring the character. Therefore, today we are going to analyze the main characteristics of the promotion made for the film Barbie. Furthermore, we will understand how branding can enhance campaigns and bring incredible results to a strategy.

Without further ado, let's get to the point!

The beginning of an era for the toy market

In fact, when Ruth Marianna Handler, on her trip to Switzerland, came across the Bild Lilli doll, she had no idea that this would be the first step towards one of the greatest children's symbols in history.

That's right, the Barbie we know today comes from the rebrainding of a doll aimed at the adult male audience in Germany, during the 1950s. To this day, it is not known whether the creator of the most famous doll in the world had knowledge about the details of the doll. original toy, which inspired its creation.

From a need she observed while her daughter Barbara Handler was playing with a rag doll, Ruth began an endeavor to achieve what we see today on the shelves and, now, on the big screen.

However, this project took years to complete, being officially launched in 1959. However, it was only in 1964 that Mattel (the largest toy manufacturer in the world) purchased all rights and patents to the original doll.

Since then, Barbie has had several versions released and has established itself as the doll that could be everything. From an astronaut to a mermaid, we've seen it all, both in toys and animations, and now, we see her come to life in a live action.

Cinema marketing and the film Barbie as a success story

You may even be that person who judged everyone dressing in pink to watch the new film, but you can't deny that this repercussion made you aware of this premiere. In fact, the marketing done for this release opened a new perspective for cinema marketing.

After all, even though it is an excellent film, based on the results, we cannot deny that this was a good move by Mattel. In fact, we are already seeing rumors of new releases featuring characters from the toy giant.

The company already has hopes of growth, mainly through licensing. In 2022, the 22% drop in revenue, pressured the company to reposition itself in the market and also for the public. Nothing fairer than using one of the main brands for this.

In just 30 days before the launch, the company's shares appreciated by 13,71%. Furthermore, the film itself already demonstrates positive results for the brand. At the premiere alone, according to data from Bloomberg, around US$22,3 million was raised.

Just as we see in cinematographic universes, as is already common with superheroes, this bet has become part of strategies for brand growth. Mattel enters this dispute and arrives in a promising way.

But why was the movie Barbie a success?

We have already seen that the company behind the doll sees the film in a hopeful way and is betting on more licensing for the brand. But what about the film? Why has it become so influential?

To answer this question, we must carefully analyze two already known strategies. They are: nostalgia marketing and activation marketing. They were the ones who made this possible hyping gigantic around the character.

Want to know more about these strategies?

Nostalgia Marketing

According to a survey carried out by Spotify, around 70% of participants remember more easily brands that were present in important moments in their lives. In fact, you probably remember a product that was part of your childhood, or another important moment in your life.

This is not a strategy in itself, but brands that take advantage of this feeling can achieve great results.

In this way, the promotion of the film uses the nostalgia of the toy, focusing on pieces that make reference to past successes. As well as the appeal that the various versions of Barbies and Kens can generate. In the case of a character like this, this task can be very simple, just show the right thing to the right audience.

However, some companies can also take advantage of nostalgia, even if they are not part of their audience's childhood, as in the case in question. This is because they seek to cause feelings through associations between their product and brands that were present in their consumers' past.

This is the case with the O Boticário collection, in partnership with the gum brand Bubbaloo.

Activation Marketing

What spoke loudest during the launch period, without a shadow of a doubt, was the role of social networks in the dissemination process. This was another strategy used to further promote the Barbie film. That's because, with the release approaching, the Barbie Selfie Generator was made available to fans, an artificial intelligence that can put you on the film's poster.

One of the features of the promotion was to show that there are different types of Barbie and everyone can become the doll. As well, all men can be “just another Ken”.

With the Barbie Selfie Generator, this becomes even more real. But, above all, it allows more and more people to talk about the launch through publications on the main networks.

Other factors that boosted the launch

In addition to all this, there are other points that helped with this dissemination, but they are not necessarily part of a strategy. As we see at superhero movie premieres, Barbie drew a crowd dressed in pink to the movie theaters.

After all, the live action it became an event and gave the public a sense of belonging and community. In other words, it transformed a simple cinema session into an experience for the public.

It's common to see people in pink going to watch the film, because, as we saw in their publicity campaigns, everyone can be a Barbie. This would be no different in a special moment like this, when you witness the embodiment of your favorite childhood toy, on a cinema screen.

Furthermore, Barbie brings to light a very present position among the audience for which the film is intended, one of social criticism and questioning of the role of women in society. This factor opens up space for dialogues and debates that deepen the story even further, making it last longer and enter other niches.

In this way, the Barbie film manages to be much more than a simple live action of the most famous doll in the world. Becoming an example of how a brand should position itself and communicate with its audience.

Now it's time to talk about it. Have you already watched the film? What do you think? How about sharing your opinion with us?

In the new episode of the Beatz Podcast, we discuss exactly these aspects in a super interesting chat about the film with our writers Barbara Viotto and Letícia Petrelli. Check out ours now official channel and leave your opinion in the comments, we want to know what you thought of the Barbie movie!

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