Marketing Barbie's Latest Makeover

Iconic Barbie, the doll beloved by boomers and still on toy-store shelves after more than 50 years, is getting a needed makeover. Despite her high fashion forays, and several museum displays devoted to her fashionista variations, Barbie has been criticized for her unrealistic, ultrathin body type and shaped feet that fit only in high heels. 

Facing increased competition from many other dolls, sales of Barbie dolls dropped 20% from 2012 to 2014, prompting parent company Mattel to add new diverse product variations for 2015 (a wider range of skin tones and hair styles).

In 2016, Mattel has introduced even more faces and shapes to update the Barbie product line. Barbie now is short or willowy, slim or curvy, to appeal to a wider target market and better reflect the diversity of the toy buying public.

Some of Mattel's Barbie ads in the past year have emphasized the aspirations of girls, aiming to associate the brand with dreams of career possibilities. Other ads focused on fashion and expressing individuality. Will Barbie's latest marketing makeover reverse the sales slide?

Mattel's Marketing Strategy for Digital Natives

Today's youngsters are digital natives, which is why Mattel is retooling its marketing to fit their behavior and interests.

Iconic toys like Barbie have nostalgic appeal, to be sure, especially among parents who played with Barbie and Ken as children. Still, Barbie has lots of company (meaning competition) on toy store shelves, including the incredibly popular Frozen sisters from Disney.

In addition, the target market for Barbie and similar fashion dolls is becoming narrower because girls are moving onto more grownup toys earlier than in the past.

Now, with Barbie's sales down for the third consecutive year, and company profits drooping, Mattel is using updated technology for Barbie's 21st century makeover.

The latest Barbie models have ToyTalk technology, allowing them to "converse" with girls. "The most requested thing that kids have wanted to do with Barbie, and Mattel's done unbelievable amounts of research over the course of decades, is to talk to Barbie," says ToyTalk's CEO. Supported by an aggressive product development schedule, Hello Barbie will be on toy shelves late this year, if all goes well.

Another classic Mattel toy, the View-Master (see photo above), is also getting a 21st century make-over. It will be introduced with virtual reality apps (a Mattel proprietary app and others available on Google Play) for more compelling images. The original View-Master was introduced in 1939. This new, affordable VR version will repurpose some of the existing images. Will digital natives go for it?

Marketing Toys to Mom AND Dad

Toy companies realize that before youngsters are old enough to have an allowance or shop on their own, Mom and Dad (and Grandma and Grandpa) make most toy purchases. No surprise, then, that toy marketers are reaching out to adults, explaining the underlying appeal of their products and tweaking marketing to fit the decision-making considerations of both Moms and Dads.

Mattel is conducting consumer research with mothers in relation to its Big Wheels toy cars. "By talking to Mom, we are extending out the conversation to the actual purchaser," explains Mattel's vp for the North American boys' toys and games unit. Because most Moms didn't play with Hot Wheels when they were kids, they don't "get why cars, engines, and all the shapes and crashing and smashing are so cool," he adds.

So Mattel has hosted breakfasts for Moms, contacted Mommy bloggers, and used social media to spark dialogue, with the aim of turbo-charging Hot Wheels sales. Already, Hot Wheels has 1.1 million Facebook likes and 15,500 Twitter followers. An app is in the works to suggest which Hot Wheels purchases parents/grandparents can make to complement the cars and trucks already in the hands of their youngsters.

Meanwhile, understanding that Dads (and Grandpas) grew up with building block sets, while Moms (and Grandmas) grew up with Barbie, Mattel and Mega Blok have teamed up to create Barbie Mega Bloks (right). The idea is to leverage the venerable Barbie name and personality with building sets that play to the spatial thinking strengths of block sets.

Lego's extremely popular Lego Friends for girls (below) have helped pushed that Danish company's sales up 25% during the product line's first year on the market. Yes, the sets build on Lego's famous block reputation but also offer unique colors, characters, and story-telling possibilities that appeal to girls in particular.

Initial public reaction was mixed, with some Moms worried that pink blocks and cute characters bordered on gender stereotyping--but the unexpected sales success of Lego Friends suggests that girls like the product and parents like that their girls are building with blocks.

Baby-Boomer Barbie

To celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday (March 9), Mattel is sending the famous doll on an international expansion tour. It's opening a new Barbie store in Shanghai, a 6-story store that sounds something like the American Girl stores in NYC, Chicago, and other major US cities. Since Mattel bought American Girl in 1998, it makes sense for the toymaker to apply successful tactics to other product lines (like Barbie).

Forbes recently interviewed Barbie about her special birthday. The Economist thinks Barbie's conservative look and fashions may help Mattel weather the economic storms ahead. Fiat has even created a special Fiat 500 for the doll's birthday party, with Ken at the wheel.

Today's Barbie is tech-savvy, right at home in her online home. To see more of Barbie through the years, including this 1959 image, click here.