Marketing Genius-Barbie, First the Dreamhouse, and now this!?

Marketing at its best, leave it to Barbie. Regardless of your affinity for Barbie and Ken, you cannot deny the genius of the marketing campaign that launched the Barbie Movie. A search on Google for the "Barbie Movie" creates a screen spectacular that keeps us coming back to see it again and again. Brilliant Barbie, absolutely brilliant!!!

The marketing behind this movie is leaving all marketers reeling. I had to know more, so I went deep to get the details. How do you get millions of adults running to the theater dressed in pink, Instagramming the proof? Here are some lessons in marketing provided by none other than Barbie.

Go Beyond the Obvious

It is a movie about a childhood toy, but is it? The producer decided early on that her vision would go far beyond the obvious. The focus was on creating an experience that could be shared by all. The reach extended beyond the movie; it enveloped a culture and inspired a collective celebration of all that is pink.

Our culture likes to feel something. It is why we choose Target over Walmart, and proudly relish a French accent when pronouncing the name "Tarjay." Even the mundane task of picking up laundry detergent while carrying a Starbucks can make us feel special.

We are in the midst of this very thing in our industry. Going beyond the obvious is one of the many definitions of commercial strategy. Creating a strategy that extends beyond the marketing funnel to optimize fully is the course we are on.

From awareness to conversion, how do you expand the reach? You do it by thinking beyond the expected result. In this case, the expectation was a movie about Barbie; the result was a culture coming together awash in pink.

Budget is not your Boundary.

Barbie got our attention early on, beyond the movie trailer. I saw the trailer and thought how grateful I was that I would never have to see it. And then, the marketing got my attention, and I was a fan. My initial inclination was to revel in the execution, believing it was due to a huge budget. As I continued to pay attention, it became clear that the awareness was not within the marketing budget or plan. Here are three tactics that you can execute without a $150M budget:

• Increasing awareness and inviting the target audience are key objectives of activations. A notable example is Barbie's participation in Pride parades, dressed in costumes. Extending the reach to targeted audiences through activations extends your message and reach. Show who you are beyond your message, take action by embracing their culture, and they will embrace yours.
• Partnering with other brands can help expand your reach and introduce your brand to new audiences. Google's decision to collaborate with Barbie was smart for both companies. The partnership helped Barbie gain more visibility and generated buzz on Google searches. Has any marketer included the "search experience" in their marketing plan? Brilliant move for both companies. Don't even get me started on Barbenheimer, changing the industry and the economy.
• Differentiation is always the name of the game. No brand wants to be in a sea of sameness; however, defining the difference requires adoption and acceptance by the audience. The differentiation was so embraced that products far and wide have jumped on the Barbie bandwagon. Brands like Hilton, Christian Dior, and Burger King are embracing the pink and the profit it brings.

Commercial Teams Expand the Reach

To stand out, avoid being seen as a common item. Instead, focus on the antonyms of "commodity," such as "luxury," "scarce," and "dream." By redefining the opposite of what's usual, we can promote something that is not needed for everyday use, is in short supply, and is imagination or desire that can't be bought with just money. Creating a brand that sets itself apart requires creativity.

This is how you can make it happen in your organization:

• Marketing creates awareness. Think outside the box by bringing every brain into the game to develop a game-changing idea beyond the obvious.
• Sales creates consideration. Give your sales team something to sell through storytelling and influence.
• Revenue converts the bookings offering a path of least resistance. Commodities fill the pages of OTAs. The goal is to build a commercial strategy that creates awareness and consideration and converts direct to a site that stands apart from the rest.

It is All About the Results

Vision and execution have created a phenomenon that we will be talking about for years. Additionally, the conversion is record-breaking. According to The Guardian, "Barbie has outperformed all expectations, breaking box office records for the most commercially successful film by a female director, bringing in more than?$356m?(￡276m, A$527m) worldwide during its opening weekend."

We can build our dream house without a million-dollar budget. Be a doll and create a commercial strategy that puts your company and products "in the pink."

I am obsessed, so you don't have to be - Lori Kiel

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