For generations upon generations the Barbie doll toy has been cherished by little girls hearts. Unfortunately, recently Barbie and Ken have not been making as many sales, due to new more high-tech toy developements that have surpassed the oldschool 'doll' toys. Generation Y girls are playing Facebook games and game applications on their smartphones, and not as much with old-fashioned barbie dolls.
Mattel hasn't gone down without a fight and has many various barbie dolls, accessories, and barbie doll houses. Not to mention, Mattel has integrated their Barbie product-line named brand into social media as well. Ken turned 50, March 11th of this year, and the Mattel company had a reality show portraying 'the Bachelorette' where Barbie would find her true 'Ken'. The show is called, Genuine Ken, and is a huge success on Hulu.
Stacey Blume is the creative director and founder of Blume Apparel and Lingerie of New York, and she saw an amazing opportunity out of Ken's 50th birthday. Mrs. Blume ignored the younger girl target market and went straight to the adults with her 'Barbie lingerie catalog'. Barbie and Ken portrayed a doll relationship that was complicated and playful which was seen by an adult target market more than a young girl would understand. The substance of Barbie and Ken's relationship was seen as glamorous and flashy, and that's what the lingerie represents in a 'firey' way.
Stacey Blumes company created an ad campaign depicting Barbie's bedroom with her lingerie and Ken's underwear sprawled out and hung up around the room. The ad sent viewers to the Barbie and Ken website in order to vote if they 'like' the ad campaign and the new lingerie idea. Stacey Blume announced “The analytics for our website went up around 4,000 percent during the Ken and Barbie campaign...It went viral to that extent.”
What a great idea by Mrs. Blume for using a long loved doll influence like Barbie and spice it up to get traffic through her and Mattel's websites.
Interesting post! I think this is just another example of the benefits of viral marketing. Sometimes all it takes is just a few people to set a concept on fire. Not only was Mrs. Blume genius for understanding that her target market are former Barbie lovers she took advantage of social media.
ReplyDeleteVery intriuging post! Its hard to believe that we are already at the age group in which our childhood toys are being re-invented in more up-to-date produres. Personally, I never thought that Barbie and Ken would have to be modified. Guess I was wrong!
ReplyDeleteI agree-this is pretty interesting. I can see that this was successful because Blume targeted girls who grew up playing with Barbies and have grown into her target market. This was a good way to think outside the box and pair up two companies that have never paired up before...just another benefit of social media marketing!
ReplyDeleteI found the subject of this post somewhat upsetting! I never would have thought that Ken and Barbie would have to resort to featuring lingerie. These were the kinds of toys that I played with when I was a kid, now they are all grown up. I guess it makes sense from a business stand point though, if Mattel can not sell to today's generation of kids, why not sell to the generation that grew up with them. Very interesting post!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post I feel so much older. I was the little girl Barbie used to target, now I'm the girl they're targeting for lingerie. However, I think using Barbie for the campaign was a very smart idea. How many women our age and older played with a Barbie doll? We trust Barbie, we like Barbie, and we don't mind listening, watching, or reading an ad campaign because of that trust. I think Mrs. Blume was brilliant in her strategy. Trust is key, and we all trust Barbie.
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