Barbie (2023)
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It would be rather incompetent of me, as a marketing student, to neglect an analysis of the ubiquitous marketing campaign, movement, phenomenon, or whatever you like to describe it, of the Barbie movie released on July 21, 2023. For a household name, reputable to a predominantly female audience and millennials, and can be commonly encountered defaced (at times) in a toy box or charity shop, we weren't expecting Greta Gerwig's Barbie, featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling to create a historical impact this summer.
Whilst the movie's production budget was around $145 million, the marketing budget was reportedly $150 million. Since Margot Robbie strongly predicted the film will make a billion dollars in an early pitch meeting, the distributors, Warner Bros., had to ensure this vision came to fruition - and oh boy, it certainly did.
After researching Barbie's marketing strategy, it was clear there were two core elements: (1) Paid/Inorganic Marketing and; (2) Earned/Organic Marketing. Let's see how it was executed.
Inorganic Marketing
With a marketing budget of $150 million, paid marketing is inevitable. This mainly involved digital marketing, OOH (out-of-home) advertising, and partnerships. Barbie's infamous teaser trailer featuring the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was notably the first piece of paid marketing for the film, invoking excitement and awareness for audiences.
Barbie (2023) Teaser Trailer
This progressed to effective OOH advertising campaigns featuring the vibrant colour pink on billboards and displays, targeting the masses. If a billion dollars is intended to be made from this movie, in-direct marketing is axiomatic.
As a frequent commuter on TfL's Metropolitan Line, they even slapped the Barbie name on the Barbican station sign. Barbican, more like Barbiecan, get it?
Barbican (Barbiecan) Station Sign
It would be rude not to exploit the capabilities of AI with a big budget wouldn't it? To sustain awareness, especially to an arguably intended target audience, a Barbie filter was implemented on TikTok allowing users to view themselves as a Barbie doll. Now, the most significant and in my opinion, prevalent aspect of Barbie's inorganic marketing was the sheer amount of brand partnerships it had. Take a look at the list below to see only SOME of the partnerships:
- Xbox Console & Controllers
- Airbnb - Barbie's Malibu Dreamhouse
- Burger King Barbie Burger
- GAP x Barbie Collection
- Crocs x Barbie
Barbie Partnerships Compilation
Organic Marketing
I'd say a bulk of Barbie's cultural success originates from organic marketing. In an interview with Variety Magazine, the president of global marketing at Warner Bros. Josh Goldstine stated they employed a "breadcrumb strategy" to cultivate hype and awareness. From showcasing the teaser trailer in cinemas before Avatar: The Way of Water screening and subsequent behind-the-scenes footage of Margot and Ryan shooting a scene in Santa Monica, the aim of the game was to leave so-called breadcrumbs for audiences to speculate and converse about translating into forums, social media posts by fans e.t.c.
Not to mention, Barbie and Christoper Nolan's Oppenheimer had conflicting release schedules. Instead of this being negatively manifested, it transpired into greater earned media for both parties - the Barbenheimer phenomenon was born. A perfect epitome of synergy.
Does the 'Big Budget = Big Box Office' formula always work?
With a distributor like Warner Bros. and a profound marketing budget, success is almost guaranteed. But what if you have a small marketing budget? Are you able to generate equal success? Paranormal Activity (2007) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) subvert this formula rather nicely.
Paranormal Activity had a $15,000 budget. That didn't prevent its filmmakers from employing viral marketing techniques such as fake news articles to create an illusion between fiction and reality, online teasers, and inviting audiences to request screenings in their local town creating a sense of involvement and anticipation. It's box office? $194.2 million.
The Blair Witch Project had a budget of $60,000. Akin to Paranormal Activity, it relied on viral marketing strategies producing a fake documentary that was aired before the movie's release to create an enigma and illusion that the events were genuine, in conjunction with missing person posters distributed around real-world locations. Online forums and a website was also published fuelling greater interest in the movie. It's box office? $248.6 million.
While Barbie's marketing strategy was a monumental success and having a profuse marketing budget is helpful, success can still be achieved when you're resources are limited. It is down to the marketers to exploit and leverage as much as they can.
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