Barbie Movie Marketing School

Welcome to Barbie Marketing School! Creative marketing has helped turn the Barbie movie into a brilliant success, and it is now a billion-dollar film. It’s broken at least seven box office records, including being the highest-grossing opening weekend for a female-directed movie, with over $155 million taken at the US domestic box office. I thought it could be interesting to look at some of the Barbie movie’s marketing techniques, and how you can apply them to your business, even on a small budget. 

THE TEASER TRAILER

Firstly, several months ago, they did a creative teaser trailer which went completely against grain. It was a homage to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and shown before screenings of films like Avatar: The Way of Water. It got people’s attention. When you are making a promotional video for your business, you can think against the grain. People want entertainment, so why not find an aspect of your business, product or service, and create a fun marketing video. If you want help, this is part of what we do with Freedthinking clients, so get in touch.

THE PROVOCATIVE TAGLINE

Secondly, they created a provocative tagline that was instantly memorable. “If you love Barbie, if you hate Barbie, this movie is for you”? You can also do this. Let’s say you’re a car mechanic, you could say “if you’re sick of dealing with car mechanics, you’re going to love our team”. It taps into primal emotions of love and hate, and instantly engages people.

CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS - THE MALIBU DREAMHOUSE

And finally, partnerships. They did very creative partnerships - they did one with Airbnb where you can rent a massive Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu. They did a big makeover on an existing mansion and did aerial photography. There are Barbie-themed crocs. Barbie t-shirts in Gap, and tons of other collaborations. But you can also do this for your business, just on a smaller scale, and by getting creative with your marketing. If you have a beauty salon, maybe you want to partner with a locally-owned clothing store. If you are a cosmetic surgeon, you could partner with a local upscale hairdresser. If you provide IT services, you could even partner with the car mechanic for a creative promo.

If you want help with your marketing, get in touch with us here at Freedthinking!