What Barbie The Movie Teaches Us About Building An Innovative Brand

The Barbie movie continues to generate a lot of buzz and excitement ahead of its July 21 release. Google Trends shows a whopping 160K daily searches worldwide. This is good news for Warner Bros, Greta Gerwig and the movie's $100 million budget. Blockbuster is defined as a summer movie with $100 million+ in inflation-adjusted box office gross sales. Blockbusters released in the summer of 2022 averaged $308 million with "Top Gun: Maverick,” earning $733 million.

It’s still too early to guarantee a box office smash for Barbie. But the marketing has been a masterclass in innovation. The team started out by keeping the plot under wraps and stoking a sense of mystery and curiousity. They empowered the fanbase with tools to create cool visuals that were fun and easy to share. And guess what else is slick?

The user generated content is engaging and fun but also branded with colors, fonts and styles that stoke emotions and nostalgia (we are talking about a 60-year-old brand). Another attention grabber was to announce a large and diverse cast after initially focusing just on the two main stars.

As entrepreneurs, business owners and marketing pros what strategies can we learn from the massive marketing effort for the Barbie movie? What are their core elements for branding success? How are they killing it on the innovation meter? In this post we're going to have a deeper look at some of the strategies and tactics in play.

Understanding the Importance of Innovation in Branding

Innovative branding adds jet fuel to your brand identity. The Barbie marketing team understood the assignment. One of the most innovative Barbie marketing moves was to create an AI powered Barbie Selfie Generator. It takes a person's facial features and turns them into a Barbie-like image. The result is a fun photo that people love to share on social media. Since its launch this marketing tactic has been a huge viral success. It has taken the meme world by storm.

Innovative branding allows you to break through the noise and create a unique identity that sets you apart. For business owners it is critical to showcase your brand's personality, values and purpose in creative ways. Barbie team leverages its powerful brand in a variety of ways to capture attention, build loyalty and generate even more buzz. The Barbie movie has been very active on social media, using platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to promote.

One of the most surprising aspects of the campaign is the use of a simple Barbie pink billboard with the word "Barbie" written in small print in the bottom right corner. The uncluttered design allows the viewer to focus on the word "Barbie," even if you’re driving at 65 MPH on a busy highway. This minimalist approach is an aesthetic twist that any brand can test for effectiveness.

Key Elements of an Innovative Brand

I talked in a previous post about the importance of crafting your brand voice and visual identity.

Your visual identity has to align with your brand story. The color Barbie Pink (Pantone) is the Hex Code #e0218a of magenta-pink. You’ll see the color used by Mattel's Barbie in trademarks, packaging and promotional materials. The consistency makes it iconic and instantly recognizable. How does this compare to the use of color and font in your brand strategy?

Customer-Centric Approach

Creating a brand voice that resonates with your target cutomer is crucial to building a solid brand identity. The Barbie franchise has a diverse and loyal fanbase. During the pandemic Barbie doll sales experienced a 16% surge in global demand. Sales hit $1.35 billion and the boost helped Mattel have its best sales since 2017. Now Warner Bros is counting on this audience to show up and show out at the box office. The team has created engaging content that has been shared widely by fans. This has helped to keep the movie top-of-mind for potential viewers. Expect to see more marketing messages that encourage coming out as a family, a group and purchasing tickets in bunches.

Consistent Brand Experience

An innovative brand delivers a consistent experience across all communication channels. The visual identity infuses all marketing materials. From website design to social media to customer service, every aspect of the brand should reflect its innovative spirit. Consistency builds trust and reinforces the brand's image as a leader in the space. The Barbie team is consistently making it easy for fans to spread the word, share the messages and get excited about this new release.

As the movie tagline goes, "She's everything. He's just Ken".

Creative Storytelling

It is important for companies of all sizes to have a compelling brand story. Your origin story captures the essence of the brand. It serves as the foundation for all other branding efforts. Barbie marketing has taken creative storytelling to a whole new level. From the beginning the minimalist billboards piqued curiousity. The Barbie merchandising stays on message. Some examples include the ALDO shoe drop, fashion collab with retailer Forever21, and a virtual Barbie Dream Car.

Strategies for Building an Effective Brand

At the heart of innovation is embracing new ideas, technologies and approaches that can set you apart from your competitors for that opening weekend money (yeah I’m looking at you Oppenheimer). Team Barbie ticks this box with the the pink Barbie mansion in Malibu. Barbie is partnering with Airbnb to give away a series of one night stays.

Collaborate with Market Leaders

Barbie has created a staggering amount of brand partnerships and cross marketing projects. This is a great lesson for companies that want to expand their footprint in a cost-effective manner. Collaborations can include strategic alliances, joint ventures and co-marketing opportunities. The key is to build on each other’s strengths and grab attention with something really innovative.

Leverage Technology and Digital Platforms

We already discussed the AI powered Barbie Selfie Generator. Barbie is leaning into web3, virtual reality, mobile apps and social media. Marketers of all sizes have a similar opportunity to incorporate technology into their branding tactics and strategy. The only limit is the imagination of the management team. Stay up on the latest technological advancements or get left behind.

Promote a Culture of Creativity

Innovation requires you to encourage and empower your team to come up with new ideas and push boundaries. Barbie marketing illustrates this strategy by constantly introducing new promotions and collaborations that resonate with the target audience. For you to make this work, your company culture has to fuel thinking outside the box. By creating an environment where innovation is valued and rewarded, you can tap into the creative potential of your team.

Conclusion

Overall, the Barbie movie marketing campaign is a great example of how to use innovative branding to effectively market a project. Time will tell if this pays off as a summer blockbuster but the chances look pretty good. The Barbie marketing team is pulling out all of the stops. It's clear they have invested a lot of time, brainstorming and money into their strategy.

Innovative branding is a powerful tool for building a unique and successful company. I’ve revealed the fundamentals in this post. You begin by understanding the importance of innovation. To continue you identify and apply the key elements of an innovative brand. Finally you tie it together with an innovative strategy that sparks engagement and excitement of your core audience of fans.

I hear you asking. What if you don’t have a $100 million budget for your project? Marketing is about adaptability. By embracing creativity, challenging the status quo, and delivering exceptional experiences you too can build an innovative brand. If you need some additional guidance be sure to reach out.