Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Are you tired of living in a Barbie world? Too bad and sorry, not sorry for adding yet another Barbie commentary to your digital desk. The iconic doll has pervaded our lives to such an extent this year that I couldn’t help myself. I will aim to keep it music related.
The extent: A total of 20 artists are involved in the soundtrack (including Ryan Gosling whose music career runs deep, and yes I’m also counting Mark Ronson). Mattel’s licensing team locked in 100+ deals with brands spanning fashion, gaming, hospitality, food & more 🥵The movie is expected to gross $100M = Warner’s total marketing spend (it does not include Mattel budget).
The why: Inspired by Marvel’s resurrection, Mattel sees opportunity in exponentially reviving Barbie’s IP through franchising beyond the toy aisle. The campaign’s snowballing effect has been so effective that other businesses around the world hopped on the trend to include pink variations of their offerings. Jealous.
The music takeaway: Much can be learned from a marketing & branding angle - check out this IG post or Twitter thread we did for those insights; before you ask, yes we did mention the massive marketing budget most of us don’t have but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn there.
What I’ll add is this: music wasn’t an afterthought but a similarly strategic tool that was leveraged in an incredibly smart way. Whilst the Barbie marketing strategy had a nostalgic focus, Mark Ronson and team carefully curated a diverse lineup of (mostly) young talent with a fresh sound.
If you're a legacy artist, there are many opportunities for you to tap into a younger audience with the right type of partnership (think Kate Bush x Stranger Things although you’re not limited to film & tv; in fact, it’s better to think outside the box here and go to places others aren’t thinking of). For younger talent that’s struggling with TikTok, remember that 30+ year-olds have deep pockets (2bn people still use Facebook daily) and parents, in particular, would do anything to invest in their children’s happiness and education. Something to think about.
Andreea Magdalina, Founder at shesaid.so