How Barbie teaches artists the importance of collaboration
How Barbie teaches artists the importance of collaboration
A marketing approach of just having fun with the brand
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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
How Barbie teaches artists the importance of collaboration
The new Barbie movie has a great marketing campaign. Their strategy is to create free publicity through brand partnerships.
Why it matters
Collaborating with other brands and their communities is the most effective way to grow a brand. This is called a brand spillover effect and happens constantly in music. Think of the brand associations of a label that spill over to an artist’s brand. Additionally, there is a fanbase spillover effect driven by cognitive dissonance: “I like this artist, so the chances are high that I like the artists they’re collaborating with.” Feats and remixes also come to mind.
How it works
To promote the new Barbie movie, Barbie maker Mattel has signed more than 100 licensing deals. Although obvious behaviour for a toy company, there’s more at play than meets the eye.
Mattel’s strategy to promote the movie is fan-centric. They understand that to reach a wider audience, they should collaborate with brands in those markets by creating products and stories people love to consume. The licensing deals are actually brand partnerships where both brands benefit. Who doesn’t want to be associated with a brand that claimed a colour?
Some examples of Barbie’s brand partnerships:
Barbie x Airbnb - Stay at a real-life Barbie Mansion in Malibu, hosted by Ken on Airbnb.
Barbie x Xbox - Game with Barbie content on a Barbie-style Xbox console.
Barbie x Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, Nicki Minaj, Lizzo and more - Epic soundtrack line-up
Barbie x Impala skates - Barbie-inspired capsule collection of skates.
Barbie x Funboy - Barbie-style pool floats and beach items.
Barbie x Homesick - Barbie-style scented candles.
Barbie x Moon Oral - Barbie-style toothbrush and toothpaste.
Barbie x Architectural Digest - Margot Robbie showing Architectural Digest the Barbie Mansion.
Yes, but..
I understand that not every artist can secure a partnership with Airbnb and Xbox. My point is that great marketing is not about optimising sales funnels and hacking algorithms. It’s about creating the stories we like to consume ourselves. Just have fun and start creating.
Take action now
For music artists, it’s relatively easy to partner with other brands, because artists are brands. So, start collaborating with other artist brands today whether it’s a feature, a remix or even just making an appearance in the Instagram Stories of other artists. Stop doing it yourself, do it together.
Go deeper
The devil works hard, but Barbie’s marketing team is INSANE (@MosheIsaacian on Twitter, thread)
From Airbnb to Xbox: brand Barbie goes for big bucks with 100 partnerships (The Guardian)
23 the biggest Barbie brand collaborations ahead of the new movie (Indy100)
Here’s All The Barbie Marketing You Might Have Missed (Notion)