Dive Brief:
- Toy maker Mattel is looking to boost Barbie's pop culture presence, and after introducing a more culturally diverse Barbie line, the company is turning to social media in its latest marketing push.
- In addition to revamping its television ads and gamifying the Barbie website to make the marketing more interactive, Mattel is working with YouTube influencers to expand the brand's reach.
- The Barbie brand is also looking to build its following on Instagram, where the Barbie's Style profile has already reached more than 815,000 fans.
Dive Insight:
The Barbie brand has historically focused its attention and ad dollars on television and direct-to-consumer messaging such as email, but this year Mattel is upping the amount it allocates toward social media, according to Evelyn Mazzocco, SVP-global brand general manager at Barbie.
The AdAge Datacenter found that Mattel spent $13.4 million on U.S. measured-media for the Barbie brand in 2013. In expanding the marketing avenues they use, Mattel is also more likely to reach their desired target audience. A December study by The Marketing Store and KidSay found that YouTube is the favorite digital media outlet among tweens (kids ages eight to 11) -- 93% flock to YouTube regularly.
"Using YouTube influencers to get girls to connect in the space of fashion and style was a great addition to how we're talking to girls," Mazzocco told AdAge.
