Barbie X Pier collab?

It’s Barbie’s world – we’re just living in it. Pier’s Account Assistant, Rachael Butler, unpacks what she has learned from the marketing for the new Barbie movie.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock or in an alternate universe where everything is made up of one colour and people walk around on tiptoes, you would have seen promotions for the new Barbie movie everywhere over the last few months. While we don’t typically have Hollywood Mattel budgets to light up the London Eye and collab with seemingly every single brand under the sun, there are definitely a few things we can learn from the Barbie movie PR campaigns.

Work smarter, not harder

Everyone knows the iconic Barbie shade of pink, and Mattel knows that. So why not just paint one huge billboard pink, and add the date the film is being released in small letters at the bottom? Nailed it. Rumour has it there was a pink paint shortage on set… but we’re glad they saved enough for this genius billboard, which will have achieved more value for its earned media reach than the actual footfall near the poster I’m sure. With the right brand equity, like the Guinness perfect serve or Coca-Cola’s bottle, there is genius in the simplicity of this type of marketing.

Pack a bigger punch with a collab

Gold star to anyone who finds a brand that Barbie hasn’t collaborated with – from candles, game consoles and fast food restaurants – they have all bases covered. When you’re as big as Barbie, there’s no surprise that everyone wants to jump on this bandwagon. Some of the brands that have joined forces with Barbie include Xbox, ALDO shoes, ZARA, Airbnb, UNO, Fossil, Kitsch, OPI, Bumble and even Crocs… the list goes on. Two brands collaborating is a smart way to leverage each other’s brand currency and reach new, wider audiences. Just ensure the collabs make sense – the rumoured premise of the new Barbie movie is that the Barbie’s can be whatever they want; from gamers, interior designers or even presidents, so the range of collabs is on brand to the storyline.

Learn the importance of UGC and social media

Never underestimate the power of a fangirl. Early April you may recall your social media timelines flooded with ‘This Barbie is…’ memes, which replicated the movie posters of the cast that were released at the same time. Millennials’ dreams were coming true as they could turn their selfies into Barbie posters and have their own pink, sparkly profile pic to upload. The Barbie Movie Instagram account already has 1.1M followers, and the movie hasn’t even come out yet. To put into perspective, that is 100k more than the Avatar Instagram account, which is the highest-grossing movie of all time. They know their target audience and are working with them well.

The list of genius marketing, with help from a seemingly limitless budget, goes on and on, but here are a few more examples of what the Barbie marketing team have pulled off:

With the budget we’ve seen so far, we will likely see even more from Barbie – watch this space.

I for one am here for every moment!

More news & insight

The PCA appoints Pier

We've got a new client in the pub industry...

Pier is in pet food!

We've got a supremely exciting new social media client...

What it’s like to be a food awards judge

Take a trip behind the scenes as Pier MD Amy Bendall took on judging duties...

What the Procurement Act 2023 means for small agencies 

Our operations manager Lisa tackles the pain of tenders – and the new legislation intended...

Barbie X Pier collab? application

To apply for this position please fill in your details below and we will be in touch soon.