You might have preferred Oppenheimer. You might have been more Sindy than Barbie back in the day (flashback trivia: Sindy smashed it in the 80s, with 80% of the UK fashion doll market; but she was done by the end of the 90s).
But whichever way you look at it, no one can deny the Barbie 2023 movie was a massive success for the brand and its owner, Mattel.
In fact Mattel reckon they made an additional $125M in revenue from the additional sales of toys and related merch and the movie earnings. Pas mal.
But beyond the Barbie fandom, Mattel's digital strategy is focused on leveraging new and emerging technologies to provide multiple experiences to its audiences. Its gone all-in on creating live events, NFTs, and squeezing loads of extra value from its existing brands (think Barbie, Hot Wheels, UNO and more…)
Toy manufacturers leaning into digital media is nothing new – there have been tonnes of movies and games licenced over the last few decades.
But – leaning into the digital experiences around Web3 and interactive commerce is progressive.
Mattel's digital strategy
Here’s how Mattel is keeping its 1980s IP cool in the 2020s:
Subscriptions strategy
Yes you can subscribe to Barbie
And Hot Wheels. And Monster High
For $9.99 a year you get access to: exclusive toys, behind the scenes, interact with toy designers, etc
Only suitable for the diehard fans but there are plenty of them, and at less than $1 per month its at the lower end of the ‘super-fan’ subscription models
Live events
There is a 2 day live event every year – Mattel Creations Revealed
Exclusive toys and collectibles
Interactive live interviews – ask questions, comments, and buy the products that appear in the videos
Yes it’s a bit like teleshopping but we like it
They have a big virtual collectibles line
As the first toy company to launch NFTs, they’ve got a head start in this space
Hot Wheels is the big one here – with lots of limited edition NFTs and a humming marketplace
The particularly smart thing about these is the element of surprise when purchasing – you buy packs of cars for $25, but in there you’re guaranteed some rare/mystery cars.
Obviously some of these then hold a lot of value and are trading on the P2P marketplace for $300+
Gaming
Ok this is nothing new
But the new(er) news: the first official Barbie Roblox game launched in October 2023 (Barbie Dreamhouse Tycoon) and Mattel recently announced the launch of a ‘self-publishing’ division so they can control the development process for selected games rather than always licencing to a partner
Expect loads more to come in this space
Takeaways
📈 The opportunity in digital experiences and web3 for traditional IP is huge
🍋 And a lot of this value is completely additive with very little cost involved – there is suddenly a load more juice to squeeze from those lemons
🔥 That IP which resonates with those older, millennial audiences has the most potential right now given those are the audiences with the money and the tech smarts to get involved
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