How Mattel Receives Earned Content With the Barbie Brand and #CloseTheDreamGap
Barbie's has had another makeover – The female empowerment movement.
In the past, the Barbie brand was struggling and after losing sales, Mattel has changed its tune about how to sell dolls and represent women. Now, among veterinarian, doctor, and an astronaut, Barbie can now list “YouTube Vlogger” on her resume.
Animated videos of Barbie have been running on YouTube since 2015, and there are now over 70 vlogs on the Barbie Channel. Recently, her videos have been reaching a wider audience of social media users. Barbie is now addressing self-reflecting issues that have trouble girls young and old. One of these videos includes "Sorry Reflex" in this video Barbie says, "Every time we say sorry we take away from our self-confidence".
One of the most recent Barbie Vlogs, posted on October 11th, explained the "Dream Gap". This video goes alongside an entire campaign run by Mattel. Mattel states that when girls are the age of 6, they stop seeing themselves to be as smart, while boys their age continue to have growing confidence in their own intelligence. This results in girls being less likely to see themselves pursuing careers in STEM and other industries.
The flood of comments on the Barbie Dream Gap Vlog are so positive and show that the vlogs are truly helping women feel encouraged by the messages of the brand – this content is making a meaningful connection with the viewers, and the responses show. The word about the Dream Gap is growing - women and men are encouraging young girls on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans of the campaign are posting photos, messages, and sharing their own stories to raise awareness and support!
(Images retrieved by Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram)
The Barbie brand is leading by example of how marketing can not only make a difference for women (which is a contrast to how advertising and marketing are sometimes viewed) but also receive earned content by those who want to show support for the brand. Since Mattel has changed the way Barbie represents women, sales have reportedly gone up since April. Barbie and Mattel are proving that to stay relevant in the modern world of social media, brands must adapt and respond to what their customers are demanding - if done correctly, they will be rewarded!
