Life in plastic, is it fantastic?
Few toys have had as much fame as the world renowned
Barbie, which began to sell its dolls in 1959 and eventually became a
multi-billion dollar industry that gradually started selling more than just
dolls. In the age of industrial convergence that brings together various collaborations
and merging among industries, Barbie has succeeded in entering numerous areas
of sale and merchandizing by creating its own TV series, movies, songs on
Itunes, comics, games, apps, magazines, perfume, clothing, make-up and more.[1] Moreover
Barbie does not only create dolls from their own creative imagination but also
works together with numerous fashion designers, famous artists, Blockbuster
movie franchises, popular TV series and even remakes iconic figures in history;
needless to say, she’s got it all! But despite this tactic of “total marketing”
where almost everything imaginable is being either merchandised or sold, Mattel
still reports that Barbie’s sales have been dropping for a third consecutive
year.
However, recent online trends have begun to put Barbie in the social media spotlight,
which could result in a resurgence of profit and popularity for our beloved
doll. [2]
This essay seeks to analyze Barbie’s
position on the market from the angle of an industry that practically reached
the limits of industrial convergence yet still greatly depends on its audience,
and eventually argues that (short term) popularity on social media is not
likely to be the answer for providing long term consumer interest or profit for
its products.
Factors of
decline
To begin to understand Barbie’s current dilemma one
should first look at some of the factors that are causing the drop in sales for
an industry that has almost entirely submerged itself in industrial
convergence. Part of the reason for a decline in sales is that studies have
shown a shift in the interests of young female age groups; girls feel more
mature sooner thus shifting Barbie’s previous main focus group from age 3-9 to
6-9. A second reason comes down to the company receiving much public criticism
in the media on Barbie’s unrealistic proportions and argue its long term effects on creating a negative body image and low
self-esteem in young girls. A third reason is also stiff competition with many
new kinds of dolls including the way Disney, that is known for industry convergence and
extensive marketing, is selling its princess dolls based on its movies,
ultimately having beaten Barbie in doll sales after creating dolls based on the
movie Frozen.
The New
Audience
The use of “narrativization” of dolls by making them
part of a story, imaginary universe or in this case popular movies appeals to children
and invites participation, probably explaining part of the success of Frozen dolls. Barbie has already
experimented with this in the past albeit differently, by creating dolls affiliated
with popular (adult) movies such as Lord
of the Rings, the Wizard of Oz
and Titanic. [3] Barbie
dolls are currently being marketed to two different types of audiences; the
first one being that of little girls who follow Barbie movies or series and intend
to play with their dolls, and secondly the older group of Barbie collectors who
collect older and more expensive dolls and is motivated by the notion of having
a collection.
A new kind of upcoming audience for Barbie narrativation
is that of social media users who intend to use or alter Barbie’s storyline for
their own purposes. It has become a trend among certain social media users to
use Barbie dolls to create their own storylines, cross different doll
storylines and even re-create famous videos by artists on unofficial Youtube
channels, all straying away from Mattel’s narrative of Barbie. In one specific
case a photographer used Barbie and created
an online sensation by putting her in the role of “Hipster Barbie” which was originally an attempt to mock and criticize people’s excessive use of
“overdone social media shots” Instagram, which ultimately led to over 240.000 followers
of her channel.
Taylor Swift
in Shake it off (2014)
Barbie as Taylor
Swift in Shake it off
The narrative strategy in these new types of Barbie
users can be considered “spreadability” since it also implies that fans create
their own narrative for Barbie on social media and share it, consequently
starting the trend that encourages other users, which is unlikely to have been
something Mattel intentionally wanted to create. [4] When
looking at Mattel’s initial focus groups, it becomes evident that these would
be more prone towards “drillability” which is more inclined to focus on the
deepening and exploration of the existing narratives or storyline.[5] The
first group of 3-6 year olds would be too young to spread their own narratives
on social media or with other doll-lovers, therefore being more likely to
following Barbie’s movie narratives and simply want to have all the characters
to play with. The second group of mature doll collectors would focus on delving
deeper into the existing narratives to be able to create complete collections;
members from this last group rarely intend on playing with the dolls, since the
very idea of taking collectable dolls out of their boxes is practically
considered sacrilege.[6]
The
new type of audience has the advantage of increasing the popularity of Barbie
by its use of creativity in creating narratives and its willingness to spread
it online. But whether this new type of audience for Barbie creates a new target
group for merchandising that could help Mattel cope with their drop in sales with
the help by of viral Youtube videos and social Media is questionable and even
doubtful. The reason for this has to do with the very nature of the so-called
“viral” trend and its audience; they don’t last forever. [7] Viral
videos become popular because of aspects that make them different or new at the
time, but when the concepts from the videos become popular or start being
copied by more people it loses its novelty and originality and people move on
to find the next trend, which is by very definition fleeting.
Conclusion
As was mentioned in this essay, Barbie’s multibillion
dollar position on the market is facing difficulty due to the shifts in target
groups, tough competition and criticism from society. Barbie’s place in the
spotlight of social media as part of the viral trend of making one’s own
narrative does increase spreadability and popularity for Barbie in a totally new
audience, but since trends are transitory the nature of this new audience is unstable,
ultimately resulting in popularity that is by no means a durable or dependable
source to help restore Barbie’s fading numbers on the long run.
Thesis
statement: The use of fleeting viral trends as a means to compensate for
declining sales or generating long term strategies to increase product profit
cannot work.
L.O. G.K.
R.O. A.L
Sources:
‘A challenge to Barbie’ (2003) on http://www.economist.com/node/1719558
on 18-09-2015.
‘Barbie Dethroned in NRF’s Top Toys Survey as Disney’s
Frozen Takes the Crown (2014) on https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/barbie-dethroned-nrfs-top-toys-survey-disneys- frozen-takes-the-crown 17-09-2015.
‘Barbie's Proportions On A
Real Woman Are Mildly Terrifying’ (2012) on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/barbie-real-woman-proportions-mildly-terrifying_n_1749204.html 16-09-2015.
Edmond, M., ‘Here
We Go Again: Music Videos after YouTube’ in Television
New Media (2012) pp.
306-322.
‘Hipster Barbie mocks
Instagram users’ (2015) on http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/10/travel/hipster-barbie-instagram/ 14-09-2015.
Johnson, D., ‘Cinematic
Destiny: Marvel Studios and the Trade Stories of Industrial Convergence’ in Cinema Journal, (Vol. 52, Fall 2012) pp. 1-24.
‘Mattel’Barbie sales down
for a third consecutive year’ (2015) on http://fortune.com/2015/01/30/mattels- barbie-sales-drop-third-year/ 19-09-2015.
Smith, A., Beyond the Brick: Narrativizing LEGO in the
digital age (Massachusetts
2011, conference paper) pp. 1-20.
[1] D. Johnson,
‘Cinematic Destiny: Marvel
Studios and the Trade Stories of Industrial Convergence’ in Cinema Journal, (Vol. 52, Fall 2012) pp.
1-24; 1.
[2] Although we are objectively
discussing Barbie, we admit that it was our childhood toy growing up.
[3] A. Smith, Beyond the Brick: Narrativizing LEGO in the
digital age (Massachusetts
2011, conference paper) pp. 1-20; 1,5.
[4] Ibidem 1.
[5] Ibidem 1-2.
[6] Ibidem 7.
[7] M. Edmond., ‘Here We Go Again: Music Videos after YouTube’ in Television New Media (2012) pp. 306-322; 306.
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