Toy World took to the road in a pink Barbie London taxi with Mattel’s Michael Hick, Kelly Philp and Eirian Allen to check out retail installations Mattel has been working on.
In the aftermath of one of the biggest pop culture moments of the year, the hugely anticipated release of the Barbie movie, John Baulch and Rachael Simpson-Jones, along with members of the Mattel UK team, took to the road to check out some of the many Barbie retail installations and find out how the company is supporting its partners during the ‘once in a lifetime’ event.
The impact of the Barbie movie can’t be understated. It’s sparked conversation among friends and families about the meaning of life, our patriarchal society, gender equality and whether or not Ryan Gosling is actually good-looking. It’s helped create thousands of memes and GIFs, Barbie: The Album, has racked up tens of millions of listens, and thousands of fan-created social media videos have covered everything from ‘Barbiecore’ outfit inspiration to how Alan needs to make a comeback.
The movie has also allowed Mattel to ignite the retail scene with best-in-class activations and installations across the country. The team was keen to show Toy World a selection of them, so John and Rachael met up with Michael Hick, UK & Ireland VP; Kelly Philp, head of Marketing; and and Eirian Allen, head of Customer Marketing, to check them out.
Michael tells of the phenomenal impact the movie has had on brand awareness. “The current demand on Barbie is unprecedented across Toy and the wider consumer product ranges; personally, I have never experienced demand like this on a brand of this size,” he says. “Our retail partners are seeing a major uplift in traffic into both physical locations and online stores. It really has been incredible and the Mattel team is still trying to take it all in.”
Read more about “the best day ever” visiting Sainsbury’s at Nine Elms; Westfield London (Hamleys and The Entertainer) and Oxford Street (Primark and Selfridges) via the link below or in our September issue.
It was clear just how bespoke each installation was to each retailer, as Eirian explains: “What we set out to do is create retail solutions for each and every individual retail partner, based upon their locations, consumer demographic, average basket spend and so on.”
Harrods’ customers enjoyed a Barbie pop-up toy store, photo op and branded fashion space, while Asda drove traffic into stores via a social media takeover. Aldi had POS displays in its central aisle, Very ran a custom-created Barbie advert and Toymaster members received gift-with-purchase and POS packs.
It’s clear that Mattel, in partnership with Warner Bros. hasn’t just produced an outstanding movie. It’s also produced a moment in time that has turned the whole toy and retail scene on its head.
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