Tasja Kirkwood, VP of Global Consumer Insights at Mattel, tells Toy World all about the company’s latest newcomer to its impressive Barbie portfolio.
This year, Barbie is introducing a brand-new innovation within the Dolls category that Mattel says will change how pre-school aged children play and interact with the brand.
Born from insights gained from parents, My First Barbie is the first-ever Barbie doll specifically designed for pre-school-aged children. The My First Barbie doll features the same look and feel that Barbie fans know and love, but is updated with large accessories, easy-to-dress Velcro fashions and a larger, softer body made for smaller hands and growing imaginations.
Perfect for pre-schoolers, the debut collection encourages young minds to explore friendship and fashion play. It also provides opportunities to learn about day- and night-time routines, such as getting ready for bed by putting on pyjamas and brushing your hair.
My First Barbie will also benefit from dedicated content developed with pre-schoolers in mind; research shows that girls this age want dolls based on characters they can build an emotional connection with via TV shows and/or movies.
Tasja Kirkwood tells us the concept was born from insights gained from parents: “We are always talking to families about what they are looking for that best suits their needs,” she explained. “Through this research, we discovered a gap in the market. Parents had a desire to introduce their pre-school-aged children to Barbie but were planning to wait until they were older, with more developed dexterity.”
This insight led to the exploration of the first Barbie doll designed specifically for pre-school children, enabling the brand to reach even more parents and children with the Barbie system of play.
“Research, and feedback from parents, was essential to creating a line that could not be better suited to little hands and pre-school fans,” Tasja added.
“The Mattel Global Consumer Insights team conducted a nationwide survey with parents of pre-school-aged kids to better understand the specific elements/attributes they desired to see. 60% of those that we polled feel their pre-school-aged children aren’t old enough to play with standard-sized Barbie dolls independently. This is because they often need assistance when changing outfits and engaging with the small pieces due to dexterity limitations.”
Mattel leveraged these insights to deliver the best possible play experience for children – My First Barbie.
Larger than a standard Barbie doll, My First Barbie stands at 13.5” inches compared to 11.5”. The doll also features more highly articulated arms and legs, closed hands, younger facial attributes and long rooted hair – features which make it easier for younger children to hold, dress and manoeuvre and offering a new Barbie play option.
My First Barbie is just one example of the ongoing development of the Barbie brand. Recently, a Chelsea doll with Scoliosis was added to the standard Barbie range, to further inclusivity in the doll line, and a limited edition doll of Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock was created, as the scientist was honoured as new Barbie Role Model.
