Margot Robbie in the movie Barbie (Variety magazine)
Monday, July 24, 2023 / 14:17
Director of Global Marketing at Warner Bros., Josh Goldstein, revealed behind the scenes of the company’s success in marketing Barbie, explaining the details of the arduous journey until the film reached the top of the competition among the films shown in cinemas this season.
Marketing efforts exceeded the film’s production value
The feminine touch of a director who knew how to make a movie that captivates the audience
Real marketing is not limited to products, but extends to tourism promotion
He confirmed in an interview with the magazine “VarietyHe said that as long as the imagination was not confined to a small box, he said in a joking tone: “It is inevitable that the crazy ideas of Barbie doll will be released, until they sweep the world with a movie.”
Double efforts for a humanitarian message
Goldstein explained that the marketing department at “Warner Bros.” worked and is still working exponentially to attract audiences to cinemas to see the transformation of the famous doll into a living character moving in front of them on the screen, and living comic paradoxes with a meaningful human message.
Marketing and products
Goldstein considered that the most important thing that contributed to the arrival of the movie “Barbie” was that it was directed by a woman, “Greta Gerwig”, who added feminine touches to it and made it suitable for the summer atmosphere, especially after cooperating with major brands such as “Balmain”, which issued a jacket that matches the movie.
Cooperation with fashion houses did not stop, but extended to electronic games, as XBOX released a special design for a new version of its games in bright pink, to match the latest summer 2023 fashion, according to Goldstein.
Tourism and entertainment
He pointed out that real marketing is not limited to products, but rather extends to tourism promotion. In anticipation of the advertising campaign, a realistic “Barbie Dream House” appeared in the city of Malibu, while enjoying all the luxury that Barbie doll lives, especially the pink boat cruise.
Although the film has only been shown in American and international cinemas for 3 days, according to the director of marketing at Warner Bros., the intensive campaign efforts, estimated at $ 150 million, are already bearing fruit.
Barbie sweeps the halls
For its part, the magazine indicated that after 3 days of its release, the movie “Barbie”, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, smashed box office expectations with $165 million in North America and $337 million worldwide, after a production budget of $145 million.
“Barbie” was ahead of the event movie “Oppenheimer”, which earned $ 80.5 million, and it also swept the films “Mission Impossible 7” and “Indiana Jones”, with the largest public turnout in the time after the end of the Corona pandemic, and the fourth largest turnout in the history of cinema, according to the same magazine.
