Barbie officially debuted in 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York City as a creation of Mattel. Barbie's inventor, Ruth Handler wanted her daughter Barbara to have action figures like her brother Ken, so she created her own. The Barbie brand generates gross sales of about 1.54 billion U.S. dollars per year.

FROM MONOLOGUE TO DIALOGUE WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS

The Barbie business was declining and the love for the doll was waning. Research showed moms and girls didn’t find Barbie relatable anymore. It was the classic example of consumers voting with their wallets. Barbie either had to change or wouldn’t survive. The question was where to go next? This triggered Mattel to a move from a monologue to the market, to a dialogue with all the users and non-users.

CONNECT UNDERSERVED GROUPS

As market demand is shaped more and more by (social) media influencers, lawsuits and large-scale protests, corporate brands are challenged to embrace far more diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It also shows that inclusivity isn’t just a nice thing to have or something to put in a report, but becomes a necessity to become more future ready. Not just by changing the advertising message towards more human, social or green, but by changing the very product itself. For Mattel, it was the right thing move to engage with people who didn't feel represented by the 'ideal' Barbie doll. It opened the market up for Barbie as more people found her relatable and enforced the very principle Barbie was based on; to empower girls dreams.

FIGURING IT OUT: A NEW RANGE, A NEW OPPORTUNITY

Barbie was advertising an unrealistic and unhealthy perfect body image to young girls. And for a long time the brand didn't really listen to the negative feedback until the consumers started to speak with their wallets and sales dropped. The brand's response was to embrace a very different direction and transform the range of dolls into a “mirror image of the real world”. Mattel launched Barbies of many different ethnicities, skin tones, hairstyles, body types. The successful doll line Fashionista was extended by adding hearing aids, colorful prosthesis, skin conditions and a doll with Down Syndrome. These Barbies serve as a reminder that we should never underestimate the power of representation.

Ask yourself:

• Describe what groups maybe do not feel very much invited or are not able to easily access your products & services?

• What change in your communication & proposition could create a better connection with these underserved groups?

• How could you use addressing these social values as a business opportunity?