What do you have permission to say? That’s the starting point for your brand voice. Ethos is the cornerstone of communications.

So could Barbie really become a global symbol for girls’ empowerment?

A brand people love to hate?

Our idea was to involve media, stakeholders and opinion leaders in the launch of Barbie’s new body types. Building Barbie’s ethos on her history of inspiring girls to pursue careers in anything from space travel to politics.

Suddenly Barbie went from being an unlikely brand voice for girls’ empowerment to the natural opinion leader and game changer.

After all, communication is not about what you do, it’s how you do it.

Program Implementation:

- War room (with representatives from communications, social, marketing, ecommerce, legal, issues)

- Influencer briefings (psychologist, body image, Barbie advisory council)

- Beat reporter briefings

- Broad media outreach

- Strategic media relations

- Press release distribution and materials on Barbie Media site

Timeline:

- Briefed: Aug ‘15

- Prepared: Aug ‘15 – Jan ‘16

- Launched: 1/28

- Wrap Up: Feb ‘16

Placements:

- Secured advanced exclusives with the below outlets, utilizing behind-the- scene tours, various interviews, unprecedented access to design studio and company executives.

- TIME (NA)

- CBS This Morning (NA)

- Glamour (NA)

- The Telegraph (UK)

- Challenges FR)

- El Pais (SPA)

- Corriere della Sera (IT)

- 5,000+ stories to-date

- Secured TIME Magazine cover story

- Nearly 6 billion global media impressions

- 5,000+ stories to-date

- 97% positive/neutral coverage

Print/online:

- 16 unique pieces of content with TIME (editorial, opinion and videos)

- Blanketed mainstream media (NYT, WSJ, USA Today, Bloomberg, AP, Fast Company, FORTUNE, WIRED, Washington Post, Huff Post, BuzzFeed, Mashable, US Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, People, Vogue, ELLE, InStyle, Esquire, and ABC News)

Broadcast:

- 1,100+ broadcast stories including morning shows and evening news (GMA, TODAY, CBS This Moring, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN New Day, MSNBC Morning Joe, HLN Morning Express, NBC Night News, TMZ, E! News, Access Hollywood Live)

Social:

- #Barbie trended globally on Facebook and Twitter

- 1M+ engagements on owned channels

- Encouraging tweets from Chelsea Clinton, Lena Dunham, Shonda Rhimes, The Ellen Show, Smart Girls, Dove UK’s Real Beauty and musician Sir Mix-A-Lot