SocialMedia.orgVideo Case Studies

Travis Harding &Jessica Kimiabakhsh

Barbie for President: Social Media Case Study

This video is from

BlogWellSan FranciscoJune 20, 2011

socialmedia.org/blogwell

SocialMedia.orgCase Studies

This presentation is from

BlogWellLos Angeles

December 5, 2012socialmedia.org/blogwell

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Barbie for President – Social Media Case Study

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BARBIE: BRAND SOCIAL MEDIA OVERVIEW

• Extend Barbie’s brand marketing and first person narrative

to existing and new fans across social platforms

• Provide additional distribution platforms for content

• Keep Barbie socially & culturally relevant

• Position Barbie as a fashion thought leader and digital

innovator

• Integrate online and offline activations to optimize the fan

experience across global and local partnerships,

promotions, events and campaigns

• Activate and engage with designers and other influencers

2K+ Followers

28K+ Followers

6MM+ Likes

2K Followers/60K Unique

Views

144K+ Followers

80MM+ Total Views

40K+ Subscribers

4.9K+ Followers

212 Check-ins

The objectives of the US-driven Barbie for President campaign:

• Create cultural noise and maximize impact with seamlessly integrated social and PR activations

• Optimize trending topics timed to election buzz

• Leverage aspirational DNA and I Can Be… messaging to inspire fans to engage with and advocate her Presidential run

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BARBIE FOR PRESIDENT 2012 CAMPAIGN

BARBIE FOR PRESIDENT: TACTICAL OVERVIEW

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CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

TIMING: APRIL 5TH

• Launch of Instagram & Tumblr

• The Epic Awards

• Chris Benz Press Conference

• Forbes & CNN Media Exclusives

ROAD TO THE PINK HOUSE

TIMING: MAY - SEPTEMBER

• Barbie2012 Zazzle Boutique

• The White House Project Toolkit

• Ongoing media coverage

THE 2012 ELECTION

TIMING: OCTOBER -

NOVEMBER

• Glam-paign Giveaway

• Barbie 2012 Pinterest board

CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT PHASE 1

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TIMING: March 22nd

PURPOSE:

Supporting social media channel for the campaign, and to

host images that could be leveraged for Barbie 2012 posts

on Facebook & Twitter

CONTENT:

• Teaser posts featuring “sneak peaks” of Barbie’s newest

career

• Coverage of Chris Benz press conference

• Live updates from campaign launch event

• Inspirational quotes & imagery

• Barbie interaction with fan UGC

PHASE 1: CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

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PHASE 1: CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

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TIMING: APRIL 5TH

PURPOSE: Social Media hub for Barbie President

Campaign

CONTENT:

• Barbie posted updates from “the road to the pink

house” 2-3 times a week

• Post content included blog entries about her

campaigning activities (both text & image based), as

well as re-blogs of inspirational quotes and imagery

from relevant influencer channels

• An interactive infographic allowed fans to express

their opinions and share the 5 B Party pillars with

friends

*Barbie2012.com is a vanity for Barbie.Tumblr.com

PHASE 1: CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

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TIMING: APRIL 5TH

Purpose: Leverage partnership with The White

House Project to announce Barbie’s candidacy at a

relevant, press-worthy, event

Content:

• Barbie digital stations and moderated live Twitter

feed that was displayed on the IAC media wall

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TIMING: APRIL 4-5TH

Purpose: To unveil the doll and generate buzz

amongst fashion influencers and industry insiders

Content:

• Cathy Cline, Barbie’s “Glam-paign Manager,”

announced Barbie’s run for President

• Chris Benz shared his mood board, original

sketch & unveiled the doll

PHASE 1: CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

PHASE 1: SOCIAL CONVERSATION SNAPSHOT

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PHASE 1: MEDIA SNAPSHOT

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THE GLAM-PAIGN TRAIL PHASE 2

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PHASE 2: THE GLAM-PAIGN TRAIL

TIMING: APRIL - NOVEMBER

On the road to presidency, Barbie worked with The White House

Project (TWHP), a national, nonpartisan woman’s leadership

development organization.

CONTENT:

• “Take a Girl to the Polls” WHP Tool Kit

• Cross-promotional posts on Barbie social channels and The

White House Project’s blog and Facebook page

PERFORMANCE:

• Barbie posts supporting the partnership drove 3K+

interactions across, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram & Pinterest

• The White House Project Toolkit was the best performing

Barbie Tumblr post containing TWHP content

PHASE 2: THE GLAM-PAIGN TRAIL

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TIMING: SEPTEMBER 7TH

Purpose: expand campaign relevancy to older brand fan

audience via customizable product on Zazzle

Content:

• Barbie for President boutique on Zazzle.com, where

fans could design and purchase custom B Party swag!

• Links on Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram &

Twitter driving to the Zazzle boutique, to encourage sales

and increase product visibility

• Shop button in the main navigation on Barbie2012.com

drove to B Party Boutique landing page on Zazzle.com

PHASE 2: SOCIAL CONVERSATION SNAPSHOT

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THE 2012 ELECTION PHASE 3

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PHASE 3: THE 2012 ELECTION

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TIMING: NOVEMBER 2ND

PURPOSE: drive additional interest in Zazzle & doll product

CONTENT:

• “Re-blog to win a B Party Prize Pack”; featuring the President

doll and product from Zazzle

• 39 Pins featuring campaign assets and product from Tumblr,

Zazzle and Amazon

PERFORMANCE:

• 166 entries, making the giveaway the most succesful Tumblr

post to-date

• Several brand fans created Tumblr accounts soley to enter the

contest

PHASE 3: THE 2012 ELECTION

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TIMING: OCTOBER 31ST - PRESENT

PURPOSE: drive additional buzz and doll sales in the

weeks leading up to the election

CONTENT:

• 39 Pins featuring campaign assets and product from

Tumblr, Zazzle and Amazon

PERFORMANCE:

• 110+ Re-pins

• Vote Barbie Fridge Magnet was the best performing

pin during the campaign, with 14 re-pins

PHASE 3: SOCIAL CONVERSATION SNAPSHOT

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PHASE 3: MEDIA SNAPSHOT

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INSIGHTS & KEY TAKE-AWAYS RESULTS

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BARBIE2012.COM REFERRAL TRAFFIC OVERVIEW

Barbie2012.com visitors arrived on the site from the following search queries (ranked highest to lowest traffic):

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Source

Facebook

Direct

Twitter

Tumblr

Facebook (Mobile)

Google

Mattel Global

Mashable

Barbie Media

Influencia.net

Social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Facebook Mobile and Tumblr) rounded out the top five traffic referral

Press hits on Mashable, Influencia.net also directed high traffic

KEY INSIGHTS & LEARNINGS

#Barbie2012 hashtag garnered significant traction on Twitter and Instagram

Overall, Tumblr posts that included media-rich content received the highest re-blogs and likes, demonstrating followers engaged well with visual content

• Barbie’s re-blogged posts from other pages (The Glitter Guide, Glamour, etc.) were well received by followers

• The Barbie 2012 Glam-paign Giveaway post was the most popular post to date

Tumblr posts that were supported with global Facebook posts and tweets received higher engagement, suggesting that fans did not organically visit the Tumblr page regularly

• Global Facebook posts and tweets that include the Tumblr post asset received higher reblogs and likes than those without

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KEY INSIGHTS & LEARNINGS

Over 80% of Tumblr users consume content through newsfeeds, resulting in fewer page views and higher re-blogs and likes of Barbie content through the newsfeed location

In-store displays of product garnered a high volume of photos on Twitter and Instagram

Through an integrated social and PR strategy, Barbie’s 2012 presidential glam-paign received significant media coverage and social fan engagement as a culturally relevant activation

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Learn more about past and upcoming BlogWells

socialmedia.org/blogwell

This video is from

BlogWellSan FranciscoJune 20, 2011

socialmedia.org/blogwell

SocialMedia.orgCase Studies

This presentation is from

BlogWellLos Angeles

December 5, 2012socialmedia.org/blogwell