¶ … Mattel's global and domestic advertising of its unique line of dolls under the Barbie franchise. The domestic market has received an advertising campaign that focuses on American values of fun, independence, strength, and beauty; but foreign markets have not been as receptive. The Chinese market for instance did not embrace Mattel's House of Barbie: it was too large and did not meet the needs or values of the Chinese consumer. Thus, Mattel closed it and went back to the drawing board to figure out how to best market to the Chinese consumer. It developed a product that reflected the Asian sensibility, its values and its ideals in doll form.
Mattel: Global and Domestic Advertising
Mattel is a multinational corporation that advertises domestically and globally in different ways. The Mattel Barbie doll is a distinctly American toy that is marketed towards young girls domestically. Barbie is viewed as a representation of the American spirit of girlhood -- fresh, fun, stylish, independent, powerful, and beautiful. She is the embodiment of the American dream for girls -- the notion that every girl can be and in fact is a princess. Mattel thus markets itself in terms of appealing to the cultural dream of the American consciousness. Globally, however, its marketing tactics are different and have learned some valuable lessons from recent forays into foreign markets where it attempted to advertise according to the same themes and notions associated with its domestic market.
Global marketing actually is not as uniform as the name suggests. Each market, as Mattel learned, has its own ethnic, cultural, and...
Thus, in America, Mattel focuses on fun, fashion, and beauty to drive sales to young girls (it also emphasizes its brand name and brand recognition in order to keep customers loyal). But in China for instance, Mattel cannot approach the market the same way: Chinese girls are taught to be more interested in education and conformity and submissiveness than they are taught to have "fun" or to be independent. Thus, Mattel's House of Barbie in China fell flat on its face -- it failed to advertise itself correctly and could establish no brand loyalty (Rose, 2014). It did not recognize the nature of the market in China. Following its failed attempt in 2012, Mattel started over, this time developing a product that could appeal more to the Chinese girlhood market. It produced an Asian version of the Barbie doll, which was less American in nature and more attuned to the ethnic and cultural background of the Chinese market. It advertised by reducing the concept of glitz and glamour and building on the traditional styles dear to the Chinese population: culture, tradition, work, and successful performance (Burkitt, 2013).
Thus consumer research into the global markets for Mattel has revealed that every region and ethnic nation has its own take on what a doll or toy should represent and what lessons it should impart to its young. Content matters in marketing and Mattel now sees how this is so and how it is different all over the world. While the universal appeal of the marketing campaign may be something that Mattel is used to achieving in the…
