Cold Call

Mattel’s Barbie Playbook: Replicating Success Across the Company’s Portfolio


Listen Later

The 2023 movie Barbie and its accompanying marketing blitz incited a worldwide craze. Suddenly Barbie was everywhere, a celebrated icon reinstated at the forefront of cultural conversation.

This flourishing of goodwill stood in contrast to decades of criticism of the Barbie brand. Although proponents had celebrated Barbie for her promise to “inspire the limitless potential in every girl,” detractors felt that the doll promoted a narrow beauty standard and perpetuated gender stereotypes.

In this episode of Cold Call, Harvard Business School Professor Elie Ofek and coauthor and doctoral student Ryann Noe join host Brian Kenny to discuss the case “Barbie: Reviving a Cultural Icon at Mattel.” They explore how Mattel planned to sustain the Barbie brand’s positive momentum and replicate the doll’s success across other toy brands in the company’s portfolio.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Cold CallBy HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

183 ratings


More shows like Cold Call

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

1,836 Listeners

The Look & Sound of Leadership by Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

The Look & Sound of Leadership

1,163 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

385 Listeners

TED Business by TED

TED Business

1,122 Listeners

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving by FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

107 Listeners

Women at Work by Harvard Business Review

Women at Work

1,405 Listeners

Dear HBR: by Harvard Business Review

Dear HBR:

745 Listeners

HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

HBS Managing the Future of Work

107 Listeners

Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

Inside the Strategy Room

172 Listeners

McKinsey Talks Talent by McKinsey People & Organizational Performance

McKinsey Talks Talent

35 Listeners

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

777 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

636 Listeners

The So What from BCG by Boston Consulting Group BCG

The So What from BCG

219 Listeners

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions by The Lauder Institute

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

73 Listeners

HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Strategy

83 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

150 Listeners

New Here by Harvard Business Review

New Here

77 Listeners