ObjectiveElevate cultural awareness around 

a key brand moment: The relaunch/repositioning of Ken®

Begin with a Simple Concept

Barbie + Ken =

Filter All Campaign Elements through Word-of-Mouth

Tell a Story acrossthe Customer Journey

Tell a Story across Earned, Owned, Paid and Shared Media

Barbie: Pop Culture Icon

Relaunching Ken…

• “Identity crisis”

• Opportunity for relaunch/repositioning

• Foot to larger Barbie brand marketing through fresh lens

History1961

An amicable split was announced by publicist Ken Sunshine during a press conference

Barbie and Ken met on the set of their first TV commercial

2004 2011

Together Again!Reunited after Ken’s roman-tech grand gestures and full-year campaign

Barbie by the Numbers

Barbie on Facebook

• 2.7 Million Likes

• Global footprint

• Unique digital voice

• Launched in 2009

• Highly engaged fans

• 5k interactions daily

Barbie on Twitter

• 82.5k followers

• Verified Account

• Interactions with celebrities and tastemakers

Barbie on YouTube

• 909k Channel Views

• 2.2 Million Upload Views

Campaign

SEPTSEPT OCTOCT NOVNOV DECDEC JANJAN FEBFEB MARMAR

OWNEDOWNED

SHAREDSHARED

EARNEDEARNED

PAIDPAID

Catch Me If You Ken

Catch Me If You Ken

Barbie and Ken.com

Barbie and Ken.com

Match.com VideoMatch.com Video

Pop-Up Store

Pop-Up Store

Magnolia BakeryMagnolia Bakery

Dylan’sDylan’s

Us WeeklyUs Weekly

Out-of-HomeOut-of-Home

Genuine Ken

Genuine Ken

V-Day Date with Ken

V-Day Date with Ken

Genuine Ken FinaleGenuine

Ken Finale

Ken’s Social Launch

Ken’s Social Launch

Christie’sChristie’s

Foursquare Memory LaneFoursquare

Memory Lane

Owned: Barbie & KenSocial Channels

• Barbie’s existing and Ken’s newly launched social channels told the story from each of the dolls’ perspectives

• Ken used Foursquare to leave nostalgic anecdotes about his relationship with Barbie

• Facebook and Twitter housed the dolls’ flirty interactions

Owned: BarbieandKen.com

The “hub” of campaign – all communication and collateral drove consumers to the microsite where consumers could vote and engage further

Owned: BarbieandKen.com

A Love-O-Meter displayed the public sentiment towards the potential reunion at any given moment

Owned: BarbieandKen.com

Following the reunion, the microsite refreshed to house a curated feed displaying aggregate of social conversations from fans and the dolls

Owned: Pop-Up Store• Activated Facebook

commerce to celebrate the Barbie & Ken reunion

• Inventory included the $5 “She Said Yes!” doll gift set, a product to thank consumers for their continued engagement with the campaign

Shared: Match.comPartnered with online dating site Match.com to create a “search story” video where Ken finds his perfect match... Barbie!

Shared: Magnolia Bakery• Partnered with the premier

NYC & LA bakery to create a custom Barbie-branded cupcake

• Seeded ‘paparazzi shots’ of Ken at Magnolia to mark the start of his courtship

Shared: Dylan’s Candy Bar• Leveraged existing partnership

by digitally tying the in-store products into the social romance narrative

• Created a ‘grand gesture’ moment signifying Ken’s desire to win Barbie back

Shared: Christie’s Auction HouseEngaged the art & fashion community during NYFW with an exclusive event in celebration of Ken

Earned: Catch Me If You Ken

Re-introduced Ken to the public with an eye-catching truck that housed real-live Ken dolls on FNO 2010

Earned: Genuine Ken on Hulu• First half-hour reality show to

premiere on Hulu

• Branded dating show reached the #3 reality show spot on Hulu

Earned: Valentine’s DayDate with Ken

• In celebration of Barbie and Ken’s reunion, fans were invited to have a “date” with Ken in NYC’s Times Square and LA’s The Grove

• Reinforced Ken’s standing as “the ultimate dream date”

Paid: Out-of-Home• Ken’s feelings towards Barbie were

made even more public with billboards and street displays in LA and NYC

• SMS codes found on displays allowed mobile voting

Paid: Magazine• A two-page spread in US

Weekly threaded into the social narrative

• Barbie “stumbled upon” Ken’s love profession in the magazine

Earned: Digital CoverageThe campaign secured placements on top Social Media, Tech, Women’s Lifestyle, Fashion and Entertainment blogs, garnering over 11 million impressions.

Results• Garnered a half a million votes on BarbieandKen.com

• The words “Barbie” and “Ken” were tweeted every 18 seconds on reunion day

• Barbie and Ken were trending topics on Twitter in 22 markets, including NYC, LA, Chicago, Texas and south Florida

• Share of voice spiked for both Barbie and Ken tremendously with a 1,600% increase in total conversations on reunion day

Results

Facebook increase of 449,258 fans, 34.2% growth

Twitter increase of 10,147 followers, 38.9% growth

2,039 followers, 15 check ins

Facebook increase of 22,060 fans, 111% growth

Twitter increase of 5,417 followers, 162% growth

112 followers, 35 check-ins, 76 users completed Ken’s tips

Continuing the StoryThe conversation between brand and consumer should be one circuitous ongoing journey, across different platforms, with zero dead ends.

Insights

• Social media became the center of conversation in the reunion saga as it played out like a modern day romance in a believable, authentic way

• Cross-linking and leveraging multiple social platforms allowed for fans to be consistently engaged

Insights

• Crowdsourcing the decision of the Barbie & Ken reunion gave fans ownership of the campaign, cultivating engagement and serving as an effective, simple call-to-action for all target audiences

• Offline and online integration drove reciprocal benefit within the marketing mix

Barbie’s Social Journey…Hosted first tweetup around Barbie Basics launch in February 2010.

Crowdsourced 125th career – Computer Engineer!

Barbie’s Social Journey…

Conducted a QR code fashion scavenger hunt during Fashion’s Night Out 2011.

Barbie’s Social Journey…

• Collected Facebook users’ aspirations through the 2010 “Wall of Dreams” Facebook application

• Recently launched the 2011 iteration, an interactive map of dreams from around the world

Barbie’s Social Journey…