give me ideas on how to make barbie doll more innovative?
barbie dolls sales are declining, hence i need to make some change in the doll itself.
give me ideas to make the doll more innovative and appealing and also ideas to introduce new barbie products.
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maybe make them a little easier to afford.
1. Go green. Should be able to ride that wave for awhile.
2. Go retro. I grew up with Barbies and the real money was in the clothes and accessories. I got the ponytail barbie in 1959 or 60 and spent the next 6 or 7 years buying clothes for her. Now, you go to the store and all you see are dolls, no cool clothes to buy. No “must have” Christmas dress, prom dress, winter coat, summer outfit, halloween costume, etc. I still have the clothes I bought or received for Christmas and they are beautiful. Lined in satin, tiny buttons, great detail. The only plastic was the shoes.
And we could buy Barbie sewing sets of tiny zippers and buttons, patterns, all kinds of things to make for our Barbies. Our favorites were the cloth that you bought at the fabric store that was pre-printed with barbie clothes. You cut them out and sewed them together. I think they call them “fabric panels”.
All these items were a marketing coup. Kind of like buying a Playstation and then having to shell out big money for new games all the time.
American Girl is a good example of people willing to pay for all the cool QUALITYstuff that comes with the dolls.
3. Not so much PINK!!! Despite some of your best efforts, Barbie comes across as white, blond, Ditzy and shallow.
Many adults won’t buy them because they reinforce stereotypes. And, to them, all Barbies are alike.
I’m sure that mine is not the only family that calls that part of the store, “the pink aisle”. How about a better representation of America? More colors in the display. More colors in the dolls.
How about some character development, so we know more about Barbie and what she cares about and what she does besides shopping and job hopping? Is she helping in soup kitchens, campaigning for civil rights, volunteering for Habitat For Humanity? (can she be a limited edition with a % for a good cause?)
How about some definite personalities for her friends and family? I don’t seem to see kids nowadays even knowing the names of Barbie’s friends. Sorry to harp on the “old days”, but we started with Barbie and Ken, then were so happy to add Midge and Allan, Tootie and Todd, Skipper, Scooter, Ricky, and my favorite, the chic Francie. Each one of these was known by name and had a role in Barbie’s world. A girl was way cool if her family could afford to add to her Barbie family. Or if she had some cool Barbie cases, with hangers for the clothes.
4. You could create a need for an entire new set of clothing if you changed the body style. Put some muscles on that girl and some meat on her bones! Buff Barbie! Put an intelligent gleam in her eye. And still give her some great clothes. Stylish, luxurious, not something with a bare midriff and a tiny skirt. Ride the Michelle Obama style wave.
5. Sell to different markets. Kids. Collectors. Trendy (Emo Barbie?)
Ask yourself>>>>Why do I want to be like Barbie?
Kid answer:
Parent or other purchaser answer:
Remember, it’s not just a commodity, it’s an image, a dream that you are selling.
Good Luck