My Childhood Addiction Rekindled Via Digital Marketing

I had an unhealthy obsession with Barbie as a child. To the point I continued to play with Barbies long after my friends had stopped, and I would hide my Barbies when my friends would come over so they wouldn’t know.

There are a few reasons I think I was possessed by the hot pink wearing blonde. First, I had a wild imagination as a kid. I never was interested in TV, but with Barbies I could create my own stories for their lives and entertain myself for hours. Secondly, my best friend since pre-school, Kari, also had this addiction so I had someone fueling the fire. Third, I loved and still love the color pink. Fourth, I could never get bored! Barbie always had a new car or a new job, the story kept changing. And lastly, my mom had built me a house for Barbie and a school for Barbie.  There was just no reason to stop.

Eventually, I did get bored with Barbie. Probably around middle school. But, when you love something you never truly let it go. My mother continued to buy me collectible Barbies, which I keep in the box. I always was interested in what Barbies my younger cousin had, and then digital marketing came around, allowing me to keep up with Barbie’s life (in an age appropriate manner) all over again.

November 2012 Birthday Gift from mom: Election Barbie with brown hair and green eyes, just like yours truly

Barbie and Ken got back together in a huge Valentine’s Day campaign in 2011. Naturally, my mom bought me the limited edition dolls. This was when I first discovered Barbie was back, and in my opinion, better than ever.

Photo from make. see. do. eat. blog

Fast forward to today when I have a more collectible Barbies and the Barbie Twitter handle is the only non-human on my “pals” Twitter list composed of my friends. Yes, that is correct. Her tweets are just that great.

The genius behind Barbie’s online success is that it’s not pushing a product, it’s bringing to life a person or perhaps even a celebrity, which pulls fans in. She tells you about her dates with Ken, selling her dream house, shopping with her sisters and asks for help deciding which outfits to wear. Mattel didn’t choose to promote products or reasons to buy the dolls, they chose to make a human connection with their consumers.

I could rave about Barbie’s digital marketing strategy forever. But instead, I’ll show you:

Barbie tennis image from https://www.facebook.com/barbie

Dreamhouse packing list from https://www.facebook.com/barbie

Tweets from https://twitter.com/barbie

The 5 Rules of Wearing Patterned Kneesocks

In my first post I explained that there is a market for everything, including patterned kneesocks, you just have to find that market. I also explained that one needs to stand out in a cluttered marketing world, just as I stood out in high school by “breaking the rules” of my high school uniform and wearing patterned kneesocks. There are important things to know before putting on your patterned kneesocks, just as there are a few important things to know before preparing a digital marketing strategy.

1. You can’t put it out there and walk away: So much of traditional media involves putting up an ad on a billboard, or on TV, walking away and waiting to watch your sales soar. Digital Marketing doesn’t work that way. You can’t put up a Facebook post, or content on your website without continuously checking how many people are commenting on it, reading it or clicking on it. Remember it is a blessing that you can be agile and change your strategy half way through if people aren’t engaging, but you have to spend the time and effort monitoring your content.
(So, always keep a spare pair of plain regulation kneesocks in your locker, incase halfway through the school day the principal sees your fancy socks and asks you to change.)

2. Try something new: There are so many platforms out there to converse with consumers, and you won’t know if it will work until you try. Now, this isn’t to say you should have a presence on every single platform that exists, but don’t hold back. Just because you as an internet user are not a fan of Twitter, doesn’t mean your customers aren’t using Twitter. The same goes for content, don’t be afraid to try something new.
(Don’t put on all your pairs of kneesocks at once and don’t be afraid to try out that bold new polka dot pair of kneesocks.)

3. Don’t just rely on the metrics: Everyone loves to see more likes and traffic on a page. Numbers are important. But the comments users leave, as well as what they are liking and what they are spending time viewing are equally if not more important than metrics. Take notice of this, and use it to figure out what resonates with your audience.
(Dear High School Disciplinarian: As more and more of us started “bending the rules” on our uniforms, it wasn’t to create a school wide rebellion. We were just teenagers trying to figure out who we were and what our style was. Thanks for giving us extra time to think about our style while we sat in detention for not following the dress code one too many times.)

4. Visual is everything. Aesthetics can make or break a digital experience. The text and content might be great, but if a consumer gets to the page and immediately feels overwhelmed or not enticed to stay on the page, chances are they will never get to the great content. This does not only relate to images and pictures, it is important for text layout as well. Keep it simple, well designed, eye catching and easy to navigate. Once you hook them, they will come back, but not hooking them due to poor visual design is an unnecessary reason to lose your audience.
(If you’re going to stand out by wearing patterned kneesocks, you better make sure that pattern looks good, because it is going to get noticed.)

5. Be yourself & show your human side: At the end of the day, it’s still about human interaction. People have computers, but people are not computers. They are still impulsive and gravitate towards what they feel strong emotions for. People still want to be loved.  Be personal, have a human (not a computer) respond to comments both good and bad. Show that you care about them so that your relationship is not one they ever choose to walk away from.
(I didn’t make friends in high school because I wore patterned kneesocks, but rather because of the loyal, fun and outgoing person I was. I like to think I’d still have the same friends with or without my patterned kneesocks.)

By the end of senior year, uniform violations were in full swing for the class of 2005. Take note of the uniform offenders: patterned kneesocks, colored undershirts, sweaters and sweatshirts. No one dared to try this until we knew we had already met all of our requirements to graduate. I am in the 2nd row, third from the left.

Brands as BFFs

Digital marketing has allowed brands to enter the online friendship zone with their consumers. If asked which Facebook post had more value to me, Cole Haan's 50% off sale, or photos my best friend posted from her recent vacation to Europe, I'd be hard pressed to choose. I could live without ever seeing either, but they are both important to me in different ways.

Which came first: my love for Cole Haan shoes, or my love for their beautiful digital marketing? I honestly don't know.

The debate between creating a deeply personal relationship with a customer online, or keeping it simple and platonic goes round and round. Personally, I think simplicity leads to a great relationship for the following reasons:

1. If there are too many steps, or "clicks" and information to get to the end result, you're going to lose me along the way, potentially ending our relationship forever.

2. If you hook me within seconds with simple text explaining the offer and great imagery, chances are I'll be clicking "purchase" before I even think about if I really need your product or service (did anyone have their credit card numbers memorized before online shopping? I think I can type my credit card number on my keyboard faster than my phone number)

3. After I've made said simple purchase in #2, used it, raved about it to my friends and loved it, the next time I stumble across your brand online, I'm even more likely to click and/or share.

4. Forget stumble across the brand online, I'll probably go seeking it, making less work for the brand to reach me. How's that for a two way relationship?