The problem
Mattel, best known for Barbies and Hot Wheels toys, needed online reviews to bridge the trust gap between them and their target consumers: children and parents. To illustrate the success of their partnership with Stars and Stories, this case study focuses on the campaign Stars and Stories ran for Mattel’s Barbie® It takes two! Camping playset.
About the product
Unlike most Barbie® sets, this “It takes two!” set is made to ignite young girls’ sense of adventure in the outdoors. The Barbie® doll comes with a color sleeping bag, a small dog, and a miniature pink backpack full of eclectic accessories to complete the fun.
Strategy and approach
Mattel understood the difficulty of attracting sales when new products have no reviews attached. As part of our strategy, our campaign managers narrowed our search to find suitable participants from our review community who a) have children, b) have children who like to play with Barbies, and c) are willing to write reviews on behalf of their little ones.
By executing this plan, the final reviews would capture the overall sentiments of not only the parents but also (most importantly) the children. This is ideal for future Mattel consumers as they would take both sides’ feedback on the Mattel Barbie products into account prior to making their final purchase decision.
Execution and results
In February 2022, we helped Mattel achieve solid review campaign results for their Barbie® “It takes two!” camping playset. With 24 samples distributed across Germany, we delivered 20 authentic reviews within a four-week timeframe. Parents gave Mattel a 100% recommendation rate and praised the toy set for its fun camping accessories as well as the doll’s overall appearance.
Here’s what Tschulsn from Germany had to say:
“My daughter loves this barbie very much. [The doll] looks really pretty with her braided hair, dark complexion and small freckles. She brings a sleeping bag, a large backpack, a puppy and lots of little things like sunglasses and camping gear, which can be easily stowed away in the backpack. My daughter has played many adventures with this doll and hasn’t put her down since she received it. What more do you want?”
Mimedi from Germany also had an overall positive experience with the doll set, but noted a minor shortcoming:
“Our daughter also had a lot of fun with the sleeping bag. We reenacted many new situations, created incentives and talked about new topics. There is a point deduction for the fact that the backpack starts to “tear” after just one week, the plastic breaks at the folding point.”
15
Authentic reviews delivered
1524
Samples
4.9
Average rating
100%
Recommendation
599
Average words per review
20%
Male
80%
Female