Mattel Case Study Dolls facing new challenges on the global market I. Executive Summary Mattel produces and sells various toys around the world and among these Barbie fashion doll is the flagship. This product was criticized from more aspects from other cultures of Aisa where the lifestyle Barbie represents is not commonly accepted. On the other hand privacy issues were raised by parents regarding the digital marketing activity of Mattel, as rights of children are related in this market. Mattel needs to consider whether these challenges are related specifically to the lifestyle Barbie represents, whether the lifecycle of Barbie can be expanded in a changing global environment. Or the issues are the signs of a general change regarding …show more content…
The future of the Star brands are hard to estimate, as these have a short history so far. Mattel acts well in the preschool market, thanks to Fisher Price (acquired in 1993, and also HIT was aquired in 2011).3 Looking on the brands above, a change can be detected on the brand developement appeared in the last years. Before 2000 toys used to spring from entertainment (Batman, Simpsons, etc.). Nowadays (as the example of Max Steel represents it) entertainment is made to supports the toys.1 This new communication approach was also applied on Barbie dolls from 2003, when the sales decreased significantly: animation film was created with the character of Barbie and its friends. Focusing on Barbie brand its major elements of its brand equity can be presented the following way:
Regarding brand loyalty I would like to add, that as Mattel offers products for more age groups, if a customer is influenced with good experiences earlier, that might generate further consumption from the portfolio. On the other hand the girls abandon the toys quicker than last century, which weakens brand loyalty. Regarding perceived brand quality it is important to note that children are the users, but parents are the buyers, meaning two group need to be targeted. It might be an interesting research to examine outcome, transformation of perceptions if the children and the parent has different
3. Barbie dolls came into existence in 1959. During that time all dolls were infant dolls and Ruth Handler creator of the barbie dolls saw that “children will enjoy giving the Barbie adult roles” because it is different than playing with infant dolls. It has evolved over time, due to the improving technology, the dolls these days look very realistic. The social impact it has made is that it gives children a chance to play with more advanced toys and gives them the ability to admire Barbie’s achievements through her various career
1. Provide an analysis of the Mattel Barbie brand. What factors shape perceptions of the brand in the eyes of parents and young girls? Barbie was billed as “a shapely teenage fashion model,” and made her first appearance at the American Toy Fair in New York City and soon became a hit. (http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=160) Barbie was then and still is a popular doll for young girls. In the beginning she was popular because she was the 3D version of the very popular paper dolls, with interchangeable clothing and accessories. Today she is still very popular and probably for the same reasons; you can buy a variety of different dolls with different ethnicities, different
The problem surrounding Mattel Inc. is their mismanagement of international subcontractors and vendors and the production of certain toys (the manufacturing process), as well as their inability to adapt their marketing strategy or product to the constantly changing “demographic and socioeconomic trends.” This is supported by Mattel’s legal battle with Carter Bryant and MGA, their forced recall of certain toys that were manufactured overseas, and the increasing rate at which traditional toys are becoming less appealing to today’s young audience. Essentially, Mattel’s mismanagement and oversight lead to violations in terms of ethical and social responsibilities and safety standards.
Mattel, Inc has the vision of being the world’s premier toy brand, for the present and the future. It currently sells products in over 150 nations. The company was founded in 1945 by Harold Matson and Elliot Handler. It has gone to be 30,000 employees strong working in 43 countries. Mattel, Inc includes a number of toy brands such as Barbie, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, American Girl, Tyco, and others. In 2008, the company was recognized by FORTUNE magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”.
Young girls have been playing with Barbie dolls since the dolls inception at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Recently, researchers have been skeptical on whether the dolls have an effect on the self-image of girls who play with them. In order to determine if Barbies have an impact on young-girls self-concept, clinicians have carried out several studies where they monitor the interaction between the young girls and the famous figurine. From these experiments, scientists concluded that Barbies can have a bearing on a girls self-image, making the consumers who buy the doll more aware of the issue Barbie
I will approach the process of exploring more technologically advanced and interactive toys within the American Girl core brand by pulling a team of people to complete the strategic planning process (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). A strategic plan is a roadmap to grow your business (Lavinsky, 2013). The roadmap will detail what it will take the implement the new technology and interactive product (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). The team will explore the new technologies and understand the current status of interactive toys that the Mattel has had success with and the pain points. This will help the team understand what works and what has not worked. Research and analysis will be performed to understand the new technologically that is available
Children’s child play has become a form of an unrealistic world. Although, it is considered for children to begin creating a creative imagination, the mind fascinates children into toys. Some child’s play toys are not ideal for young children, like the one and only “Barbie”. Barbie has become a worldwide toy product for children all over the world, from the North Pole to the South Pole. These dolls have emerged from one ethnicity to another. In Ann DuCille, “Dyes and Dolls: Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Differences” the author talks about the race and gender differences; found in Barbie. She argues; “Is Barbie bad?” her response, was “Barbie is just a piece of plastic” (459). In contrast, this piece of plastic is not just a piece of plastic to young girls; it is much more than that. A piece of plastic that little girls all over the world wish they could be. Even though, it is only a piece of plastic to adults that Barbie significantly means nothing to them. Growing up, I owned a couple of Barbie dolls. The tall, long blond hair, blue-eyed doll was my best friend and my “role model”. I wanted to become exactly like Barbie. As a child, I thought only beautiful people who looked liked Barbie signified beauty. To my little to no knowledge, I soon came to find out no one really looks like Barbie, except people who want to become like Barbie. In my adolescent years, no one taught me Barbie was “unreal”; no one taught me it was just a figure in my imagination.
The main reason that Barbie gained so much popularity and is still popular today was because her main purpose and her conception were to fill the void of having a role-playing toy. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the girls had only baby dolls and paper dolls to role-play with. With the new age of television in many households, Mattel’s aggressive marketing on television, contributed to making Barbie a household name. Some other reasons for Barbie’s success, was because Barbie was marketed with different careers, clothes, accessories and companions over the years. In 1998, Happy Holiday’s Barbie Doll was one of the first dolls to be sold as a collector doll. Mattel has new holiday dolls that come out each year. Now Barbie has evolved into a way for mother’s and daughter’s to bond, by the passing down of older dolls and being able to collect them. Barbie has become
innovation could increase the girls’ pride with the doll because of the shared features and participation
Since the beginning of time, toys have often been an indicator of the way a society behaves, and how they interact with their children. For example, in ancient Greece, artifacts recovered there testify that children were simply not given toys to play with as in the modern world. The cruel ritual of leaving a sick child on a hillside for dead, seems to indicate a lack of attention to the young (Lord 16). The same is true of today’s society. As you can see with the number of toy stores in our society, we find toys of great value to our lives and enjoy giving them to children as gifts. Ask just about any young girl what she wants for Christmas and you’ll undoubtedly get the same answer: “A Barbie.” But what exactly has caused
Barbie, at the age of 41, is one of the longest living toys in America. Analyzing her early history can give a person a look into the societal trends and culture of the late 1950's and early 1960's. There is evidence of fashion innovations in Barbie's wardrobe. Also, one can see the perception of females by society, such as what they should look like, how they should act and dress, as well as what their future goals could be. The following essay follows Barbie's history from 1959 to 1963, covering her development, her appeal to children, and her existence as a cultural artifact of the time period.
Hasbro conducts business within the Toy, Game and Doll Manufacturing industry. They have strong, brand portfolio that they utilize in a wide variety of entertainment mediums. Hasbro categorizes their brands into four categories which they call their brand architecture: franchise, partner, gaming mega, and challenger brands. Their franchise brands are owned by them and they currently make most of their revenue from these brands. However, their partner brands are quickly becoming more important to their business as a majority the company’s growth recently has come from new ones. In addition to the brand architecture, they report the financial performance of their brands by grouping them into four different categories: boys, girls, games, and preschool. Boys and games has been a majority of their business mostly, but that is beginning to change recently as their girl brands are beginning to grow. (10K and Hasbro quarterly reports).Hasbro is a global company that has sales around the world. They report their sales in four segments: US/ Canada, International, Entertainment and Licensing, and Global Operations. The International segment is further segmented into Europe, Latin America, and Asia/Pacific, where they directly operate (10K). Within these segments and brands, it is difficult to identify which toys and games are their core items because they have almost 2,700 individual products that they currently sell in addition to their non-toy items, digital games,
Mattel, the world’s leading toy and children’s good manufacturer has cultivated a strong portfolio of well known brands and products while being recognized has a highly responsible corporate citizen that makes ethics and safety a priority. The company must build on its heritage, while defending itself from threats. At the same faced with maintaining its market position in the face of many changes in their target market.
This report is about the situational analysis of the Toy R US Company. This company is currently facing some drop in sales, possible reasons and potential solutions are provided in this report. All the detailed analysis are given here. Report has suggested that company lost its main perspective which it famous at the first point. This is main outcome of the report. There are many other reasons as well which are causing the decline of the company. There is a lot of room for improvement which can be tackled, implementation plan is also given in this report along with the possible and potential full recommendations. So lets’ start with the report.
toy or children's entertainment market Lego remains the brand of choice in the field of construction toys despite