Welcome to my marketing focused blog series, the clean Tusk!
In today’s mobile friendly article we define and examine the application of five contemporary cultural factors of consumer behavior that were present in the marketing efforts and the content of 2023’s highest grossing film, Barbie.
Cultural factors of consumer behavior are the influences that a culture’s beliefs, values, and social norms have on its members’ purchasing decisions. These factors are crucial for marketers to understand in order to tailor make products and campaigns for specific audiences. Examples include cultural values, social norms, language, traditions, and social roles, all of which can significantly impact consumer choices and marketing effectiveness.
Local American culture
Barbie products themselves are historically representative of American culture as they were designed and produced there. The movie and marketing campaigns reinforced this connection with the audience as we saw multiple references like Ken in cowboy gear, American vintage cars, a location reminiscent of Los Angeles and marketing collaborations with brands like Burger King.
Gender roles
The traditional target audience of the Barbie brand was a younger female audience. However, this movie was the brand’s opportunity to reconnect with consumer groups that were previously alienated. By challenging multiple gender roles and issues in the storyline, the brand re-gained respect across female, LGBTQ+ and male consumer groups and yet balanced entertainment value.
Aspirations and reality
Aspirational messages regarding career, physical beauty, lifestyle and consumerism are inherently embedded in the core of the Barbie brand itself. However, the movie’s thorough portrayal of multi talented Barbies, a “weird-Barbie” and an emotionally conflicted characters provided a sense of refreshing realism to the somewhat unreachable expectations that were conveyed by the brands previous products.
Family groups
An inanimate toy coming to life to save the balance within a real-life, female-only family, reiterated to consumers of the movie that the family life and social values are high on the priority list at the Barbie brand. The brand was successful at providing a modern perspective on what a family could look like.
Multi generational groups
Barbie has been a part of American culture since 1959. The movie was able to connect to multiple age groups of as it created a strong sense of nostalgia and appealed to parents or grandparents who had Barbies when they were children. In cultures that value tradition and history, this can be a powerful marketing tool.
These five cultural factors are often interwoven in complex ways to form a comprehensive marketing strategy for Barbie movies. Understanding these elements can offer insights into the ways in which cultural factors influence consumer behavior.
References
Leave a Reply