Q1.

Barbie has been wildly successful. To date over one billion Barbies have been sold. It has succeeded in
promoting its brand as not just another brand but as a "lifestyle". Mattel has rigorously tried to manage and
sustain a favourable image of Barbie by influencing everything from sociological research papers to pop
bands. The case mentions how Barbie has become "a cult". It is indeed becoming more of an essential and
research reflects it. In the US, for instance, an average child between 3 to 11 owns ten Barbies. This fame
has culminated in Barbie becoming the world's most valuable toy brand with a value amounting to 2 billion
dollars. Now that we have established the extent of Barbie's success, it is essential to see why it has been
successful in the first place. According to the case, Barbie remains relevant and successful today because of
innovation in marketing and product extension.

The product was initially one that offered a very clear cut point of difference. While all other dolls were based
on babies and designed to get cradled and pampered, Barbie was based on an adult woman. She was
positioned as a "child of liberated times". This demeanour and product design was in and of itself a unique
one and all Barbies in the future cashed on it. The unique product design paved way for extension because
now a child had more room in their playtime. Since Barbie was based on an adult, a child could make her
anyone they wished her to be. This led to a greater flexibility during playtime. It also led to radical product
extension because along with Barbie, it gave Mattel enough stimuli to introduce 'props' for the playtime or
other complimentary items e-g chariots and cars and even Ken!. All these products enabled a child to create
a make believe story and attach a narrative to material products.

This narrative also contributed to the marketing efforts. Since Barbie could be virtually anyone, she took on
certain roles and then Mattel worked on expanding those roles. There were professions to choose from
(astronauts to doctors), stories to harp on (rapunzel) and eras to conform to. In this way, Barbie was deemed
always "in". She conformed to the current times and remained up to date. In 1960's she was mod, in 1970's
she was a hippie and so on. This rapid change in the stories associated with Barbie helped to establish her
as not just a toy but an entire lifestyle. Cashing on these narratives was an example of brilliant marketing by
Mattel. Along with Barbie and her props came more stories in the form of videos and games. This further
helped extend the product and market it appropriately. All these factors contributed towards the success of
Barbie as a toy and a brand.

Q2.

Mattel has been extremely innovative in developing the product and sustaining it. It has employed ingenious
ways to carve out a toehold for itself and then sustain its competitive advantage. From its very conception,
Barbie was a revolutionary product. It was based on a German doll Lilli but the catch was that Barbie was
made for children and Lilli for adult men. Barbie managed to capture the interest and imaginations of children
by replicating the aesthetics of an adult woman. While other dolls were based on babies, Barbie was based
on a young and independent woman who could be anybody in the heads of the children playing with it. She
was a creature of her own and Mattel went on to innovatively prove just that.

It is true that Barbie is barely a high tech product. The only mention of anything techie in the case study is
the "Lets Dance Barbie!" that comes with a motion sensor and a shoe clip. Apart from this tech savvy
product, Barbie has carved its place in the industry with innovation which is not synonymous with
technological prowess. The toy industry is quick in rendering certain products archaic. It is known for its
dynamic and competitive environment. The case mentions that it is an industry that is "notorious for its
susceptibility to fickleness and fashion". And yet Barbie has managed to remain on top. This has happened
primarily due to innovation. There is a lot of grace in the way marketers have managed to manoeuvre Barbie
through altering times and trends. It is not a fad but a "cult" now.

Barbie has not just come as a toy. It has come as a narrative too and this narrative is one of innovation. The
product in itself compels children to envision a future and a lifestyle, to build stories in short. When children
play with Barbie, they do it with free flowing imaginations. Mattel realised this early on and sought to expand
Barbie's horizons. Its prowess lies in providing children with a huge spectrum of option. Every year, 150 new
Barbies are designed and they come with 120 new outfits. In this way, Mattel preserves the chic image of
Barbie. She is always up to date. She is a charitable icon always willing to change slightly to accommodate
the needs of its end customers. She conforms to time and space too. Mattel made sure that Barbie's
individual style changed from era to era. In 1970's she was a hippie but back in 1960's she was mod. She
took up several lifestyles and played many professional roles. From being a rap artist to being a princess.
She even existed in popular children fairytales. Think 12 dancing princesses. Hence, the strength and
innovation in Barbie came from constantly sensing the customer needs, ascertaining the temporal conditions
and appropriating narratives. The end goal has remained the same though. It has, as a product, worked to
remain relevant by bombarding its target market with options.

Barbie also came with several side products that enabled children to customise her according to their needs.
If they needed a princess, they could go buy her royal chariot too, if they needed a businesswoman, they
could opt for a car. These props that flooded the market, helped give the semblance of autonomy to children
who "dressed" their barbie up and "made her up" according to their own aspirations or daydreams.
Additionally, Barbie came with certain videos as well. These served as a basis for further entertainment and
narrative building. Barbie's brand extension included increasing the number of add on's that came with
Barbie. There was make up, pyjamas, videos, bed clothes, furniture and even wallpapers. This form of
attention to detail served as a fuel to children's imaginations. It radically increased the avenues they could
explore. One day could be the astronaut life and the other could be spent, rustling around as a princess.

Barbie also focused on their target market and responded to the challenges that emerged in the market. For
example, in order to deal with the phenomenon of "age compression" Mattel made three dolls that appeared
more hip. Their facial features were also moveable giving older girls more freedom to customise their dolls.
They also came with a plethora of accessories that this specific age group would find interesting e-g perfume
bottles. It is due to this form of innovation by Mattel that Barbie has remained relevant. This innovation
manifests itself in the form of Barbie's conformity to time and space. These efforts to remain innovative have
not just extended the lifestyle of Barbie as a product but also made her a rather popular figure. Some people
even consider her the ideal version of an American woman. This indicates that Mattel has succeeded in
ensuring that Barbie evolves with changing times and is always in step with the latest trends.

Q3.

All products allegedly have a lifespan. This means that decline after a certain point in time, more commonly
known as the maturity phase, is inevitable. The first and foremost lesson we can learn from Barbie's journey
is that any product can sustain itself with innovative marketing and focused strategies. Your product must
evolve with time and in order to employ innovation on such a massive level, you need to be well aware of the
extraneous environment. This means that you should be able to identify opportunities that stem from the
environment around you. Barbie did that by remaining in step with the time and era she was in. There was
an additional bout of innovation when she took on different roles and so on. All this was made possible
because the marketeers and product designers over at Mattel, kept an eye out for varying features. They
also knew their target market extremely well and they were able to efficiently analyse its needs. They knew,
for instance, how to tweak their product to suit older girls.

They did not just spend millions on product development but they were also able to employ innovation in
sustaining the advantage they had accrued. They did it by introducing several add ons and attaching
narratives to their products. Second lesson would be to take an initiative only after you have rigorously
determined what your clientele wants. Innovation is good as long as it is on point. You also need to augment
your innovation with other things. For example in Barbie's case, Mattel actively tried to create its image and
pitch it to people. The case mentions them suing Aqua over their Barbie Girl song. This means that you need
to consciously build a favourable customer perception and, to do that, you will have to do more than just milk
your competitive advantage. You also need to put an effort into sustaining the innovation you took part in.
The lesson we learn is that innovation is good but you also need to tweak it according to the multiple
variables that surround you. Additionally, you must familiarise yourself with the target market. Lastly, you
have to make an active effort to ensure that your innovation is a continuous process and its benefits are
being sustained by supplementing them with favourable customer perception.