Barbenheimer- Behaviourally Decoded
Barbenheimer! Two blockbuster movies premiered on the same day - the very-pink, long-anticipated ‘Barbie’ and Christopher Nolan’s newest project, ‘Oppenheimer’. Both the movies employed captivating and distinct Behavioral Science principles to promote their movies. In this edition, we will deep dive into this!
Barbie Vs Oppenheimer: a tale of two movies
Barbie's marketing campaign has leveraged a number of behavioural science principles, including:
The marketing team behind ‘Barbie' went all in boasting of over 100 partnerships! They made use of the nostalgia effect associated with the Barbie brand. Barbie dolls which are staple toy in many households already has a devoted fanbase. To capitalise on the nostalgia effect, Mattel invested in experiential marketing partnerships which are meant to create a more immersive experience for consumers leading to deeper connections. Brands included Burger King which created a pink burger, Air-BnB which allowed consumers to book a Barbie Dreamhouse and fashion brands like GAP, Balmain and Forever 21 amongst others.
Social proofing was a major part of the strategy. By signing blockbuster stars, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, Mattel films was able influence audience choices and attract global media attention.
However, the star-studded cast was not the only way consumer interest was drummed up. User generated content was also huge part of the strategy. Barbie posters, filters and memes flooded the social media landscape helping create a bandwagon effect for people excited for the movie.
Pink was the colour of the season. The connection between the colour pink and ‘Barbie’ was leveraged in the marketing and as a resultwas evident! A testament to this is the fact that there was almost a global shortage for the colour pink for a paint company. Some billboards were literally just the colour pink and the release date.
As a result of the heavy handed use of bright pink in marketing materials, the colour became the symbol of the movie. It led to people co-ordinating pink clothes when going to watch the movie.
Oppenheimer, on the other hand, used these strategies.
Counter Programming: The clashing film dates of the two movies created a beautiful juxtaposition effect. The diverse subject matter gave the consumers the option of picking between nuclear bombs and dolls, between the grim-dark scenes of Oppenheimer vis-a-vis the bright and colourful shorts of Barbie. This allowed the film studio to efficiently appeal to the demographic which was not targeted by the Barbie movie.
FOMO Marketing: Remaining true to its historical narrative, the announcement strategy as well as the website of Oppenheimer employed a live countdown style timer creating a feeling of can’t miss for the trailers and tickets. Further, Oppenheimer's marketing campaign has been very cryptic, with teasers and trailers that reveal very little about the plot. This can pique people's curiosity and make them more likely to want to see the film to find out what happens.
While both marketing teams spent millions of US dollars, they differed quite a lot in terms of the methods, timing, and platforms utilised. The unintentional marketing that took place as a result of friendly clash of the fan base of the two films, gave rise to the “Barbenheimer” movement. From fan-art, memes, real-life merch and posters, the Barbenheimer movement is a testament to organic marketing which was based on the excitement generated by unconventional and intriguing content.
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Brought to you by India Behavioural Economics Network (Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter) and Beyond Nudge Consulting (Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter)
Editors: Nehal Kaul, Junofy Anto Rozarina
Contributors: Abhishek Chauhan, Manvi Agrawal