Barbie, Business Strategy & Emotional Branding Lessons
In 1942, Elliot, his wife Ruth Handler, and Harold Matt Matson(An industrial designer) founded ‘Mattel’ which sold children’s toys. While Elliot and Matt handled the creative side of the product, Ruth took care of the operations and marketing side of the business. She loved selling. She was reasonably successful in bagging sizeable orders for the company.
In the early 1950s, the company was doing well. Some of their products, like Cap Gun, had become massive hits among children. At this time, Ruth Handler conceived the Barbie doll idea.
Let’s see how Ruth Handler got the idea for the Barbie doll and why did she succeed.
Note — Most of the below content is from the following two sources — “Toys That Made Us” an American documentary streaming television series created by Brian Volk-Weiss and “Strategy Insights” a book by Safarova Kristina.