Mattel needs to reinvent Barbie and Hot Wheels: Can you help?
With sales down 14 percent as kids gravitate to digital games, Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie, is betting a new approach can help improve sales: crowdsourcing.
The American toymaker, founded in 1945, is looking for solutions from outsiders, partnering with New York鈥檚 Quirky Inc. to encourage inventors to submit product ideas for new toys.
Is crowdsourcing Mattel's best hope?
The Segundo, Calif.-based company officials appear to believe so, as they announced the partnership on Thursday, and said the move is an effort to address declining sales by reinventing the brand.
鈥淭his marks a new era for Mattel,鈥� the company鈥檚 president and chief operating officer, Richard Dickson, . 鈥淭his new partnership will enable us to accelerate the speed and scope of invention by tapping into Quirky鈥檚 dynamic community.鈥�
Individuals can submit their ideas through Quirky鈥檚 site. The company said they will focus on re-imagining its Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels brands in time for this year鈥檚 holiday season. Individuals whose ideas are .
Other companies have successfully used crowdsourcing to improve their brands and marketing strategies, . Coca-Cola uses fans鈥� social media responses i, which allows Coke customers to submit their own ideas for creating happiness in a series of videos and commercials.
General Mills also accepts ideas from the general public through that began in 2009. The company asks anyone for their input on packaging, ingredients, and strategies for improving their performance as a brand and company. Through this forum, , something the company needed and was unable to find. The pairing benefited not just General Mills, but also an up-and-coming inventor.
鈥淚 was going from making things out of Super Glue and bubble gum to making an analytical device for a multibillion-dollar company,鈥� Mr. King said, .
with Mattel鈥檚 mixed first quarter results, it is uncertain whether or not the partnership will benefit the company. Mattel beat analysts鈥� Q1 performance expectations, but multiple toy product lines, including Barbie, continue to struggle. :
鈥淲hile the Quirky partnership could help give Mattel a fresh take on toys and possibly yield a hit or two, these partnerships often account for only a small part of the large companies鈥� overall businesses.鈥�
And perhaps that is where Mattel needs to save itself. The Detroit Free Press reported that in addition to its Quirky partnership, the company also intends to give Barbie a makeover. Launching in June, the new Barbie will be available in different skin tones, eye and hair colors, and nose shapes to better represent multicultural families. The new Barbie will have 23 different looks.
"This will be an important cultural milestone for the brand," said Dickson, . 聽
