Do you remember when the readings for the class told us we needed to give people something to share in social media? Something to talk about? Probably, you didn’t think in a Barbie mansion, right? Well, Airbnb did. And got attention.
“Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse is listed on Airbnb for $60 a night,” was one of the NBC headlines. The New York Times reported that “a life-size version of Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse opened its doors at the beginning of November. And Downton Abbey — that is, Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England — will take two lodgers this month. In Malibu, the Barbie mansion didn’t really exist as such until Mattel teamed up with Airbnb to promote the Barbie brand’s 60th anniversary. Adorned with pops of pink specifically for last week’s booking, the property was open to four people for just two nights. Still, it earned news media coverage from CNBC, The New York Post and Fox News.”
The article also mentioned that a stay in a Goodyear blimp was covered by CNN, USA Today and Maxim and “a listing for a November reservation at Highclere Castle, a filming location for Downton Abbey, targeted fans of the television series and the movie released in September. It was covered in The Los Angeles Times, Town & Country and Forbes.”
Airbnb gave people something to share in social media. For sure. But Airbnb got more attention than that: headlines. News media covered the innovation at the lodging company. Such an amazing outcome of a marketing campaign! Bravo!
Weeks ago I wrote that marketing industry is in problems because people hate ads and Internet users are avoiding them. But people don’t avoid Barbies’ mansion neither Downtown Abbey castles. People love them! They share pictures on social media, they talk about it with friends. Bingo!
As professor of marketing at a Wharton School explained, “It needs to be more of an interesting story — let’s call it an aspirational experience — than an actual experience.” That is exactly what we have learned from authors like Anthony Young, and I love to find examples from reality.
The future of marketing, as Airbnb’s chief executive said, could be in the news media. “I think a lot of brands, in the future, they need to be in the business of making news, not just advertising,” said Brian Chesky to the NYT. “And to make news you have to do something that is worth somebody reporting about.” The question is how to attract reporters… the answer is by creating Barbies mansions.
References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/business/airbnb-jim-beam-barbie.html
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