Source:
https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-xqx3p-1468e3a

It’s a “Barbenheimer” world and in this episode we talk about the savvy and work that went into this massively successful campaign. We also touch on what’s going on with the platform formerly known as Twitter (it’s still Twitter to us).
 
Transcript
Michelle Kane (00:02):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves like me, Michelle Kane of VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you? Or should I say, “Hi, Barbie?”
Karen Swim, APR (00:19):
<Laugh>. I don't know what Barbie I am today. Hi Michelle. How are you doing today?
Michelle Kane (00:26):
I am Holding It Together Barbie today. <Laugh>,
Karen Swim, APR (00:30):
I might be, I'm, you know, I think saying Not Sure What Barbie I Am Today is probably pretty accurate for most days of the week for me lately.
Michelle Kane (00:40):
Oh, I hear you. I hear you. It's, I don't know why. I'm always surprised when I'm surprised by how days can unfold <laugh>.
Karen Swim, APR (00:48):
Yes. This summer has been particularly eventful for, for most people. I'm finding it's not just, just PR pros. In my past, in my past PR life, <laugh>, summer is always a quiet time.
Michelle Kane (01:05):
Yeah. No more
Karen Swim, APR (01:07):
I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. I don't know if it's going to hail or snow or rain in the middle of August. I don't know. I just don't know. So that's the way that I approach my days these days.
Michelle Kane (01:23):
Exactly.
Karen Swim, APR (01:24):
Optimism, knowing that anything could happen. And you know what? We used to say, when pigs fly, and now that just doesn't even seem out of the realm of possibility
Michelle Kane (01:35):
I hear that might be being worked on. Who knows? I'm sure <laugh> No, sure. <Laugh>.
Karen Swim, APR (01:40):
Elon Musk is figuring that out.
Michelle Kane (01:42):
Oh, goodness. I'm sure he is. So, as you might've guessed, today's episode, we're just going to do a pop culture PR check-in because as this is airing, this will hit right after the second weekend of Barbenheimer. So I don't know if many of you have seen either Barbie or Oppenheimer, but there's a lot to admire about the PR that's gone into it and just, there's just a lot of points to consider, especially through the PR lens. I mean, first of all, that even though I know personally and across the board it's been really challenging to get people to engage in the way they did in the before times, especially in-person events, things like that. Just because our priorities have shifted, our time, the way we spend our time has changed. Anyway, all that to say, in the midst of all that, a ton of people went back to the movie theater. To either Barbie or Oppenheimer, they’re smashing records. So it's pretty amazing. And unless you've, you know, truly been checking out this summer, and if you have good for you it's kind of hard to miss any of the promotion for either Barbie or Oppenheimer. And I have a pretty low, low bar for being annoyed by this kind of thing, and I'm not annoyed yet. So they must be doing something right, <laugh>.
Karen Swim, APR (03:12):
Yeah. I think from a PR perspective, and many PR professionals have noted this on social media, that this was really a masterclass in a great execution of a campaign. So a couple of things that stood out to me from the communication side for Barbie in particular is that number one, it just reinforces what we as PR pros know to be true. That having a strategic plan that is comprehensive and robust and the time to be able to execute that plan means everything. Because this did not come together in months. This was a plan that rolled out over a long period of time, and it was a campaign that incorporated not just that lever of earned media, it was paid, it was the PESO formula. It’s beautifully done. It also stood out to me that going into the planning of the messaging, they understood that there were people that don't like Barbie. Maybe not passionate activists against Barbie but the people that just don't like Barbie or have an issue with it. And rather than trying to navigate around that, they leaned into that and considered that their audience as well and developed messaging that embraced the detraction. And I thought, beautifully done, because sometimes we want to avoid, you know, the “antis” <laugh>. Right. And rather than doing that, they fully embraced that. And I thought that that was genius.
Michelle Kane (05:07):
Yeah. They really did. I mean, even for those who have not seen the film, I won't reveal a whole lot. But there's definitely the acknowledgement that Barbie is somewhat problematic.
Karen Swim, APR (05:20):
Yes.
Michelle Kane (05:21):
But as anything, many things are full of shades of gray. And what I thought was incredible was that