Mattel Inc. Addressing the Component of Cultural Identity Among Consumers - Essay Example

Mattel Inc. addressing the component of cultural identity amongst consumers Toys indeed have a story to tell, to each and every child. Children grow up with their toys. The success story of Mattel Inc. reinstates this observation. In 1945 Ruth and Elliot Handler along with Harold “Matt” Matson launched Mattel. The company started out from a garage based workshop in Southern California. Ruth Handler observed that children like the roles of adults when they play. This gave Mattel Inc. a new direction. Mattel Toy Company indeed has tapped into the idea that children like toys that give them an insight into the life of the adults. Barbie the first venture of Mattel into the field of dolls was launched in 1959. Barbie was designed keeping in mind that young girls like giving the role of adults to their dolls. Mattel has been very successful in many European countries and United States, due to its strategy of incorporating the cultural specification of these countries into its products. Its strategy of bringing variation in their products according to the philosophy, and biological traits of their consumers has made them the brand they are today (Mattel, 2011). Barbie is a brand that acknowledges the importance of cultural identity in toy market. Biological traits for cultural acceptability have incorporated very carefully. Barbie, Mattel’s biggest and most recognized brand is very detailed in its design. The original Barbie was created to target young American girls, who wanted to grow up to be independent, beautiful women. Many parents initially had objections against playing with Barbie as many thought her physical attributes gave young girls wrong idea about beauty. The fear was that girls might take thinness as the indicator to beauty. Consumers were worried about the wrong idea Barbie might give their children regarding the definition of beauty in their culture. Consumers who had African, Asian and other ethnic origins were also not very pleased with the physical attributes Barbie was given. Mattel counteracted these notions by coming up with Barbies that represented the culture and traditions of these specific countries. Thus, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and African Barbies were created. These Barbies have different skin tones than the original Barbie; they are several shades darker than the original shade. The Japanese Barbie has a yellow skin color similar to the oriental skin tone. Many might point out the fact that the features of these dolls have not been changed. Only the skin tone and the clothes have been altered. By diversification of their products, Mattel accessed growing markets. (Grassel, 2011) Barbie now represents a mass- spectrum of culture to gain acceptability into the Latin American, Afro American and Asian cultures. Barbie’s imaginary friend-circle has been very carefully designed. It is designed in such a way that young girls from all different cultures will feel included in the world of Barbie. Kayla was introduced in 1990. Her ethnic vagueness was done intentionally. She represents the Latina-young friend of Barbie. Kayla can make any young Latin American girl relate herself to Kayla’s style. The Barbie line for girls near their teens also has characters that show the importance of Hispanic and African culture in Mattel’s market segmentation. Including these characters in their doll collection gives Mattel access to consumers who hail from these cultures (Barbie, 1991). ‘Independent women are next generation women’ is the philosophy Mattel reinforces with its product, Barbie. Girls from a very young age value their independence and dreams. The clothes and accessories donned by Barbie make the statement of her independence. She is a doctor, a nurse, an astronaut and anything and everything she wants to be professionally. The commercials of Barbie also emphasize the abilities of women. ‘Women can be whatever they want to be’ is what Barbie wants to encourage in young girls. Young girls look up to Barbie as an example of a successful and independent woman. The statement of independence for women that the Barbie brand holds is not always accepted by all the cultures. In Iran, the government was very quick to condemn the image that Barbie portrayed in terms of “knowledge, beliefs, values attitudes, traditions and ways of life” which define the cultural identity of an individual (Jameson, 2007, p.200). There was a conflict between collective group culture and individual cultural identity, which is formally or informally derived from one’s surroundings. Hence this entailed a conflict between traditional beliefs and the “expanded concept of cultural identity…shows how culture not only connects people but also defines them as unique individuals” (Jameson, 2007, p.200) The image of an independent and professional Barbie who chose not to marry Ken, her boyfriend sets a statement which in many cultures and countries like Iran is seen as a threat. The conservative and traditional communities do not want their young girls to measure independence with not marrying and not having children. In Iran, women are supposed to define themselves with their marriage and children. Barbie on the other hand has a very different ideology. Though the government has shown its objection. Barbie is still popular among the young girls there (Grassel, 2011). The fact that children learn about their culture and traditions with the help of their toy is evident. They find their toys to be a direct representation of what growing up means. They learn a lot about the values and customs their culture and community follows by playing with these toys. Mattel Inc. has been very successful in understanding this fact and incorporating it in businesses. Their Brand Barbie has been able to address the issues of cultural identity among diverse consumers in a positive way. The company has been sensitive to consumers hailing from different cultures by offering them toys that the parents would approve their children to play with. They have been successful in incorporating the ethnic, cultural, and philosophical beliefs of their consumers in their products. Mattel still needs to be careful with the image it wants to present in the market. Cultural identity is a very sensitive issue, and Mattel Inc. must be very careful about the statements it makes with its toys. References Grassel, K. (2011). Barbie Around The World, New Renaissance, 4(27), Retrieved on May 16, 2011 from: http://www.ru.org/society/barbie-around-the-world.html Jameson, D. (2007). Reconceptualizing cultural identity and its role in intercultural business communication, Journal of Business Communication. 44(3), 199-235 Mattel (2011), retrieved on May 16, 2011 from: http://corporate.mattel.com/about-us/diversity.aspx Barbie (1991), retrieved on May 16, 2011 from: http://26853232.nhd.weebly.com/impact-in-marketing-in-the-toy-industry.html Read More