Blog Post #1: Analyzing Communications

In this post, I will be analyzing the People Magazine special edition issue on the Barbie movie. This magazine was created in the summer of 2023 when the movie aired on the big screen. 

PHOTO: Warner Bros. via (People)

In June or July of 2023, I saw this magazine in my local Target and was so excited, I needed to purchase it. Upon reading the magazine, I learned so much more about the doll, the movie, and the history of Barbie. Throughout this magazine the stars and supporting cast of the movie highlight their experience in filming this movie (Adato & Warner, 2023). 

Besides the creators of the movie and People Magazine, I believe many other important figures such as account planner and media planners were involved in the creation of this special edition issue. Both of these roles are influential pieces to creating effective brand communication. Account planner "put consumers at the center of the communications process" (Krocket, 2013, p. 6).  And, media planners "are responsible for figuring out the best possible touchpoints” (Krocket, 2013, p. 6). Throughout the magazine, it is obvious the writers and designers focused heavily on what interests the target audience of the movie, young adult women. 

I also believe that social media monitoring was used to better understand what consumers wanted to see and know about the Barbie movie. This form of consumer insight is used to “track everything that’s being said on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and a host of other sites” (Krocket, 2013, p. 52). During the social media monitoring, the creators of the magazine learned the target audience cared about the insights from the actors, production, directors, etc.. I believe these individuals may have also cared about the history on Barbie as this was a featured piece in the magazine. 

As a woman, this movie was so important to me. I grew up playing with the dolls, watching Barbie movies and television shows. In my opinion, the idea behind the Barbie doll sparked the modern day feminism movement, surrounding that principle that women can be whatever they want to me. In one article in the magazine, titled "The original influencer" Allison Adato spoke on how Barbie has influenced women since the 1960s when the doll was originally created (2023). With Barbie's many occupations and style changes throughout the years, it has shown women that individuality and uniqueness is important, and being yourself is all that matters. 

Overall, I think this magazine gave consumers and viewers a better understanding of the deeper meaning of the movie as well as the work the directors, producers, actors, customer designers, etc. put into creating this masterpiece. 

References: 

Adato, A. (2023). The original influencer. People Magazine, 4-7. 

Adato, A., & Warner, K. (2023). The Barbie cast tells all. People Magazine, 17-33. 

Kocket, C. (2013). The practical pocket guide to account planning. Yellow Bird Press.