Incorporating culture in strategic management: lessons from Mattel

Mattel is the company that is renowned for its Barbie image. These are dolls reflecting on ladies who are slim and red haired. It has become the enduring and singular image of the brand until recently. And the market seemed to be experiencing brand fatigue; a factor that is believed to have led to a 10-quarter decline in the sales of the company. This image was so strongly associated with the company that it was considered sacred. Mattel can provide examples of effective strategic brand management; especially when it comes to recognising change and accommodating it.

The main thing to appreciate in change management is that it comes with certain levels of uncertainty. Strategic managers ought to be able to foresee these uncertainties and take contingency measures. More importantly, brand managers ought to be bold enough to take risks from time to time. This was the gamble taken by Mattel. Barbie was doll reflecting of a slim, tall, white, red-haired lady. It had been this way for decades and the consumers had literally associated this sole image with the brand. But in seeking to change this image, Mattel opted to accommodate the reality of the socio-cultural diversity in different sections of the world.

Manifestations of beauty differ in different sections of the society and the white slim red haired figure is largely seen as one accommodating one particular cultural reality. As awareness on cultural diversity increases, sections of the society begin seeking affiliation with what they can identify with. This is what was done in the case of Barbie. The doll was redone to accommodate different body shapes, heights, skin colours, hair colours, and eye colours. This was viewed as being more reflective of a real multicultural setting. In other words, Mattel opted to exploit its understanding of culture to become one with the society.

The effect of this strategic change was as immediate as any strategic management team would hope for. Mattel was able to end its 10-quarter decline and begun to record an increase in sales. In 2016, the company recorded year-on-year sales increase of 23% and 16% for the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters respectively. This was an example of a great risk that ended up coming with great rewards. The company recognised a growing appreciation of cultural diversity and sought to attract consumers by accommodating these consumers.

In contrast, Kodak appeared to have undergone what most would describe as perception inertia. They failed to understand the need to completely embrace the digital wave and maintain their lead in the film industry. As opposed to Mattel which declared that there would be ‘nothing sacred’, the film remained sacred to Kodak. The cultural inertia within the organisation became so serious that the top management was unable to get the rest of the organisation to embrace the technology and facilitate its adoption.

But as for Mattel, the challenge can be said to be much greater because it had specifically been associated with the Barbie image. This association was so strong that Mattel was essentially Barbie. Changing this Barbie image translated into the company letting go of everything it has been known to be and instead focus on building a new image. With great risks often comes great rewards as can be learnt from Mattel.