The Music Center x Barbie Style Partnership

About The Music Center: The Music Center is the second-largest performing arts center in the United States. Located in Downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is home to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Roy and Edna Disney / CalArts Theatre, Grand Park, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

My Role: Strategic Partnership Manager

After Mattel’s Barbie Style account posted an image at The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles in October of 2017, I reached out to Mattel’s Business Development team to set up a meeting on how The Music Center and Barbie could collaborate. 

The result was a fruitful two-year partnership where Barbie traveled to The Music Center on multiple occasions and posted on the @BarbieStyle Instagram account (2.1 million followers). 



Partnership Creation: 

First, I undertook an analysis of both partners’ primary goals and facilitated the partnership agreement to ensure each party was pleased with the campaign’s performance. 

The partnership was negotiated and constructed primarily as a digital campaign with some in-person Barbie merchandising at select ballet performances.  

The Music Center’s Goals:

  • Promote The Music Center complex and Grand Park as an independent destination to visitors and locals alike
  • Sell tickets and generate awareness of upcoming performances.
  • Cement The Music Center’s reputation for the ‘Place Where Dance Happens’ in Los Angeles 

Mattel’s Goals:

  • Localize Barbie in Los Angeles (previously, the account was NYC-based)
  • Promote Barbie as a connoisseur not just of fashion but of art 
  • Alignment with legacy content (ballet, Barbie Nutcracker) 

The Music Center’s Nutcracker

With a less than a three-week period from contract to turnaround, I was able to coordinate a special red-carpet shoot with the Barbie-style team to have Barbie “attend” the premiere of The Music Center’s new Nutcracker by Miami City Ballet.  

The digital campaign across @BarbieStyle and @TheMusicCenter generated over 70,000 engagements and over a million impressions across platforms.  

Destination Awareness

In order to promote The Music Center as a “destination” to locals and visitors alike, I collaborated with Barbie Style to stage five additional shoots to promote the every-day experiences offered by different venues. 

After many meetings, we decided to centralize our focus on three very different aesthetics: 

  • The Main Complex Entrance
  • The Walt Disney Concert Hall
  • Grand Park 

 

The digital campaign was again leveraged across @BarbieStyle and @TheMusicCenter. Each post generated an average of 33,000 engagements. The entire campaign stretched over a period of 24 months, reminding visitors to visit The Music Center when they next visit L.A. 

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