Mattel Media, the interactive division of toy giant Mattel, is introducing two new cd-roms, Barbie Jewelry Designer and Barbie Nail Designer, that bring to eight the number of interactive Barbie titles available in Canada.
In October, Mattel will be unveiling three more Barbie cd-roms, including Barbie Riding Club and Detective Barbie.
Staci Starr, product manager, Mattel Media, says that since the launch of the first Barbie cd-rom in the fall of 1996, Mattel Media has enjoyed significant sales increases, providing encouragement to the division to continue pumping out new titles.
‘The Mattel Media division is not yet two years old,’ says Starr. ‘The whole division has tripled in sales in under two years.’
Mattel Media, currently the number-one software publisher for children in the industry, is hoping to repeat its success with the launch of its newest Barbie cd-roms.
With television advertising set to begin in October, the company’s strategy is to provide consumers with a reasonably priced product in a market that tends to be populated with higher price points.
‘We try to get out there with affordable titles,’ says Starr. ‘What research has shown is that the top titles in the marketplace range from $59.99 to $69.99.’
Bearing this in mind, the Barbie Jewelry Designer cd-rom is priced at $49.99 and the Barbie Nail Designer cd-rom at $27.99. Set to hit store shelves in September, both titles provide young girls with the opportunity to design and actually create their own fashion accessories.
On the heels of this initiative, Mattel Media is also planning for its Christmas season, with the October launch of its fall lineup. Television advertising for those products is set to break mid-November. Mattel is not planning any direct marketing initiatives to support the launch but is considering using some direct for the 1999 season, says Starr.
