Ann Handley opens the MarketingProfs event and uses the Barbie movie (a 2023 blockbuster earning more than $1.38 billion worldwide) as a humorous frame to describe the existential and practical challenges of B2B marketing. She introduces a playful project idea called "B2B Barbie"—a sequel/brand concept that satirizes the tensions B2B marketers face (creativity vs. seriousness, short-term pipeline vs. long-term brand, use AI vs. protect data).
Chapters
Alive. But I'm still flirting.
Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. You all at this time, I would like to please.
Oh my goodness. I am so excited about this. I can't even get my words out. This is one of my favorite people that I get the opportunity to welcome to the stage right now. She is a wonderful human being. So I would like to ask you to please join me in welcoming to the stage Chief Content Officer of Marketing Props, Ann Hanley.
Yeah.
Hi. How are we?
I am so happy to welcome you here. On behalf of the entire MarketingProfs team, thank you so much for being here. Shout out to our people who are watching at home in the comfort of their offices as well. We miss you. Be here next year.
I am Ann Hanley. I will be your host for the next two days and I'm truly honored that you chose to spend these two days with us. Who has seen or heard of the Barbie movie?
Yes, the Barbie movie. Biggest blockbuster of 2023. It earned more than $1.38 billion.
Worldwide. Isn't that crazy? The marketing was unhinged. It was off the hook in all the best ways. It is still in theaters and it just came out on livestream as well. If you're not familiar with the story, if you haven't had a chance to catch it yet, I'm going to just walk you through what happens in the Barbie movie. Stereotypical Barbie, the most popular of all the Barbies in Barbieland, begins experiencing a kind of existential crisis. She has to travel to the human world in order to understand herself and also to discover her true purpose in life. Her kinda sorta boyfriend, Ken.
Comes along for the ride. With him also is Ken's best friend, Alan.
In Barbieland, there are tons of Barbies. There are tons of Kens, but there's only one Alan.
In their journey to the human world, they meet Gloria, played by America Ferraro, who delivers this iconic speech about the impossible standards of being a woman and nodding along wisely. Is this galb weird Barbie? She is the Barbie who has been there, done that. Her hair is cut with nail clippers.
This gal has seen it all. Now, why am I talking to you about this today? What does this possibly have to do with B2B marketing other than it was an excuse for me to buy a bedazzler?
I did this myself.
Here's the thing. You know, if marketing doesn't work out for me.
I got my bedazzling business.
So when I saw the Barbie movie this past July, I realized One very important thing that Barbie's journey to find her place in the world is very much the path that we walk as B2B marketers every single day. The second thing I thought about is, you know what? I've been in marketing long enough to know that the best ideas in B2B are inspired by other things that they are iterated on. For example, yesterday's white paper is today's webinar is tomorrow's blog post is the infographic that we're going to produce next week and then we're going to do it in 2024 again, because that works so well. That's what we do. So I wanted to share a sort of brand new project that I'm working on now. It's a brand new idea debuting for the very first time today. And I thought maybe we could just sort of talk through it together. My brand new idea is a Barbie movie sequel called I feel like, you know, this is coming.
B2B Barbie.
This is the movie poster for the release. It's a brand new design that I've been workshopping. It just got approved by Brand, it got through legal. Thank God it looks like this.
Do we like it?
My favorite part of our new B2B Barbie movie is the iconic speech about how hard it is to be a B2B marketer. Also delivered by America Ferrara. And yeah, that cost me a lot. You are worth it. All of you are worth it. In the B2B Barbie script that we're still writing, America articulates just how impossible it is to be a B2B marketer. It's impossible, she says. Now I'm still writing this, so tell me what you think about this. It's literally impossible to be a B2B marketer, she says. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.
Yeah.
Somehow we're always doing it wrong. It's literally impossible to be a B2B marketer. Like, you have to be creative, but not too unhinged. Like, you have to be playful but also serious. You have to be tactical, but also strategic. You have to be strategic. But Barry in HR has a much better idea about Q4's product launch. Can you Skype him now?
You have to build short term pipeline, but also long term brand. You have to do more, but with less budget. You have to know the customer, but no, I'm not listening to them. You have to respect the customer. But let's also target them which blasts. You have to ungate your content, but also hit those MQL goals. Everyone tells you they're not a marketer, but they tell you to make the logo bigger. Anyway, everyone tells you they're not a marketer, but why Aren't we the first Google result for B2B solution? Why isn't that our position? And why doesn't our content talk more about our products?
You need to use AI, but protect our data. You need to use AI, but don't give away our trade secrets. You need to use AI, but for God's sake, sound human.
It's too hard, it's too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you. And it turns out in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
