4 marketing lessons from Barbenheimer

Happy Wednesday! I'm Jim Hamilton. Over the past 7 years, my copy has contributed to 10m+ in sales for clients across health, biz opp, and B2B.

Each week, I send out 1 short-form copywriting insight to help grow your business.

Barbenheimer is a box office juggernaut.

The two movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer, have made a combined $1.2 billion dollars worldwide in their first two weeks and broken a bunch of records.

Their staggering success is littered with takeaways for anyone selling stuff online…

So today, I’m revealing 4 marketing lessons from Barbenheimer and how you can apply them inside your business.

Let’s dive in.

Read time: 3 minutes and 7 seconds

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Lesson #1: Obituaries are overrated

“Movies are dead.”

That’s what everyone’s been saying since 2020.

Between Netflix, covid, and the disappearance of monoculture…

Experts thought the theater business was toast.

And while it may be under pressure, Barbenheimer’s opening weekend turned out to be the 4th biggest of all time at the box office.

The medium isn’t dead. It just needed a jolt of something new.

How to apply this:

Don’t abandon a proven strategy, tactic, or channel as soon as it stops working.

Emails, webinars, and low-ticket offers are not dead.

Instead, if you’re struggling, challenge yourself to come at it from a different angle.

Everything fatigues eventually.

Don’t stagnate. Innovate.

Lesson #2: Contrast is crucial

The juxtaposition of Oppenheimer, an apocalyptic drama about the father of the atomic bomb, and Barbie, a whimsical comedy about a toy doll, was impossible to ignore.

They appeal to totally different audiences.

But their “oil and water” similarity is what captured the attention of the zeitgeist…

And gave birth to the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

Instead of the two movies competing against each other, fans turned going to see both into a cultural moment.

How to apply this:

Look for ways to juxtapose opposite ideas in your messaging:

• How early failures led to later successes

• Why following “good” advice is a bad idea

• How achieving your goals can lead to unhappiness

These are basic frameworks for creating contrast in copy.

Lesson #3: Partnerships are profitable

Barbie’s marketing team rolled out 100+ brand collaborations in the run up to opening weekend, including:

• AirBnB

• Bumble

• Burger King

• Progressive

• And many others

The movie was literally everywhere.

For example, this tweet about Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse racked up 3.5M views:

Why was this strategy so effective?

Because partnerships give you credibility by association.

Barbie was able to borrow the credibility consumers had built up with all those brands over the years to create excitement for the movie.

And that obviously translated to ticket sales.

How to apply this:

There are lots of ways to leverage this effect:

• Influencer marketing

• Collaborating with other service providers on special offers

• Starting your own interview show

• Booking interviews on other shows

Start by making a list of all the people your audience knows, likes, and trusts.

Then look for ways to create a win/win.

Lesson #4: Surprise is strategic

Both Barbie and Oppenheimer surprised in different ways.

Barbie’s first trailer paid homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey and made it clear the movie was going to defy expectations.

The unconventional take was refreshing and, by all accounts, executed well.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer turned 3 hours of scientists talking to each other about physics into a gripping, fast-paced story… without getting bogged down in the details.

That’s not easy to do.

Even for a master filmmaker like Christopher Nolan.

Bottom line is:

The more you can defy mainstream expectations, the more you stand out.

How to apply this:

Spotlight your controversial opinions.

Identify where you (or your client) disagree with mainstream wisdom and lean into it in your messaging.

The market is more crowded than ever.

So knowing how to engineer surprise can give you a major strategic advantage.

Putting It All Together

4 marketing lessons from Barbenheimer’s billion-dollar box office success:

1) Obituaries are overrated
2) Contrast is crucial
3) Partnerships are profitable
4) Surprise is strategic

That’s it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next week.

Jim Hamilton