Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Marketing

Advisor/Mentor

Sarah Grace

Abstract

Throughout my internship, I was captivated by the company’s journey to being driven by

intellectual property rather than just being product driven. On my very first day, the Vice

President of Marketing for North America, Matt Brutocao, spoke to all the interns about his role

and the direction the company is going. My first notes from my internship and his presentation

are the words marketing is storytelling. Throughout the rest of my internship, this idea would

come into play during talks with executives, company people in all departments, and with my

peers. It was very clear that Mattel wanted to make more than a product but wanted to build

whole worlds around their iconic brands and go beyond the role of a typical toymaker.

Under Chief Executive Officer, Ynon Kreiz, Mattel has embraced a transformation to being an

IP-driven toy company with great expansion into other entertainment offerings such as

television, live events and experiences, and digital games. Content is now being used as a

marketing vehicle for Mattel, among other companies. Mattel’s creation of the Barbie movie and4

its subsequent success was a signal to companies in every space. Although the company was

built on items, worldbuilding and storytelling is the future for Mattel.

This theme of transmedia storytelling continued throughout my internship as Mattel continued to

release media to accompany their brands. This got me thinking about how Mattel was able to

build an entire world surrounding Barbie and reposition the brand through several forms of

media. How can legacy brands use cross-media narratives to reclaim cultural relevance?

Keywords

Transmedia Storytelling; Barbie; Cultural Branding

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