The Barbie film’s $800 million box office led to significant media value for brands. Zara topped the list with $6.8M, followed by Primark, ALDO, and Forever 21. Fossil’s Barbie content made up 24% of its media value, with Superga and Cotton On also benefiting. Influencer collaborations were crucial to these gains. Read the article here.
Published On: August 9, 2023
Barbie Film Boosts Brand Media Value
Barbie film global box office sales drove an impressive 800 million dollars but the economic impact fostered by the wave of Barbiecore goes way beyond this….
WeArisma analysed the Barbie X Brand X Influencer collaborations of 14 notable fashion brands, revealing the most successful partnerships in driving brand media value.
Zara rose to the top with its Barbie-related content delivering $6.8M in media value. This was followed by Primark ($4.6M), ALDO ($3.7M) and Forever 21 ($2.4M).
Fossil’s partnership saw its Barbie-related content accounting for 24% of its overall media value
amongst influential sources between March and July, which values the content generated by
influencers, celebrities and the press. This was followed by Superga (12.7%) and Cotton On (11%).
A common thread amongst these brands is that they collaborated with well-known influencers such as Alessandra (@aly_sf) unboxing a pair of Aldo’s Barbie heels on TikTok and Dominique
(@playygirldom) sharing her shopping experience at Forever 21 on TikTok, which helped to boost their media value.
Read the article here.
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Cannes Lions has always been where the industry takes stock, not just of the work, but of where the money is going and why. This year, creator marketing will be front and centre. Not because it’s new, but because the ground underneath it is shifting in ways that are forcing brands to fundamentally rethink how they plan, measure and value creator partnerships.Â
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The top 100 media and entertainment brands across video streaming, audio streaming, and content creation generated $63.4B in total Earned Media Value in 2025, up +7.0% YoY. Growth is uneven across sub-sectors, video streaming surged while audio streaming declined sharply, platform dynamics are shifting fast, and a handful of breakout brands are rewriting what influence looks like in entertainment.
TikTok grew +70.2% YoY and is rapidly closing the gap on YouTube as the dominant entertainment influence platform. YouTube remains #1 at $32.6B but declined -11.3%, while Instagram grew +4.4% to $13.3B. Facebook nearly doubled to $7.3B (+98.9%), making media and entertainment one of the few categories where four platforms are genuinely competing for share.
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