By Heather Lutze, CEO
Findability Consulting & Speaking
After 17 years with three men in my life, my husband and my two sons, you get used to the idea that Walking Dead and Myth Busters are the only shows on TV. When I hang out with my best friend’s daughter, Maggie, a whole new world opens to me… the world of girls. I went for the first time into an American Girl Doll store. My mouth hanging open as we walking through the doors and saw unending cases of beautiful dolls. My mouth started to water.
Maggie stood in amazement with her mouth open. She started to find the doll to imprint with for the rest of her life. After she found her perfect brownish black haired, brown green eyes with freckles doll, I had to start looking at this store as pure marketing genius. Girls from all races could self identify with a doll that looks just like them.
I started thinking that maybe I would get a doll for myself. As I watched Maggie stroll through the store with eyes wide open and her mouth wide open!
STUNNING DISPLAYS AND INTERACTIVITY
INTERACTIVITY IN STORE: DOLL BEAUTY SALON!
A Doll Salon where you can watch your dolls hair go from tangled to braided fabulous in minutes for $30 dollars plus any purple extensions, buns, barrettes, ribbons and much more.
DOLL FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
If you are in LA you can even go to the café and have lunch with your doll. In Denver, they have aligned with a number of restaurants by the store and they are “doll friendly”. They have American Doll highchairs so you can have a lovely lunch with your doll right after purchase. Once again…brilliant.
The most impressive step that makes this place truly like no other including famous toy store FAO Schwarz, you can buy matching outfits for the doll and the SAME outfit for the girl owner. I found myself saying to myself, “I would wear that!” as I look at the adorable clothes that me and my doll could wear together. NO one would need to know, I work by myself and I could dress her every morning just like me.
As a Internet Marketing Consulting myself, I tend to focus on the online experience and the Findability Formula for business looking for warm prospects online. However, when I entered this store I was taken to a dream of when I was blessed with a fictional girl and we played dress up and had tea parties. That we could pick out our dolls together and I could give her matching outfits for every occasion and season. This is the best marketing and merchandising of all, the one that touches you in your dreams and in real life. My hats off to American Girl for making me feel like a girlie, girl again.
Now off to buy a ton of clothes for my friends daughter who really does not need them but really, really wants them. Ok maybe I really, really want to buy it for myself. Shhh…Don’t tell Santa. I am asking for a Lexus this year! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICAN DOLL FOR MY 2013 FINDABILITY GENIUS AWARD!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY, FINDABLE NEW YEAR!
One Comments “American Doll Marketing Genius: Christmas Time in Girl Town!”
Do you remember Cabbage Patch Dolls? My mom and I almost got trampled at a Toys R Us to get the EXACT doll. A blonde haired, blue eyed, freckled doll named Karlene. No joke. Doll even had my name, well dang close enough for a little girl who never found stuff with her name on it! I was about 12 and I vividly still remember that day and their smell – baby powder. Girls and dolls – always going to be a money maker. Cool share.