Momvertising Opps: American Girl taps new marketing VP (Score 47)

Sales Lead: American Girl (AG) selected Krista Berger a its new marketing and franchise management VP, effective February 2023.

• Berger was previously the global marketing and brand partnerships VP for sibling brand Barbie.
• Now, she leads AG's omni-channel marketing, content development, strategic vision, brand management, and partnerships.
• The brand will likely:
  • Shift strategy
  • Return to higher spend
  • Conduct agency reviews
• Target demographic: 
  • Moms ranging from Gen-Z through Gen-X

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: AG hasn't utilized national TV since allocating around $7.5k in 2022.
  • Last year: The brand allocated around $7.5k toward this channel last year and 45% more, around $10.9k, in 2021.
  • 2022 ad programming: AG's 2022 commercials targeted women watching The Other Woman.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, the brand has spent roughly $302.2k on digital ads, 40% less than the roughly $499.9k spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • YTD data: AG has earned ~39.1m digital impressions YTD via Facebook (72%), YouTube (14%), Instagram (12%), mobile display (1%), and desktop display (1%) ads.
  • Last year: The brand's estimated full-year 2022 spend of $2m reached only half of that of $4m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The brand utilizes digital, Google Ads, and online video (Youtube.com) ads.
  • It holds planning conversations in Q1 and buying conversations in Q4, and its top spending period is Q1.
  • Finally, AG invests in partnerships and experiential activations.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: AG may seek new brand-specific agency partners following Berger's appointment, so get on her radar soon.
• Current agency roster (parent company Mattel):
  • Spark Foundry​​​​​​​: Media AOR
  • Weber Shandwick: PR AOR
  • Golin: PR AOR
  • BBDO San Francisco: Creative and digital AOR

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix.