Last updated March 2026
I have three daughters who are each brilliant in their own way. While none of them are planning a marketing career, my oldest, Chloe, created a doll industry market entry proposal for her March 2024 college marketing class that genuinely impressed me. It is thoughtful, research driven, and more practical than many real world marketing proposals I have seen, so with her permission I am sharing it here.
Executive Summary
In this presentation we will discuss how different brands have approached the doll industry and how we can learn from it to create our own brand. We will find that hair quality, articulation, and the story behind the dolls are what keep customers interested and hold a doll’s value.
Introduction
Dolls have been around for a very long time, some dating all the way back from 2000 BC. These wooden dolls would lead us to where we are today- immersed in a world filled with dolls of all kinds. Entering the market of dolls is tricky, due to the wide variety and exhausted amount of types. In this report, the goal is to examine our competition and find where we can best position ourselves.
Background
As we dive into our competition to see where best to position ourselves, we will be finding an average price, and also an average quality put on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very cheaply made and 10 being very high quality).
Competition
Monster High Dolls
Average Price: $27
Average Quality: 8.5
Summary: Designed for upper aged girls, monster high dolls allow tweens to move from the princesses and into a more mature doll.
LalaLoopsy Dolls
Average Price: $35
Average Quality: 7
Summary: These dolls are designed for younger girls and have fun bright colors with each doll designed towards a hobby. They are very unique looking.
American Girl Dolls
Average Price: $150
Average Quality: 10
Summary: These dolls have a wide variety of ages they can appeal to due to the historic stories attached to each doll, and they are made of durable material.
Barbie Dolls
Average Price: $25
Average Quality: 10
Summary: With an iconic brand and well known name, Barbie is easily one of the best selling doll brands of today. They make dolls that are suited to a wide variety of ages from young girls to adults who love to collect.
Melissa and Doug Dolls
Average Price: $32
Average Quality: 10
Summary: This brand is notorious for good quality toys for young ages, their dolls are no different, Little girls will love this doll.
Disney ILY 4Ever Dolls
Average Price: $29.99
Average Quality: 8
Summary: Fun Disney paraphernalia put onto dolls can be any little Disney fanatics dream. With lots of accessories, these dolls bring Disney to the next level.
Baby Alive Dolls
Average Price: $20
Average Quality: 9
Summary: Made of soft material and well weighted, these cute cartoon baby dolls are perfect for little girls and good for mom’s who can’t stand the life-like dolls.
Bratz Dolls
Average Price: $30
Average Quality: 9
Summary: These fashion forward and edgy dolls are quite controversial. Mom’s don’t like the thought of their young girls being flooded with ideas of “slutty fashion”.
Miniland Dolls
Average Price: $30
Average Quality: 9
Summary: With a light vanilla scent, these baby dolls are durable and diverse.
Our Generation Dolls
Average Price: $35
Average Quality: 6
Summary: These cheaper dolls are a great knock-off version of American Girl Dolls. For those looking for a cheaper option, they have come to the right place.
Healthy Roots Dolls
Average Price: $85
Average Quality: 9
Summary: Designed with young black girls in mind, this doll brand features curly synthetic hair and diversity amongst other doll brands.
Ikuzi Dolls
Average Price: $40
Average Quality: 8
Summary: A wide variety of doll types, Ikuzi offers diversity in both the kinds of dolls and what they look like.
L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls
Average Price: $20
Average Quality: 10
Summary: Lots of fun accessories and stories. These dolls are very popular with girls today.
Glitter Girls Dolls
Average Price: $37
Average Quality: 7
Summary: Designed for young girls, so they are made of durable plastic. Fun fashion with a touch of glitter.
Polly Pockets
Average Price: $20
Average Quality: 9
Summary: Small plastic dolls with lots of accessories, Polly Pockets are perfect for tween aged girls.
Rainbow High Dolls
Average Price: $24
Average Quality: 10
Summary: These dolls each have a color they represent and come with lots of accessories.
Ever After High Dolls
Average Price: $45
Average Quality: 7
Summary: Based on fairy tale characters, these dolls have a fun nostalgia linked with their backstory with cute movies attached.
My Twinn Dolls
Average Price: $120
Average Quality: 7
Summary: These dolls are now discontinued, but are good to mention, due to their uniqueness. A girl could send in a picture of themselves, and the company would personally design a “twin” for them.
My Salon Dolls
Average Price: $113
Average Quality: 8
Summary: These dolls are known for having real hair! For the girls that love to style and wash hair, these are the dolls for them.
Bitty Baby Dolls
Average Price: $80
Average Quality: 7
Summary: These dolls are soft and a good size, although they are pricey considering they are just a regular baby doll.
Cabbage Patch Dolls
Average Price: $35
Average Quality: 9
Summary: Cabbage patch dolls are a long standing brand because they have branded their product as “adoptable”. These soft huggable bodies and yarn hair warms your heart.
Results
Discussion and Recommendations
Based on the research that I have done, customers are more likely to spend money on a doll when there is a story attached to it and there is a unique aspect. If the doll is like any other, a customer won’t spend the money. Quality is important, but if you’re above an 8 then you are pretty safe. Another observation is that customers are very picky on the quality of their hair. When a customer complains about the quality of the doll, they either mean the articulation or the hair.
My recommendation is that we find a niche aspect we can bring to the doll world and put the majority of our money towards good articulation and hair.
Future Actions
As a company, I propose we make a line of collectible dolls for adult women. We can give each doll a unique background or history and focus our efforts on giving them fun outfits and lovely hair. Dolls are worth more and keep their value better when they have good quality and are beautifully made.
Conclusion
To conclude, as a company entering the doll industry, the research we have done and analysis we have found, we have a good understanding of how best to find an audience and keep them captivated.
Lessons Learned
This project was really eye opening as to what a marketer does. My Dad does digital marketing and for years I have wondered what exactly he does every day. I feel this project allowed me to see a little bit more into what my Dad does. I didn’t expect to learn as much as I did with this. Reading through customer reviews and seeing the different kinds of dolls available made me realize how much information is really out there if you are going into a certain industry and want to make a new product.
I don’t think I will ever be a marketer, but doing this project gave me some new found respect for those that do. I always assumed marketing was just a little artsy business major, but I now understand how much analysis and thought goes into simply putting out a product.
Something else I found interesting, is that my original thought as to what was going to keep customers interested in dolls was not what it turned out to be. I thought that the clothing and accessories were going to be what kept audiences captivated, but it was their hair, articulation, and stories. It was fun to feel like I was learning something new about a subject I have known about for years.
Overall, this was a fun project that allowed me to get hands on with the marketing world.
