TL;DR

• Boss Beauties and Barbie announced the launch of their career-honoring virtual collectibles collaboration on Flow
• The collection will be released in three waves – with the first launch split between a presale on Wednesday, May 10 and a general sale on Thursday, May 18 – unlocking additional perks and physical goods for collectors
• The Boss Beauties x Barbie collection offers extended value to collectors at an affordable price point, taking a similar approach to Mattel’s Hot Wheels NFT Garage, which sold out its recent Series 5 drop in under 30 minutes on Flow
• This is the latest collection to be released on the Mattel Creations Digital Virtual Collectibles Marketplace, which Mattel launched last year after selecting Flow as its long-term blockchain partner

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Boss Beauties and Barbie have announced the launch of their career-honoring virtual collectibles collaboration on Flow – and the presale for the first drop is happening today.

The Boss Beauties x Barbie collaboration will highlight the 250 careers represented in the Barbie line since 1959. The collection will be released in three waves, with two more drops to be announced later this year. As part of the partnership, Barbie and Boss Beauties previously announced a $250,000 donation honoring the 250 careers in the collection, which benefits both the Barbie Dream Gap Project and the Boss Beauties Foundation.

While this exciting collection is available today for the first time, Barbie is no stranger to the Flow ecosystem. She was first introduced to Web3 via a partnership with French luxury brand Balmain, which auctioned off an exclusive collection of Barbie NFTs in 2022 that were minted on the Flow blockchain – and we couldn’t be happier to welcome her back. Since then, Mattel has transitioned all of its virtual collectibles efforts to Flow to capitalize on the speed, scale, and efficiency made possible by Flow’s unique multi-node architecture.

Let’s dive into what to expect from today’s Boss Beauties x Barbie presale and upcoming general sale, as well as some takeaways from Mattel’s approach to consistently selling out consumer-scale collections on Flow.

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Presale + general sale: two chances to get in on the first drop

A limited presale for the first wave of the collection is dropping today via the Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles Platform – and all presale purchasers will receive an exclusive career Barbie virtual collectible for free. Next, the general sale will kick off on May 18 in coordination with Boss Beauties and Barbie’s upcoming activation at VeeCon 2023.  

The collection will feature seven different rarities and 13 career types, which will be spread across blind packs of four NFTs priced at $25 per pack. The collectibles can be displayed, traded, or sold via Mattel’s newly launched peer-to-peer marketplace on the Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles Platform. 

The fun doesn’t stop there – collectors will also access additional benefits that are tied to different rarity levels from the collection. For the first wave, these token-gated benefits include:

• All rarities: Virtual career conversations with inspirational micro influencers
• Super Rare: Exclusive Barbie x Boss Beauties NFT sticker pack
• Ultra Rare: 2023 Barbie Career of the Year dolls (set of four)
• Exclusive: World of Barbie general admission

If you’re interested in joining in the fun, don’t wait – Mattel’s drops generally sell out quickly.

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Mattel’s winning approach to Web3 on Flow

The Boss Beauties x Barbie collection offers extended value to collectors at an affordable price point. It follows a similar approach to Mattel’s Hot Wheels NFT Garage, which sold out its recent Series 5 drop in under 30 minutes on Flow.

Mattel selected Flow as its long-term blockchain partner and the home for its Mattel Creations Digital Virtual Collectibles Marketplace, which launched late last year. Mattel moved from the WAX blockchain to Flow because it was thoughtfully designed from the very beginning to support consumer-scale applications for mainstream audiences, reliably supplying the speed, decentralization, and sustainability major IPs like Mattel, Ticketmaster, Doodles, and the NBA depend on.

Mattel’s consistent success – even when NFT sales volume is generally low – may have others wondering what takeaways they can incorporate into projects on Flow, both now and in the future. In general, Mattel has done an excellent job of:

• Building digital extensions of its inherently collectible franchises, starting with Hot Wheels and Barbie
• Baking in rarity-bound perks, rewards, exclusive merchandise, and IRL experiences to extend the collector experience
• Using a familiar-feeling user onboarding approach and fiat payment methods, supported by Flow, that abstract away technological complexity – so customers don’t need to be Web3 native to join in
• Activating robust marketing campaigns that target consumers both within and outside of the Flow ecosystem

We’re beyond thrilled to welcome Barbie back to Flow for this compelling chapter in her Web3 journey. We hope everyone has an opportunity to participate in the drop – and be sure to check back regularly for more updates.

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