How Stardoll became bigger than Barbie on the Web in just three short years

Barbie, the bestselling fashion doll in the world, was launched in 1959. Mattel, the doll's maker, says that a billion Barbies have been sold and three new Barbies are sold every single second. Barbie has always kept up with the times, her outfits, hobbies, and professions reflecting the society that she lives in and the interests of the elementary and middle school girls who play with her. In recent years, Barbie has even gone digital with a site "to engage, enchant, and empower girls. We inspire girls to be creative and explore their individual interests through a variety of exciting activities, from online art to interactive games." As of October 2007, the Barbie Web site is ranked as number 1,100 in the world based on traffic.

So how is it that Stardoll, a Web-based version of dress-up dolls launched only three years earlier, could have 6 million unique visitors per month and be ranked as the number 386 in the world based on traffic and have more than double the daily pageviews of Barbie.com? How could Stardoll become so much more popular than Barbie on the Web?

Simple, Stardoll is tuned in to "tweens" (girls from 8 to 12 years old). Stardoll members access the site in their choice of 16 languages (including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese), set up a profile to house their virtual doll and clothing collection and become online friends with others. The people behind the scenes at Stardoll understand their market and the breakthrough experience they created resonates with girls all over the world. Girls love that they can dress up virtual stars such as Ashley Tisdale, Stacy Ferguson, Hilary Duff, the Olsen twins, Rihanna, and Hayden Panettiere. Girls eagerly participate in live chat with idols like Avril Lavigne. And members maintain their very own blogs and photo galleries so they can share with their friends.

Editorial note: Dressing up the celebrity dolls is weirdly addictive. I dare you to try dressing Ashley Olsen.

Stardoll is tuned in mishmash of what girls love, particularly fashion. Every celebrity doll has a wardrobe full of unique clothes and outfits and new ones are released each week. The fashion industry has taken note, with Donna Karan's DKNY label and Sephora, both owned by French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, offering virtual clothing and makeup to Stardoll members in specially designated online stores that are part of the Stardoll site. Stardoll originally started out as the hobby of the Scandinavian-born "Liisa"and is now backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures.