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Company Case 5
GoldieBlox: Swimming Upstream against Consumer Perceptions
Synopsis
While pursuing a degree in engineering, Debbie Sterling recognized the lack of women in
that field. As she researched possible reasons for this, she discovered that societal
perceptions about gender roles and appropriate activities for boys and girls are influenced
by the toy industry. While the blue aisle is full of building-oriented toys that challenge the
mind, the pink aisle is geared toward princess and fashion play. Sterling decided to do
something about this by changing people’s perceptions about gender roles. She created
GoldieBlox, a new toy company that is out to change how people think of toys for girls
with the message that success comes not from playing with dollhouses, but from building
them.
Teaching Objectives
The teaching objectives for this case are to:
1. Provide a practical application for the buyer decision process.
2. Learn the factors that influence consumer behavior.
3. Illustrate the importance of emotions in making purchase decisions.
4. Highlight the factors that affect the development of consumer attitudes.
Discussion Questions
1. Of the factors that influence consumer behavior, which category or categories
(cultural, social, personal, or psychological) best explain the existence of a
blue toy aisle and a pink toy aisle? Why?
There is no wrong answer to this question, but any response should make a
solid case for the category chosen. On the psychological end, learning styles
could be discussed. The case points out that girls possess stellar verbal skills
2. Choose the specific factor (for example, culture, family, occupation, or
attitudes) that you think most accounts for the blue/pink toy aisle
phenomenon. Explain the challenges faced by GoldieBlox in attempting to
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Part 1: Defining Marketing and the Marketing Process
3. To what degree is GoldieBlox bucking the blue/pink toy aisle system?
This response should be based on the debate that carries on between advocates
of the GoldieBlox solution and those who are opposed to it. On the one hand,
Sterling claims that GoldieBlox is a totally different toy company with the
4. If GoldieBlox succeeds at selling lots of its toys, will that accomplish the
mission of increasing the presence of females in the field of engineering?
Again, responses to this question are subjective and will likely follow the
reasoning for any response to Question 3. Those who believe that GoldieBlox
truly is disrupting the pink aisle will say “yes” to this question, while those who
Teaching Suggestions
Ask students to think of a favorite toy they had when they were a child. Call on students
to share what the toy was and why it was a favorite. As the discussion ensues, create two
lists on the board under the headings “Boys” and “Girls”. How do the results play out?
Ask for input from the class on identifying any patterns and why they think those patterns
exist.
This case was developed for use with Chapter 5. This case also works well with the
advertising chapter (Chapter 12) and the sustainable marketing chapter (Chapter 16).
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