I just had to write an essay on this campaign for school. It really made me think about the images and the point behind them.
Firstly I don't think Marc was thinking about marketing strategy at all when he and Juergen planned this shoot. Why would Marc Jacobs worry about a marketing stragety? People will buy his clothes regardless of what the campaign looks like.
I don't believe the concept of these images was to show a little girl playing dress up in her mother's closet. If that was the concept then Marc would have placed Dakota in clothes that were too big for her. Instead he had these clothes made to fit her. Also someone else in this thread mentioned that the collection originally had a child like quality to it. I agree with this.
I believe the concept behind this editorial was to showcase Dakota's personality. To show off a child like essence. Dakota has this energy in the photos that only children possess. You could even say she seems hyper. Her facial expressions range from happiness to mischievous. Such a presence really adds a happy care-free, even reckless, life to the clothes.