Mums know best. But which video marketing campaigns know mothers best?
Video and content marketing campaigns which work effectively unpack the term ‘mum’. Far from being a homogeneous target audience, mothers are a diverse group, and successful brands use insight to create campaigns that work.
‘Mums’ have buying power, not just with FMGC and household goods, but with investment purchases. They’re digitally savvy – 78% of mums own a smartphone compared to the national UK average of 39% – and want to interact with brands in a way that suits them, for instance benefiting from coupons and discounts without chatting to brands.
To see how brands are featuring and targeting ‘mums’, we’ve picked out 5 marketing campaigns which stand out.
1. Proctor and Gamble – proud sponsor of mums
First up is perhaps the most traditional view of ‘mothers’ in our choices from Proctor and Gamble – proud sponsors of mums. In 2011, the brand brought this campaign to the UK on Mother’s Day. They went onto sponsor the Olympics in London and recently in Sochi.
The ads position mothers as the backbone behind our Olympic heroes. It is an effective way of associating their range of consumer goods with those inspiring Olympic values.
Rebecca Lieb, analyst for Altimeter Group said in an article on Contently: “P&G is focusing on moms because they are very squarely the target demographic for the company’s vast array of consumer package goods products. Moms overwhelmingly make those purchase decisions.”
As part of their content marketing campaign, the brand created a series of videos for the London Olympics celebrating the mothers of Olympian hopefuls. Dawn French is a fitting ‘real’ mother to introduce these films which honour the unsung heroes. This is content which can stand up and be shared in its own right with minimal branding.
They combined the videos with social media by asking fans to say why they love their mums – something which a wide audience can engage with. The takeaway is to use video to show how you value your audience rather than sell to them directly. This content can then be maximised via an integrated social media campaign.
2. Motherhood – decision-makers in the hood
This video campaign from Fiat is a refreshing, funny look at the realities of motherhood with a rapping mum.
Automotive marketing is one area which has continued to target the male audience in the main. That’s partly why this ad really stands out as it pitches to the ‘mummy motorist’. As Justine Roberts points out:
“The percentage of women who are now the principal breadwinners in their households has risen by 80 percent in the last 15 years – and while it’s long been accepted that mums are in charge of the weekly shop, increasingly, they’re also in charge of bigger-ticket purchases. When it comes to buying a family car, 93% of Mums are either the principal decision maker or involved in a joint decision.” (IPA)
The video received over two million views in the first two weeks. Although the ad plays on the trials of maternal duty, its humour and the incongruous lyrics with the suburban UK scene, make it highly sharable amongst a wider audience.
3. Selfies – Dove’s mother and daughter campaign
Dove’s Real Beauty campaign has expertly created ads which resonate with women. ‘Selfie’, a documentary directed by Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and marks the 10th anniversary of the Real Beauty ads. It asks mothers and daughters to take selfies highlighting what they dislike about themselves, based on the premise that mums pass their insecurities on to their daughters. Other women then say what they find beautiful in the selfies.
It works as it puts a useful spin on the trend for selfies rather than just jumping on the bandwagon. It resonates with a genuine concern of mothers about their daughters’ body image and awareness of how they need to rethink their own perceptions too. The documentary is engaging and sharable, which reinforces the brand’s values through the content rather than a pushy message.
4. Mothercare – giving tips to mums
Mothercare has a developed an off-air partnership with the Channel 4 series ‘One Born Every Minute’. The brand set up Twitter parties with midwives and other health professionals to interact with their fans. Their YouTube channel is filled with useful content for parents, and their tailored content is akin to a parenting community channel.
Mothercare group brand and marketing director Jude Bridge says: “Twitter parties are great fun and enable a dialogue with mums. Social media means we can listen and communicate to mums and ensure they feel part of a community.”
The takeaway is to have conversations with your audience and think about the content that is actually useful to them. It’s about listening and engaging rather than shouting.
Takeaways:
– Think about your audience – get to know them through social and market research, and target accordingly.
– Use these insights to create content which resonates with segmented ‘mums’ – not a homogeneous group based on out-dated myths.
– Busy people need bite-size chunks of information – create user journeys for them.
– Use social media to have conversations and share genuinely useful content and advice.
Oh and remember to send a card and present on Mother’s Day. If you do forget perhaps Coke Zero will come up with another campaign to get you out of a hole.
Have you spotted any effective video marketing campaigns aimed at mothers or parents? Let us know.