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3 Misconceptions about marketing to mums

by Dazzle Ng Sy, Regional Head of Advertising Content, Tickled Media

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I recently found out from The Content Strategist that mums with young kids are “the most active demographic on social media”. What?! You mean it’s not teens – not even millennials?!

Surprising fact aside, the real eye-opener for me was that despite daily exposure to stereotypes being broken (even shattered) and a general appeal to these constructs no longer being relevant, we’re still clinging to them.

Why?

Because stereotypes make things easy. Boxing people into groups and profiles makes them predictable. As marketers, we call these ‘target markets’, a fundamental concept on which multi-million dollar campaigns are built, followed by billions of R&D, production, and advertising money spent.

I dare not tackle the animal that is marketing in the digital age…but it’s always good to swim around in what you know. And at theAsianparent.com, we know mums. So here are 3 misconceptions I’ve since learned from this job and would like to share with you, when it comes to marketing to mums.

 

1. That they’re all on some kind of schedule

 

She wakes up at the crack of dawn,
makes breakfast and the kids’ lunches,
brings them to school,
goes grocery shopping/does yoga,
has lunch with friends,
watches some TV/ does household chores,
picks up the kids,
helps them with homework,
prepares dinner/has dinner,
prepares the kids for bed, and retires herself.

Sounds typical right? Mmm… we asked 5 mums what their days were usually like; and though we haven’t published that article yet, what I can tell you is that waking up early and going to bed late were the only 2 things they had in common.

So if you’re a marketer…

Doing the typical day/round-the-clock exercise to try and figure out when mum will be most receptive to your message, is still productive as it forces you to step into the shoes of the mum you wish to reach.

But those shoes could be anything from sneakers to sandals to stilettos so just keep in mind that there are so many mum lifestyles. WAHMs (Work-at-Home-Mums), SAHMs (Stay-at-Home-Mums), working mums, green mums, breastfeeding mums, tiger mums, single mums, and the list goes on… will all have different schedules, not just among each other, but within their own days.

Oh and here’s a tip – according to our Digital Mum Report, SG mums especially, are most active on social media past 7pm. Today’s mums are so busy that nighttime reading becomes their ‘me-time’ – not to mention new mums who are zombie-ing through 24-hour days.

 

2. That it’s all about the kids

 

If you think that a mum is defined by the success and happiness of her children, think again and keep reading. She is a woman, a worker, a wife/partner, a daughter, a sister, an in-law, and a passionate individual – all on top of her role as mother.

Our data shows that while parenting news and tips are appreciated by our readers, so are stories about marriage, health, entertainment, mum issues, travel, food, and so much more.

So if you’re a marketer…

Simply put, the way to a mum’s heart isn’t just through her kids. You have to cover that base, of course, but she has to know that you have her back in (all) other aspects of her life. If anything, these other facets provide rich ground for creative ways of presenting your brand message to her.

 

3. That they’ve fully embraced the role of supermum.

 

No doubt that each mum is super (it’s the craziest on-the-job-training job in the world after all) but attach the title to a mum you know and she might shy away from it – because she doesn’t always feel that way.

Being a mum is a lot of studying, failing on an everyday basis, loathing your day one moment… then the next, loving it so much your heart feels like it’s going to explode.

So if you’re a marketer…

Support the role [of supermum], don’t take it as a given. Every new challenge that comes with parenthood is an opportunity for mum to learn and for your brand to help her get to that next small or big victory.

Presenting a mother as having it all figured out, aka the ‘perfect’ mum (you know her – she looks like she spent a day at the spa right before she proceeded to cleaning the house), is unrealistic and pretty much impossible to relate to.

So don’t just project (the brand image), but really connect (with a mum’s emotions through your message). This sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo, but the point of the matter is, there is no longer (and has there ever been?) a one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to engaging the mum market.

It’s a lot of work, but it’ll work.

Remember that it’s the primary decision maker of the household you’re talking to here, so it’s worth the effort. If you want to learn more about connecting with this audience, sign up for the


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