There is more to being mum

We keep hearing it, experiencing and saying it – but it’s something that’s worth repeating. There’s more to being a mum than being a mum. Behind that title of ‘mum’ is an individual, a person who has her own set of wants and needs. She has to balance that with the needs of her family but her own (often strong) preferences play into her decision-making.

We’ve just carried out some research with our MumPanel of 10,000 mums across the UK and this is what is at the top of their mind at the moment (and some of their thoughts aren’t quite as mumsy as you’d think…).

• The election is a hot topic at the moment. We don’t tend to find mums discussing it in the playground but it’s definitely something they think about – both on a personal level and also how it might affect their family. 88% of mums said they’re going to vote in the general election but even at this late stage 45% haven’t decided who they’re going to vote for. That could mean that mums are the most influential group in determining who’s next in line for government.

• Mums have fun and ‘me time’ too. Mums might not have bags of free time but they still manage to fit in their hobbies and interests. When we asked our MumPanel, half play sport regularly (swimming, running, netball and bootcamp). One third said they regularly holidayed without their kids, two-thirds go to comedy shows or theatre, 40% drink alcohol every week and 75% do DIY (not sure that is always fun!).  It’s not just empty nesters that have ‘me time’, so don’t forget mums when you’re marketing recreational and escape products and services.

• Mums and kids share. Mums share products, experiences and wants with their kids.  They might buy breadsticks and yoghurts for the kids but find they like them. And so the next time they’re buying for themselves as well as the kids.  We found two-thirds of mums like the same music as their kids (Frozen sound track, McBusted, Ed Sheeran, Take That and Taylor Swift). Many go willingly (or suggest going) to concerts and shows with their children – enjoying them as much as the kids. Parents and kids share - whether consciously or not - and brands should look for opportunities for innovation and connection in this area.

• There are many dimensions to being mum. Brands need to see the wider influences, needs and values of mums. Why? So they don’t miss important factors when developing products and service. As a brand if you dig into these deeper factors you can create better, empathetic relationships with your audience and meet ALL the needs of ‘being mum’.

All figures from survey of 600 UK mums (completed 14-20th April 2015). 

If you have any mum or family insight, innovation or communication needs call us on 0161 413 4717 or email lynne@mumpanel.co.uk

Lunchbox battles - does mum always win?

Last week Lynne presented at the Market Research Society Kids & Youth conference on food propositions for the children’s market.  We wanted to talk about what kids want in their lunchboxes versus what parents want to see them eating and what influences parents’ decision making. 

We asked our MumPanel for their views by survey and also using our facebook group for further qualitative discussion. And because we always wanted rounded views we also asked mums at the school gate. The overwhelming message we heard from mums is that they are in control of what goes in their child’s lunchbox, 99% of our parents say they have the ultimate decision. Their child might pester and ask for certain things (and reject things they don’t like) but the parent still sources products. 

 

We wanted to know what influenced parents when they were buying. It was no surprise to us that mums have lots of factors to consider when purchasing snacks – from their child’s preferences to including healthy foods, allergies, what school wants and budget.  It’s important when you are developing products for snacks that you take all of these points into consideration. A character on a packet may appeal to a child but if mum feels it is an unhealthy choice (and she knows school will agree) then it’s unlikely to make it into her trolley.  It’s a good idea to have a clear idea of what makes your snack a good choice and clearly communicate this to busy parents. 

When it comes to marketing snacks the question companies ask us the most is “do we market to parents or children”? Our survey results showed that parents think information and marketing of snacks should primarily appeal to both parents and children (56%) or parents (42%), with just 2% thinking it should be aimed at children.  How then do you begin to develop for a dual audience? 

• Start by looking at what parents give as snacks (so cheese, yogurt, fruit) and use this for inspiration.

• Don’t forget other external forces such as school healthy eating guidelines.

• Kids are savvy, they understand healthy messages too (41% of mums said that healthy messages appeal to their children).

• Appeal to both parent & child by messages that they can easily relate to. Sense check as you go with research and focus groups.

You can see Lynne’s full presentation here.

Spreading the word campaigns

When we talk to clients about spreading the word campaigns we like to be clear about what we’ll achieve by the end of the campaign. Spreading the word is just that, getting a message out there through word of mouth. Because of the advent of the internet and social media that might also now include Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest and other networks that pop up and create communities around them.

Social media is in essence just a way of amplifying what you might say to one mum at the school gate or to your neighbour over the fence. The message is the same but you can now say it to thousands of people at the same time instead of just one. At MumPanel we think it’s important that any spreading the word campaign takes account of a mum’s natural journey, so if they’ve never used facebook then we just want them to concentrate on the places they do speak to other mums – playgroups, their gym glass or their kid's swimming lesson. It’s also worth keeping in mind that different mums have different paths – some of our mums will never use social media, some practically live on it. If you want to market to mums then you have to speak to all influential audiences, not just the ones who are part of the latest marketing channel.

So where does spreading the word fit into marketing? If we hand out samples and use our hub mums and bloggers to talk to mums about a product will there be a sudden rush to the shops? Maybe. We need to positively impact customer behaviour so they take action and buy – we can do this by creating brand awareness and flagging up information for mums as they move towards their purchasing journey. Spreading the word should happen pretty early in the information giving cycle and continue so mums are constantly kept aware of a product in a very human way. But spreading the word shouldn’t happen in isolation – the best campaigns are part of an integrated approach (with clear objectives). After all what’s the point of spending time and money spreading the word about a great product only for our mums to be unable to find it in the supermarket because of poor point of sale? That’s an easy way to make mums instantly forget about your product. If you want to create a strong spreading the word campaign you need to start with objectives, be clear about what you want from it and then back it up with a great product or service and clear messaging.

If you’d like to know more about spreading the word campaigns with MumPanel then leave a comment below or drop us a line.

Who do mums listen to? Mum insight

It’s Mothers Day this weekend and I’ll be spending mine with my mum and extended family. My mum is my first port of call when I have a child rearing question (after all she managed to raise 5 children quite successfully). We also share information on products and bargains we’ve spotted in shops but as we are at quite different life stages I tend to go elsewhere to source my information on products and services related to my children and lifestyle.

Along with 8 out 10 mums in this survey I regularly turn to the internet for parenting advice and to get daily jobs done such as grocery shopping. We’ve already seen a shift in the ways mum shop over the last few years and a recent study has shown that online reviews and experiences are becoming just as, if not more, important than personal recommendation. One of the insights to come out of a brand building in a digital world event held last week at P&G’s HQ in Cincinnati was that 70% of Pampers are now sold online. What this clearly means is that retailers are going to have think carefully about how they appeal to an increasingly digital mum market.

And on the note of appealing to mums, as I strolled around the shops this week I was a bit mystified to see an abundance of pink goods. Valentines is long gone. And I wasn’t in a shop for children. The items on the shelves were in fact presents designed to appeal to grown women for Mother’s Day. Retailers need to remember that women are about more than pink and flowers, you’d only need to look at the results of our surveys to realise how diverse our mums are and that they have very different wants and needs. Last week was International Women’s Day (not a hint of pink anywhere). This was a day to celebrate women’s achievements and inspire young women to be brilliant in what ever they choose to do in their life. It’s also a great opportunity for brands to connect with women (Google did so this year).

And on a final note this week is Yummy Mummy Week, a fundraising week for CLIC Sargent . We’ve worked with bloggers on a spreading the word campaign to raise awareness of the week and the great work this organisation does. So far 80 bloggers have contributed 152 posts – you can read more here. We're were thrilled to see CLIC Sargent and our spreading the word campaigns mentioned as excellent examples of blogger relations in econsultancy today.

Who do you think mums listen to? Their parents? The internet?

By Nicola

Mum insight - how is the way we shop changing?

My week kicked off with a quick dash around my local Morrisons store (mum insight – mums jam in food shopping when they can, so for me it’s just after I’ve done the school run). This store is having a bit of an upgrade at the moment and as I walked around, I noticed they had installed a Kiddicare ‘pod’. Morrisons bought Kiddicare last year to expand both their baby range and their internet retail offering. The great thing about this pod is that it allows you to price check and buy products when you do your weekly shop but you don’t have to drag them home with you. Last year we worked with Morrisons taking mums on accompanied shops to see whether they liked the in store experience when they were buying baby products. It's great to see the improvements Morrisons are making for mums.

This particular store is across the road from Mothercare so mums can pop into one store and then dash across the road to do a quick cost comparison. Price checking using my phone is something I do more and more. Recently a netmums survey revealed mums are more likely to use mobile phones than the average Brit. That’s no surprise to me; my phone is where I keep all my appointments, important dates such as school events and lists of things I need to buy. I’ve found myself using technology in new ways. At Christmas, I started using the bar code scanner that is part of Amazon’s iPhone app, it allows you to scan a code on a book (or other product) and it then shows you the price on Amazon. This means you can do a direct price comparison, make a buying decision then and there AND save money – all with a few clicks of your phone.

It’s often things that make a mum’s life easier that encourage us to buy. My girls are obsessed with fish fingers (this is no exaggeration). This week my other half purchased an enormous box to satisfy their cravings and it had a great new feature. You can now reclose the box by ripping off the top part and sliding it over the open end. One of the pain points of fish fingers is that you often spend a fair few minutes scrabbling around the bottom of the freezer to retrieve the ones that always escape the box. Birds Eye have solved this problem in a simple and elegant way and guess which brand of fish fingers I’ll be buying next time?

By Nicola