Mighty Mums and Marketing: More Than Superheroes

Role models across the generations have evolved, and so too has the role of women in the workforce. We know from experience and research that the growing number of women in the workforce has provided nothing but positive impacts on the economy. As it should. More (wo)manpower = more productivity. As found by the most recent data, women make up for over 55% of the workforce, with the numbers steadily growing.

We’ve talked about how businesses can make the most out of the expertise of the working parents within their company. This time around, we’ll take a look at how mums play an equally pivotal role as an audience that they do in any business.

Mums are the purchasing powerhouse

Mums don’t just play a role within the workforce, but much of the marketing and sales industries hinge on the various demographics of women as well. Women make up for a large extent of the target audience groups marketers gear towards — particularly mothers. Women are the ones primarily responsible for household spending, purchasing, and even vacation planning. Products made for men are usually purchased by women all the same, and brands like OldSpice capitalise on this best. Advertising and marketing campaigns have a longstanding history of catering their campaigns and brand image to appeal to the sensitivities of their female audiences, but times have changed from catching the eye of 1950s homemakers to bustling women of the 21st century.

Smart brands and businesses have moved away from crafting advertisements and marketing campaigns geared towards the specifically gendered themes as the above and transitioned towards clever messaging and themes like the one below. Not only does this transition show that your brand has the wits about it to keep things tongue-in-cheek and clever, but it also shows your female audience the fact that your sales and branding doesn’t hinge on the traditionalist roles of women in the home.

Mums are just as tech-savvy as the rest of the crowd

Long gone are the days of technologically inept mothers and running gags about mums spreading viral chain email threads. Mothers nowadays are spending more of their time online, interacting with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in almost the same quantity as the younger generations are. Mums are rapidly becoming some of the largest audiences of social media consumers around the world. Admit it — you’ve seen your mum scrolling through her Facebook feed videos, haven’t you? Reaching mothers across your social media channels plays a pivotal role in getting your message across and driving your customer acquisition. Tailoring your content to this niche audience gets your brand a better reputation among the audience group with a reputation for reinforcing their brand loyalty.

Have you ever managed to convince your mum to switch from the brand she’d been using for years?

Mother knows best — and she’s not afraid to let you know

The fact of the matter is that mothers usually do know best — and they’re usually very vocal with letting you know when you’re wrong, whether or not they’re right. This means brands have to be especially careful when they’re delivering content that hits the mark just so, or they might have to face the consequences. Mums across the timeline have been a brand’s greatest advocate and adversary. They’re the first ones to voice an opinion, be it a positive or negative one, and they stick to their guns about it. The gift of gab is something most mothers share among themselves, and if one of them has strong feelings about your brand, you’d best believe that the others will hear about it, too.

That may sound ominous, but history has shown that mothers are key players in the realm of the marketing funnel. That’s something brands should keep at the forefront of their marketing and advertising efforts.

So, for your own sake and your brand’s — take care of mum.