By Christie Nicholas
Recently Sean Aylmer from Fear and Greed invited me to join him on the show for an interview.
If you are not aware, Fear and Greed is the business podcast that sets you up for a successful day. Every weekday morning, get all the business news you need to know in less than 20 minutes. Host Sean Aylmer, economist and one of Australia’s most respected journalists, breaks down the important stories and explains why they matter to you.
In this interview we discuss how brands are using marketing to more effectively engage with mums on their buying journey. The reason this is important is because in some categories of household spending, mums control the vast majority of buying decisions.
Here is a summary extract of our conversation:
“Household spending is a key part of the economy, a part that’s come under pressure as the cost of living rises. A very significant chunk of that spending is controlled by mothers, a fact that many brands are now realizing and adjusting their marketing accordingly. I wanted to take a closer look at this today at how brands have changed their approach and the impact that the cost of Living crisis is having on this market. Christie Nicholas is the Founder and Managing Director of Mumpower, the number one marketing agency shaping brands that speaks with mums. Christie, welcome to Fear and Greed.” Sean Aylmer
Sean Aylmer: Take me through what Mumpower does?
Christie Nicholas: Mumpower exists to fast track growth for brands who sell products that mums buy. So brands will choose us for things such as market research, so we want to have a look at why mums will or won’t buy their product versus their competitors, or brands will come to us for influencer marketing and having mum influencers talk about their product to the wider network of Australia mums, and also to help them rev up reviews, because mums will not buy a product without doing a lot of research into what reviews say about their brands.
Sean Aylmer: Where did the idea come from?
Christie Nicholas: I had the idea for it when I was working as a marketing manager for a globally renowned toy company. I remember being the marketing manager and hiring agencies to help us get the word out to the customers. As good as that marketing agency was, they couldn’t quite bring it home to the level that I would’ve liked. In my opinion, it was because they did not live and breathe how that customer bought products, which was mums at the time. That’s when the idea was planted that I thought, “You know what? There is a way to better connect and compel mums to buy that product,” and I wanted to create the agency that fulfilled that role.
Sean Aylmer: how do you connect to mums?
Christie Nicholas: Well, it ultimately comes down to understanding her role, who she is, what she’s dealing with, and really just putting yourself in her shoes and looking at her life. So, often brands discount what she’s dealing with. If you truly understand that about mums, you’re better placed to create a product and a message that resonates with her.
Sean Aylmer: Something you said earlier on about mums looking at reviews. I don’t know many mums, particularly if you have younger children, that have any time, but I do know a lot of mums that actually do look at reviews. How do you get to someone who is really time poor?
Christie Nicholas: Even if she’s time poor, she’s going to be on social media, because that’s where she’s going to get a little bit of a release from her stresses, a little bit of inspo and connection with others. So if you want to reach mums, go on social media. The second thing is mums won’t buy a product unless they’ve asked another mum or many mums that she knows about recommendations, so it’s really about making sure yours is the brand that more people are talking about.
Sean Aylmer: how much consumer spending is controlled by mothers?
Christie Nicholas: There are some categories, especially when it comes to family households, mums control over 90% of the buying decisions. Looking at things like FMCG and also baby and children’s products, the majority of the products and services she buys, the decision is made by mums.
Sean Aylmer: You’ve done some research recently into Australian mums, 90% feel overwhelmed and stressed. It seems like a huge number. What impact does that have on household spending?
Christie Nicholas: Looking at how mums feel, regardless of what’s happening in the economy with the pandemic or so forth, and they are massive stressors that impact mums, when you put that aside, what really weighs her down and keeps her up at night are the day- to- day parenting stressors. That’s what she’s thinking about and worried about most of all. How it affects the economy is because when her emotions are heightened and she’s got a problem, she’s going to be more receptive to products or brands that are going to help her with that problem, so that she can feel like she’s doing the best for her child and her child is showing up in the world the way she likes.So, the stressors that she feels on a day- to- day impact her buying decisions. Then when you couple that up with what is happening with rising interest rate rises and horrible household bills, it’s really been catapulted and she’s highly sensitive to what she will and won’t buy.
Sean Aylmer: Is there an example of a brand that’s selling or marketing to mums well, taking all that into account?
Christie Nicholas: There are definitely a number of brands who are progressing and they’re really out there and having a great dialogue with mums. One brand that comes to mind is ABC Reading Eggs. They really heightened how mum- centric they were, even through the pandemic and beyond. What they are doing very well is they’re not selling a message so much from the corporate sense of why they believe this product is fantastic for mums, they are embracing and encouraging everyday mums to share their stories and struggles when it comes to children’s education, and in their opinion, the honest way that their brand supports them in their journey. So, that’s an example of a company that is allowing mums to do the heavy lifting for them and it’s resulting in more sales and growth for them. Then of course there are others as well. People like Russell Hobbs is very well- connected to the heart of mums, and how mums care about what they feed their family and how to put meal ideas on the table in quicker more economical ways. So, that’s another brand that is definitely responding well to trends of what mums want today.
Sean Aylmer: It sounds like influencer marketing’s very important in this space.
Christie Nicholas: It definitely plays a key role, and that comes down to when you look at mum’s buying journey, the first way she’s ever going to discover a brand exists in the first place is largely through social media. Influencers play a role in how that brand shows up on social media as they talk about brands that they have tried and share that information with their followers who turn to them and follow them for that reason.
Sean Aylmer: If I want to go and market something to mums I need influencers, social media and anything else that I should have top of mind?
Christie Nicholas: Product reviews! Even though mums will discover a brand on social media, she will ask her friends about what she thinks, she will watch a video from an influencer. That mum will not buy until she’s done her independent homework and read a ton of reviews to see what other mums similar to her and her circumstances have said. These reviews are not by influencers, they’re by everyday shoppers just like her, so that is how you seal the deal.
Sean Aylmer:
Are there many differences between mums and dads?
Christie Nicholas: The stats for us still tell us that it’s largely mums who are doing the buying decisions for these products, but having said that, there’s certain products where dads influence the decision as well such as for more expensive goods.
Listen to the full interview here:
https://omny.fm/shows/fear-and-greed/interview-the-brands-ignoring-mums-at-their-own-pe