Market research by Mumsnet and Saatchi & Saatchi reveals the brands that resonate most with mums and the seven traits that make them tick.
WHAT BRAND TRAITS ARE IMPORTANT TO MUMS?
Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet, the UK’s most popular parenting website, explains the reason behind the research, “We’ve spent the past three years telling brands they’re not doing it right for mums, so we thought we’d flip it round and look at what brands are doing right.”
Through consumer panels, mums were asked to discuss the various brands they love. From this list 10 brands were selected as those best displaying effectiveness and commercial success: Disney, EasyJet, Ella’s Kitchen, Ikea, John Lewis, Lego, Lidl, Lush, National Trust, and Warburtons.
Focus groups were then conducted around the UK, asking mums what habits matter most to them. Quantitative and qualitative research led to the identification, based on these habits, of seven traits possessed by each of the 10 effective brands.
- Precision: efficiency is key, helping mums save time by being clear, precise, and direct in what the brand offers.
- Sorcery: effortlessly working magic to entertain children.
- Elasticity: thinking and structured in a flexible way, fitting in around mums’ busy schedules.
- Showmanship: reflecting confidence by positioning themselves as leaders instils brand confidence in mums.
- Attentiveness: helping mums serve and pre-empt the needs of their children.
- Integrity: being true to what they believe in as a business and clearly displaying their values.
- Enhancement: supporting mums’ lives, with a clear focus on empowerment, executed with passion.
Liz Wolstenholme, Global Planning Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, explains how the 10 brands have managed to resonate with mums, “These brands look for patterns as opposed to asking questions, and through observation or mining the data the emerging patterns answer the questions you never thought to ask.”
SUMMARY
Carrie Longton adds, “If you are a highly effective brand and you have a formula going on, the habits are really engrained in you and mums are responding to it. You need to hire people that are on the same page as you... If you’re not one of the highly effective brands, you might need to bring people in to shake you up a little bit.”
