Marketing Mother’s Day gifts

In 2017, shoppers were expected to spend some $23.6 billion to celebrate Mother's Day—a record high, up 10% from the year before. Closer to home, the spotlight is on the Internet economy, with Singapore’s e-commerce market expected to be worth S$7.5 billion by 2026 . For marketers and retailers, all eyes are on the prize as they look at digital campaigns to capitalise on upcoming celebrations and shopping holidays to drive sales targets.

However, the online playing field is like a busy household, with a lot going on. In this scenario, how can brands tailor their campaigns to cut through the clutter and effectively show their love for mom this Mother’s Day?

Know what she wants

Like the unconditional, all-knowing bond between mother and child, marketers should know their target audience and consumer preferences inside-out.

Building on insights pulled from consumer data, marketers can develop strategies based on predictions and buying behaviours. For example, past transactions and consumer data from the previous year can inform marketers on the types of gifts that are best-selling—be it spa packages, an afternoon lunch at a hotel, make-up products or flowers for mum. If a bouquet of pink carnations (symbolising a mother's undying love) crossed the highest sales the past year, marketers can then invest more advertising dollars to target those who have shown an interest in purchasing them specifically.

With these insights, marketers can also create segments of Mother’s Day gift buyers, including last-minute shoppers, daughters, sons or husbands. To effectively close the sale, develop messages that speak to these audiences, such as offers including free shipping for last-minute flower deliveries.

Ultimately, knowing what she wants goes a long way in capturing consumer interest and showing Mom we care. 

It’s all about her

Earlier this year, a new report by Kantar Millward Brown shared that half of Asia-Pacific (APAC) consumers think ads are getting more intrusive. Traditionally, marketers have focused on campaigns and channel-centric tools instead of the totality of their marketing efforts as executed in an omni-channel fashion. Instead, we need to shift the focus back to the end-customer.

Marketers can use a customer-centric approach to provide great marketing experiences. This runs counter to intrusive ads or ads optimised for a single channel only, as they may provide a short-term bump in activity at the expense of long-term relationships or support secondary metrics like page views or clicks that do not drive business outcomes and are easy to fake.

Similar to nurturing relationships within a family, marketers should focus on the consumer’s browsing behaviours, needs and expectations—across all touchpoints. Some methods to improve the user experience include frequency capping (imposing a restriction on the number of times an ad is shown to a user) and native ads (paid content that follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed).

For example, placing an ad for flower bouquets or a wellness retreat next to an article on restaurant recommendations for this festive season is more effective and relevant than an ad for car parts. This approach fully supports the marketing goal of building lasting relationships with consumers to drive real business outcomes like revenue and advocacy.

Ultimately, while celebrating the people we love, it’s all about putting them (the consumer) first. Brands need to create marketing that consumers want to be engaged with to maintain a lasting, healthy relationship.

Zachary King is Asia vice-president of commercial at MediaMath. He co-chairs the Asia programmatic committee at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).