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My copywriting blog

29/05/2015 Quote of the Week!

31/5/2015

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Very true!
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22/05/2015 Quote of the Week!

22/5/2015

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Very true!
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08/05/2015 Quote of the Week!

7/5/2015

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Writing is a funny profession. It's something most people think they can do naturally, but actually only a few can do well. If, when you put pen down on paper, you are considering about all the many ways you can say what it is you're thinking and how to get it across to others, there may be a writer in you, after all. 
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Mummy Marketing - why is it so hard to get right?

1/5/2015

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All mums are the same. We all fit one stereotype and one cookie cutter model. Right? Well, no, not really. In fact, as I look around my local playgroup, I’d say we are all totally different. So why do brands feel they can talk to us like we all want and need the same things?

On one hand we have Aptamil saying its formula milk can help “lay the foundations for [our kids’] future”, while on the other, the same brand makes you read a ‘breast is best’ disclaimer before you can access the site. See? Even the brand identity for one company is sending mixed messages. No wonder it’s confusing to parents – parents who are dealing with sleep deprivation, a newborn, and a complete lifestyle change.
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Flickr Credit: Sander van der Wel
So, why do so many marketers fall short trying to appeal to mums? When mothers account for such a huge proportion of the general public, how hard can it be to target this demographic well?

Mummy power

As both a mum and a marketing professional, I find it intriguing – and a bit insulting – that businesses haven’t realised they have to adapt their advertising approach if they want to target us. And target us they should, as we hold the cards on some of the biggest financial decisions of the family.
Yes ladies, women make 85% of all the purchasing decisions in the household and, according to Kat Gordon, founder and Creative Director of Maternal Instinct, females control $13 trillion worth of consumer spending, out of the world’s $18.4 trillion.

Speaking to Inc, she said while 71% of females feel brands only try to sell cleaning and beauty products to them, “women make the majority of purchase decisions for almost every product category in the marketplace”. That means cars, gadgets and other technological gizmos too.

It’s clear to see then that brands shouldn’t just want to appeal to mums, but need to!

Missing the trick

However, as much as 75% of mothers say advertisers miss the trick completely when marketing to them, showing them images of parenthood that seem to be completely unrealistic.
I have to admit, I totally agree with this. Many a time I’ve had to turn off the TV when an advert for a kitchen cleaning product comes on and a bright-eyed (and beautiful) mother (with no eye bags) happily spritzes some spray on to her already gleaming kitchen worktop and wipes it away clean. And she does all this with a smile, showing off her pearly whites. And with children who seem to be happily playing alone somewhere out of sight.

Reality check – This is what the picture really looks like. Kitchen is a tip. Crumbs seem to breed by the minute, despite constant wiping. You spray the product on to the work surface, then before you have time to wipe, you spill some milk / yoghurt / rice pudding. Some falls on the floor too. Your baby tries to eat it. Then cries and yanks at your leg because you’re taking too long. You scream a little inside.
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Flickr Credit: Rubbermaid Products
I also think ads like this Heinz Beans one is rather unrealistic. The two brothers, who had spent the whole ad fighting, are suddenly best friends, with the older one putting extra beans on his little brother’s plate. Now, the fighting part I’m fully on board with. But what dinnertime is spent like that?
Reality check – The brothers continue to fight. They either want to steal some food from each other, or don’t want to eat anything at all – leaving mother to pull out everything from the kitchen cupboards to find something to feed them, much to no effect. The beans most definitely end up on the floor, certainly all over the children, and, of course, you. The mum in the advert is wearing white. Big mistake.

Okay, so not everyone wants to see the chaotic side of motherhood every time they turn on their telly. But marketers have to, in some way, portray some sense of reality. Otherwise, mums simply won’t relate to them, and if they can’t relate, they won’t buy into the product.

Where is it going wrong?

-       Male creatives

Where do marketers get this lovely image of motherhood from? Maybe it’s because they come home after the children have been fed and the kitchen cleaned? Indeed, without wanting to come across all feminist, it does seem that the bigwigs in the marketing world are predominantly male – and therein lies one of the problems. They’re trying to appeal to a demographic they know very little about.

Roisin Donnelly, brand director, Northern Europe, at Procter & Gamble spoke at the Mumsnet’s Mumstock conference, saying, “there aren’t enough creatives that are mums”.

In fact, only 3% of creative directors are women, and Ms Donnelly added: “If we changed this, we would do a better job.”

-       The supermum

But I don’t want to just lay the blame on male marketers. It’s partly our fault too.

Most of us, whether we realise it or not, paint the picture of being a supermum. We may joke about our ‘terrible kids’ but then turn up to parties with homemade cookies and a big smile on our faces.
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Baking with my little girl! Messy fingers!
I have to say, I’m guilty of this too. What people don’t see is the huge – and stressful – effort it took to make those cookies: ingredients all over the kitchen; holding child in one arm (now with bulging bicep) so they can see the whisk spinning round; giving your toddler the job of stirring only to find handfuls of the mixture have found their way into their mouth; your little one gets bored and cries or lies on the kitchen floor throwing a tantrum; you give up and let them run around the house covered in sticky cookie dough; the mess multiplies; that kitchen spray you bought because you thought it would lead to an idyllic life doesn’t shift the mixture now seemingly glued on to your work surface; you curse yourself as you’ll now have to wash up more dishes. And the cookies burn. 

But that’s obviously not what you tell people. You say you baked them together. It was lovely. You even take a photo of the occasion and put it on Facebook. Trust me, I know, I’ve done this.
I like to think that I do paint a more truthful picture to my friends and family in person, but it’s hard to know whether this honesty ever shows through these pictures of ‘supermum-dom’. Are we all being dishonest and making out like motherhood is a walk in the park?

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard someone say, “Isn’t it good when they nap, so you can have a cup of tea and a biscuit?”. I literally have never done this. Ever. I’m not sure the people asking have either. But we all nod and say, “Yeah”, and ask the question of others too.

I guess it boils down to mums wanting to look like they can do it all – especially in front of other mums. None of us want it to look like we’re struggling.

Maybe these pretend messages of ‘supermum’ are being fed back to the marketing professionals (myself not included) and that’s what they think this parenting lark is all about. Who knows? But perhaps we’re doing a disservice to ourselves by pretending it’s all as lovely as it appears on nappy adverts.

What appeals to me? 

I started this blog by saying all mums are different, so I don’t want to end by saying “and this is what we all want”. 

We are all unique, and maybe, these perfect mums with relaxed, quiet, playful, don’t-make-a-mess children really exist, but I certainly don’t know any. 

1) Laughing at ourselves

What I like is honesty, reality and humour. I like it when I look at adverts and think, “That’s exactly what it’s like”. It’s not sugar-coated, it’s not perfect, but it’s real. And, at times, it's ridiculously funny. 

This is my favourite mum advert, as it makes me laugh whenever I see it. Full of jargon, buzz words and stories only a mum of young children would understand, this ad immediately opens doors into the ‘mum clique’, as if Fiat is actually one of us – episiotomy stiches and all. 
Okay, I know it’s just clever advertising, but it works, and I for one have shared it on my social media channels to get giggles out of my mummy friends. And that’s the aim – use it as content marketing potential to spread the word among mummies, right? After all, we control the vast majority of our family’s spending, don’t we?

2) Tapping into mummy emotions

I find that these ads – no matter how chaotic life may seem on the commercial – also pluck at my heart strings. And, I guess, when brands can do that, they’ve hit the nail on the head.

Even when I was pregnant, this SMA advert would make me shed a tear. The way the baby flings puree at their mum, or the buggy breaks, or the lady finds a duck in the bath when she is finally trying to relax, is all so real. Or maybe it’s just the tagline at the end that gets me: “You’re doing great.”
All mums are simply trying their best, and maybe just the recognition from a big name brand that we may all be different, we may not get it right all the time, but we’re still doing a good job is as much as most mums need.

I think SMA got it spot on with that one. So maybe there’s a lesson here to be learned by marketers? Don’t pretend to know what motherhood is like. Go out, speak to us and we’ll tell you. It’s not all roses – or the sweet scent of homemade cookies – but, we wouldn’t change it for the world.

Now sum that up in an advert!
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01/05/2015 Quote of the Week! 

1/5/2015

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I thought I'd pick a marketing quote this week, as people often forget that copywriting is a very useful form of content marketing.

While I have had a freelance career in journalism for several years, most of my professional life has been spent working my magic by putting words together for businesses in a way that will improve their brand profile and - most importantly - boost their sales. 

By producing landing pages, blogs, newsletters, e-shots, leaflets, brochures, social media content, white papers and the rest, I - along with other copywriters - market brands to build their reputation, get more attention and, essentially, make companies more money. 

That's why it's so important to invest in your content marketing campaign!
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    Natasha Al-Atassi

    Read my thoughts and ideas on the latest search engine updates and copywriting trends that could improve your business marketing plans. 

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