Sketch Events

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Swatch 'Full Blooded Collection' Window @ John Lewis

We were up super early to fit the newest window display at John Lewis, Oxford Street this morning. The window was for Swatch's new 'Full Blooded Collection' available at John Lewis, Swatch stores and online. 
Measuring up...


The MD drops by to check that all is ship shape!
We love the smoky sand and the silver...
The finished window :)


'Mums' the Word...

Have you noticed recently the rise of the 'Mum'? Whilst always traditionally the 'gatekeeper' of the family finances, Mums have evolved from staying at home to 'having it all', with busy lives and countless consumer decisions all day every day.

Whilst it was once easy to attract kids with bright colours, free gifts and pester power, factors such as the ban on advertising unhealthy snacks to children has meant that the pressure is on for marketers to reposition brands quickly to attract Mum- the key household decision maker. There has become a need for marketers to seek to create deeper emotional ties to their brands in order to create and maintain brand loyalty.

Raising children is now an emotionally fraught and competitive business, with NCT classes, breastfeeding debates, Eco nappies, organic clothing, homemade vs shop bought. Eating too much salt? Eating too much sugar? All of their 5 a day? Too much TV? The debates and latest advice keep coming thick and fast.

Tabloid press and celebrity magazines are filled with images of the latest pregnant celebs, the highs and lows of pregnancy fashion and then of the course, the parade of well dressed mothers balancing their well dressed offspring on one hip whilst juggling a Blackberry and a Starbucks and still finding time for Baby Yoga... the pressure for perfection in all areas of Motherhood is overwhelming.

Bring on then, the brands that seem to have been devised (or so they will have us believe) with Mum in mind. P and G brands have recently employed the 'Proud Sponsor of Mums' tagline used over many of their key global brands such as Fairy, Pampers and Lenor.





P&G's 2011 'Pround sponsor of Mums' Advert

It seems to be doing the trick beautifully for some especially John Lewis, who won awards for its emotive 90second television advert that follows a woman from babyhood to being a Grandmother. During the ad's TV campaign, the 90-second ad was discussed every 11 minutes on average on Twitter while was one of the most watched videos on YouTube in April with a 4.9 out of five approval rating.


John Lewis' award winning 2011 Ad

This also goes to show what a huge impact Mums have socially for brands. Facebook and Twitter are prime tools when targeting this market but other third party influencers such as the almighty Mumsnet have also had a huge effect. Traditionally powerful WOM marketing has exploded online with good and bad reviews of products and services spreading at amazing speeds.

Founded in 2000, Mumsnet is the giant of the online forums, with everyone from Politicians to marketers seeking their approval. The sites’s 10th birthday party was hosted by Google UK at their London headquarters where guests included Ed Miliband and Steve Hilton. Gordon Brown has referred to Mumsnet as ‘one of the great British institutions'.

Mumsnet has also launched a blogging network that allows its authors to share advertising revenue on the content they generate. Brands will be offered the opportunity to display ads across the network and will be allowed to share products with the bloggers for reviews. The network will include celebrities, such as former foreign secretary David Miliband and TV presenter Aggie Mackenzie, and members of the Mumsnet site. They have also launched ‘Gransnet’ earlier this year.

It seems then, that it will be a case of 'Mums the word' in Marketing for quite a while to come.