If you read our Valentine’s Day marketing article, you’ll know all about Bloom and Wild’s Mother’s Day marketing innovation; offering people the chance to opt out of any Mother’s Day marketing content for personal reasons. Since the florists adopted this approach in 2019, the world and their dog have followed suit. From my go-to for gifts (Virgin Experience Days) to football clubs, nobody wants to be the odd one out.
The precedent has been set, and there seems to be a moral obligation to offer the opt-out option. It’s without doubt a positive step for consumers, but, while the original idea was widely praised for its sensitivity, brands must now find new, creative methods of emotional marketing. That’s what we’re looking at today: our favourite Mother’s Day marketing of 2023. We’ve tried to find some fun examples while also extracting valuable insights from them. We hope you enjoy them!
Sephora
Around December time, we always hear people referencing “the true meaning of Christmas”, but I think this advert is a perfect example of celebrating the true meaning of Mother’s Day: celebrating mums (or “moms” in this case). While it’s very common to focus on the hardships of motherhood when trying to tug at consumers’ heartstrings, you can create Mother’s Day marketing that appeals to consumers’ emotions in a positive manner. We think this advert captures that strategy perfectly. Note: there’s absolutely no mention of what the company sells. This is all about building brand persona.
Not on the High Street
We’re here to help you with your marketing, and you might not the budget for a TV advert when strategising for your 2024 Mother’s Day marketing. This year’s relatively simple email marketing ploy from Not on the High Street – a distributor for small businesses – shows that you don’t need a massive budget to create effective marketing campaigns.
By separating their gifts into different categories and linking directly to those gifts, they speed up the customer’s journey from aware to engaged to purchase. I also love the use of quotes people might say when giving the gifts; guiding the lazy shoppers by literally showing them how to make each present appear thoughtful (my mum might read this, so I’m admitting to nothing). That might sound a bit cynical, but you have to consider the customer’s mindset and thought process when they’re consuming your Mother’s Day marketing content (or any content, for that matter).
Moonpig
Another video, but this time adopting a completely different perspective. Firstly, we’re seeing the story from the son’s point of view. Why? Because, unlike Sephora’s approach to Mother’s Day marketing, this advert is showing the gift/card buyers how Moonpig solves a problem for them (similarly to what we explored in our SPIN Selling article). Rather than tapping into emotions, they address a very real, headache-inducing problem and solve it with a convenient solution inside thirty seconds.
The Body Shop
Let’s end with something fun! Seven years ago (yes, 2016 was SEVEN years ago), The Body Shop’s Mother’s Day marketing campaign followed on from the previous year’s successful “home video” spoof with another brilliant video in which the brand’s new product saves the day after disaster has struck for the royal lookalikes.
While The Queen is no longer with us, I think this brilliant advert can still make many Brits smile. From a marketing stance, I particularly love the fact they’ve clearly analysed the results of the previous year’s campaign and built on that. Remember, the best ideas often don’t come from ‘eureka moments’ and instead from dedicating time to analysing KPIs & data to guide your Mother’s Day marketing strategy.
KAYBE: The mother of marketing
Ok, that might sound a bit grandiose, but we had to tie our name in there somewhere. Then again, KAYBE’s team of experts always has the answer, and we’re always on hand to help when you need it. You could say that’s motherly, right?
Whether you agree or not, make sure you get in touch and let us know what marketing conundrum you need a helping hand with, and we can guarantee we’ll find you a solution that improves your business. Go ahead, test us!