First Time Parent Market – A Chance for trusted brands to provide baby comfort?
As a recent first time mother, I was bemused by the decisions and array of choices that face the first time parent in kitting out their new bundle. Daunted enough by the prospect of becoming a parent, they then have to contend with shopping very unfamiliar categories (and brand names) such as Baby Equipment, Accessories and Food.
Little did I know that a visit to the buggy shop (or in parent language ‘travel system provider’) would be akin to car shopping….each brand mark with its own distinct personality ….and very much positioned within its own sector….’economy, mid class or luxury’ . And in reality, for some, the brand choice is based on what status symbol it might convey about you as parent. For example in the US, Jeep car manufacturer has very successfully extended its brand into the stroller category, meeting Mum’s need to have safety and security for her kids but also to live a little of the ‘Jeep lifestyle’… ‘off road prowess’.
Faced with a myriad of choices, first time parents are looking for beacons to guide them through these unchartered categories. Is there more opportunity for the familiar trusted brands that these parents have grown up with (food, cars, toiletries brands etc) to stretch into these ‘first time parent’ categories to meet the fundamental needs of the first time parent….a need for reassurance, trust, validation and the familiar?
Will the recession and Eyjafjallajökull provide us with unexpected opportunities?
In a more opulent era, dinner party conversations rejoiced in savouring the memory of a weekend in New York or bi-annual visit to the “holiday home” in Spain. However with leaner times now upon us all, ‘Staycation” holidays look here to stay. But how will consumption of the Irish holiday experience reframe our relationship with Irish culture. Perhaps we will see a return to traditional values…a reconnection with community, a renewed appreciation of our country’s beauty and reinvented sense of patriotism. Could this be a unique chance for some brands to reconnect with the Irish consumer, to tap into a more relaxed holiday consumer mindset which previously was time starved and averse to the seeming banality of the everyday Irish experience. Marketeers (aside from the obvious hospitability brands) need to rethink this prospect…from the petrol forecourt to the local convenience store, this could pose an opportunity to re-engage their brand relationship.