A mother’s love may be priceless, but there is definitely a price tag on Mother’s Day.
While Mother’s Day does not have the status of a federal holiday like Easter, in fact, it occasions significantly more spending. The National Retail Foundation (NRF) forecasts that this year’s Mother’s Day spending will reach $23.1 billion. For comparison, this year’s Easter spending was estimated to be $18.2 billion.
Obviously, marketers have to seize the day for their brands, particularly if their brands feature jewelry. That’s the top choice of gift for the day. According to the NRF’s survey, 34% of shoppers intend to buy something in that category, bringing that total spend to an impressive $4.6 billion.
While many jewelry brands are, no doubt, sticking to the standard sentimental messages, some are breaking out of the box in their depictions of different types of mothers with strengths that go beyond the stereotyped image of a woman in an apron. Crimson Hexagon‘s data on what people are talking about the most and what garnered the most positive conversations. It uncovered some fresh takes in mother images in some jewelry campaigns, as well as some surprises.
Based on the data collected by the AI-powered consumer insight platform through May first 2018 on social media activity around Mother’s Day (with all the variants that appear due to the placement or absence of the apostrophe) Crimson found one brand in a markedly dominant position under the category of “share of voice.”
The Body Shop garnered 91%. Far behind, in second place, was Pandora with 7%. Alex and Ani was third, Boots UK fourth, and L’Occitane fifth, though they were all close enough to each other to only rank at 1% each. Sentiments expressed were nearly universally positive, though there were small percentages of negativity: Pandora 1%, The Body Shop 2%, and Boots UK 4%.
Some of these brands featured some fresh takes in their ad campaigns. Playing into the theme of one size does not fit all, Boots UK’s #ShowThemYouKnowThem campaign concisely conveys that what kids most appreciate about their mothers is that they know them enough to let them be themselves, and give them what they need.
Pandora broke stereotypes in its “My Strong Mother” commercial that shows a grownup daughter impressed by her mother’s ability to change her own tire. The tagline under the video is “Every mother is unique. Give your mother a gift that shows her you know her. #MyMother”
Alex and Ani’s “Symbolize Your Love” campaign includes the outtakes of commercials filmed with real people (which fits very well with increasing demands for authenticity in marketing)
Other brands didn’t dominate the conversation but were still brought up in connection with Mother’s Day as represented in this visualization:
We don’t normally associate Mom’s Day with a beer brand, but there you go. Perhaps that could serve as a reminder that some mothers do prefer beer to coffee (notice that the Starbucks circle is much smaller) and that their children should get the gift that fits not just their mom’s size but her taste, as well.
