It’s almost February half term. No, we’re not sure quite how that happened either. School holidays are a great time for any business to attract families – whether it’s fun for under-fives or a grown-up treat to help keep parents sane. So we thought now would be the ideal time to look at some of the current best practices when it comes to marketing to parents…
Family-friendly
Starting with the most obvious, if you’re marketing to families it’s important to be family-friendly. That could mean obvious things like ensuring you have a buggy-friendly space and high chairs. Or it might mean showing that you understand the challenges parents face by providing things to keep children of all ages occupied – that could be anything from a temporary ball pit, a storyteller, music or simply paper and crayons. Free coffees for parents are always a very good shout! We can help you with:
- Flyers and emailers
- Branded signage and point-of-sale graphics
- Branded items such as crayons, colouring books, coffee cups
- Branded clothing
All shapes and sizes
Children have always come in all shapes and sizes, each with their unique tastes and interests. But with step-parents, same-sex parents, single parents, older parents, younger parents, working-class and middle-class parents, more hands-on grandparents – and everything in between – ‘parents’ have never been such a diverse group of people.
Best practice shows two main ways to tackle this. One is to ensure that all your marketing materials are inclusive and don’t rely on one stereotypical family image too much. Another is to be clear who your target ‘parent’ customer is and create marketing that will appeal to them. We have experience of both inclusive marketing and marketing to diverse groups and would be happy to advise you on this.
One big happy family group(on)
Most parents are very active online when it comes to researching family activities. In addition, most families are keen on bargains and discounts – hence the popularity of sites such as Groupon. We can help you with
- Social media images or images for discount sites
- Bespoke online voucher, discount and coupon schemes
- Digital advertising and marketing
- Temporary landing pages for events
- Emailers
Make a play-date with us
Great marketing will appeal to parents all year round. Whether you want passing trade after the morning school-run or to become the place-to-be for families after the school gates have closed for the day – we can help you. Not only are many of the Marcomedia Team parents, god-parents, aunties and uncles themselves, but we’ve also got extensive experience of working with family-orientated businesses, schools and childcare providers. Give us a call on 0208 590 0922 or email us at info@marcomedia.co.uk