Tiny Trends, Big Laughs: Navigating the Playful Path of Parental Approval in 2024

In the ever-evolving world of children's brands, staying ahead of the game is like chasing a toddler hyped up on apple juice—chaotic, unpredictable, and occasionally messy. As we wade into the uncharted waters of 2024, children's brands find themselves on a colourful playground of marketing trends, desperately seeking the secret sauce to keep parents engaged and kids entertained.

Staying Connected Through Life Stages:

In the fast-paced world of parenting, keeping up with a child's ever-changing interests is like trying to catch a greased-up pig in a pigsty. One minute, they're obsessed with dinosaurs from Smyths Toys Superstores, and the next, it's all about intergalactic adventures with space penguins from our friends at The Entertainer. Children's brands need to be chameleons, adapting to the wild and wonderful shifts in a kid's imagination.

Digital Survival strategy: Failure to recognise where customers are in their buyer journey could mean wasting money on ineffective marketing. On a per person basis, the revenue generated in the Children's Apparel market in the United Kingdom is £155.30 in 2023 (www.statista.com), with that set to rise getting a piece of the pie should be at the forefront of most brands 2024 strategies. Epsilon's identity technology connects a brand's customers to holistic shopper profiles. This lets our clients (Great Little Trading Company & Petit Bateau) personalise the full customer journey, serving relevant marketing as parents' needs change and their children grow.

Incremental Measurement:

Ah, measurement—the necessary evil of the marketing world. While parents celebrate the first steps and first words of their little ones, brands must measure success in increments as small as a toddler's attention span. If you think earning a parent’s loyalty is a one-and-done deal, think again. It's an ongoing saga, like the never-ending bedtime story that evolves with each retelling. Brands such as JoJo Maman Bébé & Mamas & Papas come to mind, as a loyal customer myself, their ability to evolve increases my loyalty to their brands.

Metric mantra: We know that performance improves when marketing is based on a comprehensive understanding of each shopper across every channel. Epsilons CORE ID enable brands to stay connected, across all devises and browsers, providing unrivalled scale. Epsilon excel at leveraging their first-party data, exceeding incremental growth targets, and providing cast iron data to prove incremental return on ad spend.

The Personalisation Predicament

Personalisation – the marketing holy grail. Parents these days want products tailored to their little ones every quirk. It's like creating a mini CEO starter pack. The challenge? Well, children aren't exactly known for their consistent preferences. Today's aspiring astronaut playing with PLAYMOBIL's new set, might be tomorrow's budding BMX world champion, riding one of Online4baby's latest bikes. Trying to personalise digital media for a demographic with the attention span of a goldfish is like trying to catch a unicorn – tricky and slightly absurd.

Personalisation power move: The typical parent can expect to spend £231,843 raising a child born in 2016 (www.theguardian.com), with improving LTV at the forefront of many brands in this sector, this represents a massive opportunity for success. In my household the vast amount of closet space has been taken up with Newbiestore and their finery. In a market where parents are bombarded with choices, Epsilon provides a solution that goes beyond fragmented strategies. Our expertise lies in maintaining a consistent and pertinent presence for your brand, ensuring it stands out and stays front of mind. By recognising families across diverse life stages, from toddler to the teenage years, Epsilon adapts to evolving preferences in the full sales funnel, guaranteeing that your brand resonates seamlessly with your target audience.

In conclusion;

·       Epsilons CORE ID identity graphs allows brands to stay connected to parents at every life stage. Across all devices and browsers!

·       Because we stay connected, we can tailor and personalise each interaction to build up their propensity to spend with your brand.

·       Being able to accurately measure and report in the most statically viable method (incremental return on ad spend) allows brands to measure the immediate and medium/long term impacts of their spend.

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