How to market to judgmental (=insecure) mums

Yesterday there was a segment on morning TV about "How mothers judge" that revealed the nature of parenthood today. OMG, what an infected area to be in; being a mum is not just about caring for your kids, it´s about being accepted in the community as well. This is an American study but the results are most likely relevant for Australia, Sweden and other countries as well.

This is what upsets mums about other mums:

• Her kid is a brat 66.4%
• She breast-feeds her 3-year-old 42.6%
• She has an overweight child 36.9%
• She gives her child junk food 34%
• She lets her kid watch tv/play video games too much 31.8%
• She allows her kid to share her bed 23%
• She works too much 19.7%
• She didn´t try to breast-feed 18.1%

Only 12.6% replied "I don´t judge other mums – what they do with their kids isn´t my business"

What does this mean to brands?

1. You need to consider how emotional every purchase for kids is. It´s not about the product or service - it´s whethere it makes the parent feel good or not. This is why they will also talk loudly about their well researched things, if you have convinced them it will impress others.

2. Motherhood is not an issue for uneducated housewives. The typical mum is well educated and may see her children as "projects", hence be very opinionated and savvy, informed and cynical. She is smart so don´t annoy her with simple sales messages.

3. They seem very confident,  so don´t try to speak to them from above. They judge others but will most likely not want to be judged. Most people who are critical are so because they are judgemental towards themselves (projection in psychological terms...), so don´t awaken their fear of making mistakes!! Flatter them.