New mothers have a wealth of responsibilities – not to mention purchase decisions – to contend with. Thus, they are highly sought after by marketers, since they must make a plethora of new brand choices for their babies, while their own brand loyalties may be in a state of flux.

To tap into these insights, Shoppers Drug Mart, in conjunction with Cossette’s Toronto-based direct agency, Blitz, developed the New Mom Vendor Marketing Program to target new mothers 25-to-35 with offers and savings on relevant products.

The initiative is part of the Shoppers Optimum Vendor Marketing Program which was created in 2002 and allows packaged goods and pharmaceutical companies to market to Optimum members via targeted communications including direct mail and in-store offers.

The goal:

To increase sales and market share for Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart, and for the participating vendors in the New Mom program (including Nestlé Good Start, Johnson & Johnson baby toiletry products and Gerber). Other goals included strengthening Shoppers’ relationship with new mothers and educating customers on the benefits of participating brands and the Shoppers Optimum Program.

The strategy:

The communications provided targeted offers from relevant vendors, based on consumers’ transaction histories, which were culled from a database of customers’ Shoppers Optimum purchases. The campaign sought to communicate to new mothers an understanding of both their own and their babies’ needs, a recognition that their lives are in a state of flux, and to tap into concerns about value.

The execution:

A multi-channel, multi-wave campaign was developed that included direct mail, P-O-P, and insertions in Glow magazine. Three waves of direct mail, including a customer letter, targeted coupon sheet and brand brochure were mailed out between January and June 2003.

A variety of targeted offers were presented to consumers in the direct-mail package, based on the consumer’s transaction history. (For example, a consumer who used the Huggies brand would receive a different offer than a non-user would.)

Using soft, pastel colours, the communications letter and coupons sheet also included information on early child care, along with the tagline: ‘A little something for baby…A little something for Mom.’ The direct-mail package was followed up with mailings of the ‘New Moms’ edition of Glow, which also included targeted offers.

The results:

The program was a success for both Shoppers Drug Mart and for the participating vendors. Darrin Howlett, group account director on the Shoppers program, says the initial plan was to include six vendors, but, in the end, the program expanded to nine and some vendors still had to be turned away to ensure exclusivity.

‘We had more demand than we could accommodate,’ he says. ‘[Exclusivity] provides the vendor with a competitive advantage.’

Meanwhile, demand in some product categories was three times higher than could be accommodated.

In total, the program targeted 200,000 new mothers and the average response rate (via purchase) to the offers was 10%, while the average lift of the direct mail versus those who did not receive the communications was 8%.

Howlett says the program will be run again in 2004: ‘We expect the uptake rate will be extremely high.’