Fisher-Price defining internet of things approach to encourage impulse buys
Fisher-Price is preparing for a connected future for parents and their children, exploring how technology can be used to digitise toys as well as influence purchase decisions whether they are online or in the babygear isles.
Location-based advertising and beacons are among the top marketing priorities for the company’s baby business with it hoping to unearth new ways to boost impulse buys by arming parents with better information. These initiatives are in the early stages but Fisher-Price has set its sights on adapting to consumers that are increasingly conducting research about their kids online.
Today’s shoppers have more options than ever before and the business, like many now, is racing to join all touchpoints in a way that’s reflective of how parents are now seeking advice online.
Lisa Mancuso, senior vice president of Fisher-Price global marketing for its baby business, told The Drum that mums – its key audience – are “hyper-active online prenatally” and through the first year of baby’s life so digital media is key. Technology can play a complementary role in helping make playtime more engaging and parents’ lives easier, she added, “not just in the home but at the all-important moment of decision at retail as well”.
“As for our product offering, we’re interested in how connected objects and the ‘Internet of Things’ can not only help meet a parent or child’s needs, but actually anticipate them. More and more “things” come online every second….. As a leader in this space, continuing to invest in ways to make parents’ lives a little easier through connected products in one of our highest priorities”, she said.
The tactics are reflective of a wider change in marketing that has ditched the corporate tone of previous Fisher-Price ads for one that is more playful.
It is a shift best summed up in the brand’s recent “Wishes for Baby” video to celebrate 2015’s newborns. The tear-jerker, produced from eight hospital visits from around the world, features mothers holding their babies for the first time as they make a wish for their future.
A social media push supported by 360i backs the film, using author and parent Adele Enersen to illustrate the most popular wishes from fans. Each week, new prompts will encourage more sharing among the community and responses will be adapted into a growing catalog of beautiful artistic expressions
“We still love TVCs for mass communication”, said Mancuso. “But we head to social for that deeper-level engagement and conversation. The Wishes for Baby film is a terrific social-engagement platform for both soon-to-be and veteran parents to engage on an emotional plane.”
Moving forward, Fisher-Price plans to showcase diversity on many levels - whether socioeconomic, cultural, or racial - through its creative as well look at how it can plan more digital-first campaigns like “Wishes for Baby”.