Full-service shop 303 MullenLowe is looking to lead the way in marketing to women, with the launch of a global female-focused think tank, Frank About Women, in Australia.
The Australian agency, part of the recently rebranded MullenLowe Group, is one of six global agencies spearheading the think tank which aims to deep dive into the belief, practices and trends that influence today's female consumer.
Heading up the think tank in Australia is 303 MullenLowe MD of strategy and innovation, Derry Simpson, who will work with the other leads in the US, UK, China, India and Colombia.
Frank About Women was launched in the US nearly 14 years ago as part of the Mullen Group, originally as a consultancy firm, but evolved into a “brain trust” within the Mullen agency.
As part of the launch in Australia, Frank About Women is unveiling the study, Global Motherhood: Unity In the Divide, which Simpson says marks the first truly global piece of work the group has done.
“This is the first real outing for me and for Australia in terms of Frank About Women,” Simpson tells AdNews. “There isn’t often the opportunity to just look at something, dig deep and have people all over the world contributing to it.
“We’ve found a real shifting of gears with Mullen coming into the network, which has seen a lot more of these conversations, think tanks and opportunities happening.”
The study aims to help brands uncover “what makes the average mum tick” by looking at the similarities and nuances between new mothers across the globe.
Among the findings was that Australian mums tend to be more confident, with 93% saying it's best to do what works for them, regardless of what others say. Other results include 41% of Australian mums finding work and baby balance is harder to master than they anticipated and that only 10% of Australian mums think children should be encouraged to achieve skills and milestones ahead of schedule.
Simpson says the next step from the global white paper will be building on the research to tailor the findings more to the Australian market.
“This is about us looking out for our clients, making sure this is relevant for them to see what it is that they and we could be differently,” Simpson says. “We'll be using it to tap into the products and brands that we are working with now and seeing how we could be leveraging it a little bit differently.”
Simpson also says it's exciting for Australia to be part of a global think tank because research often isn't tailored to this market.
“It seems to be happening in other pockets of the world but Australia tends to miss out because we're very independent in that sense,” Simpson says. “It's great to be able to tap into this research and use it.”
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