At a time when marketers are looking to reach out to the youth, Dentsu India has launched a different initiative called Mama Lab, which aims at gaining insights into mothers and motherhood in India and enable brands to understand and connect with them.
Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India and CEO Dentsu APAC, said the project first started about three years ago in Tokyo. He said in Japan and China, it started off as a strategic planning initiative. “In India, we have gone far beyond the planning initiative and we are looking to mine insights, take it to the clients as a solution in a pro-active manner, which in a way reverses the pitch process,” he said, adding “through our understanding of the different facets of a mother, we will enable more meaningful and innovative connections between brands and mothers.”
Swati Bhattacharya, Principal Partner-MAMA Lab, Creative Dentsu, said, “MAMA Lab is not just a study cell but will work like an advertising agency. We will solve brand problems and provide solutions that will come from our in-depth knowledge of mothers. We want to take that knowledge and understanding and help create an intimacy that the brand will forge with mothers.” MAMA Lab India has recently finished an ethnographic study across 12 cities, interacting with 24 mothers of all religions, ages and geographies over 30 days.
Talking about key opportunities for brands that emerged from the study, Narayan Devanathan, EVP/ National Planning Director, Dentsu, said brands have opportunities to add new users and increase consumption and usage of their products by being relevant for mothers.
He said brands also have the opportunity to lead the way in changing the way mothers are currently understood and also become their support system.