“I don’t know some of these brands well so I don’t use them. The problem with this brand is that it does not rinse off and my baby can slip from my hands too easily.” Mum prides herself that her parenting skills are better than before. In emerging markets, approval from members of the community is critical as all family matters are make for great gossip. Mum wants to do the right thing for the baby. It’s not about sales promotions, money off but about relating to a trusted brand. Fellow mums’ opinions are vital.

We listened to mum as she baths her baby. Cimigo spoke to dozens of mums about their experience, their rationale for selecting a brand and their conversations with their neighbours and mother-in-law about baby care. The biggest barrier for challenger brand was simple: on bathing her baby, whilst the baby smells almost edible, the wash does not rinse off well and the baby is very slippery. This was known by mothers who had experienced the brand and those that had not. This one little anecdote has spread from mother-in-law to new mother and from neighbour to new mother, across markets, food stalls and waiting rooms.

Communicating the insights was the easy part as the key experiences and conversations had been caught on video. We brought baby bathing into the boardroom. The brand had to do the hard work, dialing up communications to dispel a myth, down to ‘non slip’ point of sales reassurance.