COMPANY PERSPECTIVE

Exposure Marketing — boldly pivoting to meet demand

As businesses scrambled to survive the lockdown restrictions, ‘pivot’ became the buzzword on everyone’s lips. For those who managed to adapt quickly to the change, though, it has been game changing. Exposure Marketing, specialists in marketing to moms, believe that their ‘pivot’ extended the organisation’s core business to mature into a more dynamic offering.

Exposure Marketing has always been focused on connecting moms with family brands, primarily providing a platform for brands to launch or showcase their products at the national MamaMagic Baby Expos. With the advent of Covid-19 and the closure of in-person events, the MamaMagic exhibitions ended abruptly, preventing the ‘business’ core function of creating multi-sensory in-person experiences to connect brands with the mom-sumer (a term that describes the mom consumer).

It is said that the top attribute of a successful marketing agency is its ability to meet changing demands with agility and flexibility. This was certainly the case for Exposure Marketing. Despite the challenging circumstances, their team quickly and gracefully navigated the transformation from an exhibition-centric marketing service to a full-service Parent Media Agency.

Projeni Pather, managing director of Exposure Marketing, said: “Exposure Marketing has been a conduit between family brands and mom-consumers since 2004, when we launched South Africa’s first baby and parenting exhibition. That was when we began to see a welleducated, better-informed mom emerging, who wanted to experience brands firsthand, dig deeper before making purchasing decisions and who run their households like businesses. We sought to meet the needs of these parents and assisted brands in understanding what motivates them.”

With over 21 million hits on the website and over 100,000 visitors attending the MamaMagic expos annually, Exposure Marketing understood that parents were looking to access unbiased and credible information in a neutral space all year round. Over the past decade, the team grew the MamaMagic platforms to expand the engagement with the mom community, expanding their offering to include the Milestones Pregnancy and Parenting magazine, social media platforms, annual research initiatives, New Product Awards and the Heart-to-Heart Blog space. All of these resources fed the demand for sought after information and resources to help the mom-sumer make more informed purchasing decisions for their families.”

“When the Covid transmission eradicated the face-to-face opportunity at our exhibitions, we continued our interactions on our other platforms to continue meeting the needs of the mom community, grow our online audience and expand our reach and engagement,” Ms Pather said. Exposure Marketing managed to remain relevant throughout the crisis, effectively evolving into a full-service marketing agency.

“We believe that by helping parents, together we may lay a solid foundation for the next generation of responsible young adults in the world,” she added.

“We are experts in marketing to moms and, as such, we have a unique market understanding that ensures ethical, responsible and authentic experience when we engage with moms. Moms trust us to apprise them of products and services in a safe, neutral space to help them make informed decisions. Brands, therefore, turn to us to assist in driving sales, conducting sampling, creating and executing targeted marketing campaigns, store and product launches and extending their marketing engagements in multiple ways.”

The Covid-19 disruption has, ironically, enabled Exposure Marketing to bolster its service offering. With the full calendar of MamaMagic exhibitions set to resume from April 2022, Ms Pather maintains that the exhibitions are now simply one more avenue through which to enhance your marketing effort. As we step into the future and consumers look for direction and support, Exposure believes that now is the time for brands to be bold in their execution to meet the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead in these volatile times.

“Research shows that 73 per cent of moms in South Africa make all the purchasing decisions for their families. Let’s face it, you want these moms to engage with your brand, so let us share your brand story with our ever-expanding mom community,” Ms Pather concluded.

Who is Projeni Pather?

Projeni Pather is the managing director of Exposure Marketing and has a wealth of experience in the exhibition and event industry. In 2004, she founded her own marketing company, which organises exhibitions, conferences, and events nationally. She currently serves as chairperson of AAXO, the Association of African Exhibition Organisers, and spokesperson for the South African Events Council. Her success is driven by her confidence in face-to-face events, her excellence in marketing and communication, and her charismatic leadership.