Launch for the new year: We are Family takes off as an agency for young target groups and families

The new year brings many changes. After the foundation of the global network "We are Family" last year, the Full Moon Group has now been repositioned and, among other things, the agency We are Family has been founded out of Full Moon Kids & Teens. What is the background?

Rebecca Duden:

The reason for setting up the We are Family network was above all the desire for internationalisation. In our exchanges with specialised agencies from other countries, we realised that they have similar needs as we do: Until now, we could only serve clients who were internationally active well for our market, but we wanted to do this across countries. We lacked an appropriate network for this and liked the idea so much that we simply founded one ourselves. 

In the DACH market, we felt the need to develop further in the name of Full Moon Kids & Teens. Historically, we come from the field of live communication, which is why we were perceived for a long time as a pure live agency for children. In the meantime, we have significantly expanded our target group and our portfolio. When we look at our projects and clients over the last five years, we move across the entire young target group and also usually address the associated audiences such as parents, gift-givers, educators and trainers. We define the young target group in relation to the parents' sphere of influence. We always see ourselves as responsible when the young person is still within the influence of his or her own family. Accordingly, for us, the end is not until the students. We also have clients for whom it is important to address the family in the network. We know our way around these target groups and feel comfortable here. The Full Moon Kids &Teens brand was no longer suitable because it limited our product and target group. 

So we wanted to change and because we were already the initiators of the We are Family network, we came up with the idea of founding We are Family as our own agency for the German-speaking region. We see ourselves as a holistic agency for communication with the young target group and in addressing families. We have a high level of exchange at the concept level, in realisation and with regard to individual product areas, so that we can present our clients with the best possible concept. In doing so, we can first think completely detached from the realisation and across all channels. Out of the Full Moon Kids & Teens, but also with the inclusion of new competences, we have put together an interdisciplinary team that can offer solutions tailored to the customer in an agile manner and thinking from all specialist areas. Through Full Moon, which of course remains our preferred partner, we can quickly and directly access the resources available here in peaks or special disciplines. Our tried and tested "one face to the customer" principle will continue to be one of the basic principles of the We are Family in our work with customers. With us, our clients get a specialised agency that is able to develop cross-media concepts, offer them from one source and no longer only for the DACH market, but also internationally if desired.

We have also developed our corporate design on the basis of our interdisciplinary team, the diverse range of clients and our broad portfolio. We are colourful - without being childish - and retain a bit of home and reference to Full Moon through the symbol of the circle.

What distinguishes communication with the young target group and families?

Rebecca Duden: Our approach is the same as that of any other agency - we analyse the brand, target group and competition for our clients and make recommendations for action based on this. We have around 20 years of experience in communicating with the young target group and families and are constantly moving in the target group-relevant subject areas such as toys, entertainment, health and leisure.

Besides the experience that all this brings, we have our own studies and work directly with our target group in our concepts. So we are very up-to-date in trend knowledge and we have to be. Because our target group changes extremely quickly in its behaviour and is choosy about the communication directed at it. We always pick up our customers where they are. For example, we have clients to whom we first have to get to know the target group in a very basic way. Here it is usually a matter of explaining that there is no such thing as "the child" or "the young person". We cluster here again into sub-target groups and archetypes. But we also have answers for customers who are experienced in the target group. Here we don't have to explain much in terms of the target group - but we are in demand when it comes to the right solution and our current trend knowledge. The usual questions we are asked are: What really makes today's family tick? How do I increase my reach or the sales of my products for the young target group? How can I communicate educationally relevant topics in a sustainable way? How do I get more trainees or students? These are questions to which we have answers. Our answers also include digital and interactive VR/AR installations in the live area, TikTok as the social media channel that is almost obligatory, or mom-dad and kids influencers in PR. And there are smart solutions for all budgets.

Especially with the target group of children and young people, marketing must also be viewed from a value-oriented perspective. As an agency, do you need a moral compass to address the young target group?

Rebecca Duden: We have deliberately excluded products and thus clients that we as an agency cannot stand behind. Basically, communication aimed at the young target group has to be done with more sensitivity. We therefore take a close look at what kind of products the client approaches us with and what added value they have. Customers also know that we do not send unethical messages, because our image entails that. That is why we have a very specific clientele, in which we also feel comfortable and at home. We are always on legally safe ground and take care not to send unethical or sexist messages to the young target group.

Today's family is much more heterogeneous and diverse than in the past. Does that make a difference in terms of marketing approach?

Rebecca Duden: By all means! Here, too, we advise our clients to be bolder. Especially in digital communication, the existing diversification and heterogeneity of families can be addressed easily and well. Why not consciously appear with two mothers or two fathers? Where and at what point is it worthwhile to address single mothers and / or fathers? We have open dialogues with progressive customers about this, because it is simply an important topic. Not every family feels included in the 0815 address, and that has to resonate in this context.

What is the customer benefit from the international network and why is it no longer enough to look only at one's own country, but to keep one's eyes open globally?

Rebecca Duden: There are two types of clients who work with us. One wants to realise projects in the German-speaking market, and for him it is primarily important that we are maximally creative and top in implementation. For him, we still have an added value with the We are Family network, namely that we have an overview of the international marketing measures and thus also keep an eye on markets that are more advanced than ours, for example with regard to the app TikTok. We also have an agency in the US that specialises in virtual reality, because it only does youth communication. And we didn't have market research in our portfolio before, but with Maurice from London and his agency, we can now implement that. Our partner agencies offer other formats and other measures and we can consult with them about that. This gives us a real knowledge uplift that allows us to work more cross-medially. Through international cases in a different range, we learn a lot for our own market and offer the client completely new perspectives. And then there are the clients who travel internationally and have only worked with us in the DACH market so far. For them, with the help of the network, we can manage campaigns across countries, Europe-wide or globally, yet they only have one contact person and the guarantee that a central idea can be transferred - but adapted according to cultural and legal conditions in the market. So there is added value for both types of clients and we as a team can offer more qualified, more creative work.

How much influence do you think the Corona pandemic has on marketing measures, also in relation to events?

Rebecca Duden: At the moment, there are fewer classic events or POS campaigns, but more digital and hybrid events that meet the requirements. For one of our clients from the toy industry, we are currently spinning a bandwidth of measures that start and end digitally, but still allow families a live experience and product interaction. The measures have changed, and it is important that the customer feels the changes and goes along with them. This does not mean to package everything only digitally, because content must still be experienced, especially for the young target group, and here especially for children and young people - in our view, this is also possible. More creativity is needed and I always recommend to clients not to blindly brief us on purely digital measures now - but to give us leeway. Our target group is hungry for live offers - we have to respond to this with well-designed, Corona-compliant measures.

The person:

Rebecca Duden is Managing Director of the marketing agency for young target groups and families We are Family, which will be launched in January 2021. After her active time as a basketball player, coach and youth coordinator, the 37-year-old mother worked as Managing Director for Full Moon Kids & Teens and Full Moon Activation.