What do mums really want? It’s a question many assume they know the answer to, but few have investigated it with the data-driven insight of Christie Nicholas — CEO of Mumpower, Australia’s leading marketing agency for brands that speak to mums.

Recently returned from London, where she was a keynote speaker at the Women Changing the World Summit, Nicholas shared with Neos Kosmos what she’s learned in her 15-year mission to understand the mum mindset — as a marketer, a mother, and a daughter shaped by generations of strong Greek women.

“It’s so challenging as a woman in today’s day and age to do your best. To run businesses, to run households, to be a wonderful mother, and so often we neglect ourselves and lose ourselves in that journey,” Nicholas said adding that when she speaks in events like these, she shows women how the breakdowns they reach, can also lead to breakthroughs.

Juggling the demands of family life and her role as CEO, Nicholas admits that when she feels overwhelmed or pulled too far from home by work, she returns to the drawing board, to reconnect with her core values, reassesses what truly matters, and make the necessary adjustments to restore balance.

“Each time, it’s a powerful reminder of how essential balance is — not just your own health, but the health of your business, your home, and your family life too.”

Speaking her language

While working as a marketing manager for a global toy brand, early in her career, Christie Nicholas noticed that there was a disconnect when it came to how most agencies where reaching out to mothers.

“The messaging was missing the mark with their audience. It was missing what mothers care about most. That’s when I knew there was a real need for an agency that represented brands selling to mums, and that actually understood them.”

The reality is, Nicholas says, ‘Mum life’ is messy. “It’s hard, it’s brutal, it’s good and it’s bad and in between. It is important for brands to meet mums where they are, rather than project a perfectly curated image that is impossible for mums to relate to.

“Mums desire honest and direct conversations, that are relevant to her and provide solutions that make their lives better or easier. The messaging has to be emotionally compelling and relevant for real life.”

At Mumpower, as she became a mother herself, ‘Mum life’ shifted into the workplace.

“In the beginning, I felt like I had to work like I didn’t have kids, and parent like I didn’t have a company. But that shifted when I realised that we can embrace motherhood and still be exceptional at the work that we deliver. If ‘Mum life’ comes up for me or for any of our team members, that’s how it is, and no one has to bat an eyelid, because as mothers, we know we have to multitask, and we’re there to support one another.”

The power of mums

“Motherhood is a really good training ground for life. We learn to multitask, negotiate and adapt. We have so many hats on by default, and we bring those learnings and experiences into our careers as well.”

Mums are the ones in the household that make things happen. “They sort everybody out, they ensure everybody is happy, and they’re honest as well. You’re going to hear the good, the bad and the ugly with mum. That’s how I see us in the professional sphere too. We live and breathe that role of Mum at Mumpower.”

Mothers are also the most powerful consumers in the world if we consider that they hold the cards to household spending. Ironically, even for Mother’s Day, many companies promoting products and brands realise that the only way they can guarantee that mums are going to get their products, it is if they market it to mums directly, who often decide what their families will buy them.

Mumpower produces in depth market research with findings that are often surprising. “Recent data shows that 6 out of 10 mums will promote a brand they love online. We’ve gone from mums telling a few others in the school yard to her sharing it online. And that’s a really important point, because it shows how word-of-mouth from ecstatic existing customers remains the most powerful marketing tool.”

Nicholas adds that mothers are not impulsive buyers. They deep-dive into researching a product for the family so completely, that they often end up knowing more about the brand and the competitors, than the brands do.

“She’ll have asked every single mum she knows, she’ll have read every review, gone on her socials, and she’ll do this multiple times in the couple months before she actually buys.” Nicholas adds that 9 out of 10 mum will turn away from buying a product if the reviews are not good enough.

Greek roots

Christie Nicholas, whose origins are from Kalymnos and the Greek quarters of Palestine, credits much of her business values to her Greek upbringing.

“My parents ran a delicatessen and later a café. My dad, though he didn’t speak the best English, built incredible relationships with customers, and I loved how he brought in that Greek culture of friendship, that generosity of spirit, the philotimo. Every time a customer would come in, he would give away so much food because he wanted people to taste what he loved, and we joked that he gave away more than what he sold. But he was happy.”

That spirit was the cornerstone of their business. And my business too, in the way we service our brands and the values we bring and the relationships we build.”

Christie Nicholas also honours the beautiful influence of the women in her family — her mother, grandmothers and aunties — strong women, heart centred and very nurturing to her.

“My mother was entrepreneurial during a time when it wasn’t encouraged. I love hearing about what she did, the barriers she faced and the tough decisions she made in her journey as a business owner and a mother, to give her kids a better foundation. She supported me from day one and gave me the confidence to believe I could do anything. That’s a gift I now realise not everyone has.”

On Mother’s Day

“Mother’s Day is a reminder — even if it’s just one day —of what your mothering means to your family, and the impact that you’re making. I will take any opportunity I can, to be reminded of what I am doing right.

As a mother, I would like my children to know that my intention and heart is in the right place and I don’t always totally know what I’m doing. But as in business and in life, I face the fear, figure it out, try, fail and try again. The important point is to have courage to spread your wings.”

On a professional level Mother’s Day is an interesting time as well. “I like to see honest, playful, humorous, real messaging of a branding campaign that tells mums ‘Hey – we get you, we appreciate you and we’ve got your back’. I think that goes further in the long run in terms of building brands that mums know, like and trust. If the focus is to push product, then make it absolutely obvious how it will address her pain points and improve her life.”

In 2023, Nicholas’s impact was officially recognised when Mumpower won the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Award in Marketing Services and was also named a finalist in the Entrepreneur category.

But for Nicholas, her true reward is in championing the voices of mothers. In the early years of motherhood she wrote a book, “The Mum Who Roared-A Complete A-Z Guide to Loving Your Mind, Body and Attitude After Baby”, and more recently, she launched the Podcast ‘Mastering the Mum Market’ available on Spotify.

In everything she does, what Christie Nicholas ultimately wants is for mums to realise the value they hold in this world — that their voice matters, their role matters, both as women and as mothers. And to know that their influence is powerful as they embrace the messy, meaningful reality of motherhood.