When it comes to family matching outfits, the best marketing is often user generated content.
Shoppers, especially moms, love to see how PatPat’s family matching outfits look on other families, said Ranu Coleman, head of marketing for the apparel brand manufacturer.
Luckily, moms also love sharing pictures of their coordinated crew, so obtaining the UGC is never much of a struggle, Coleman said.
User generated content in ads and on its website is one of the primary tactics PatPat uses to attract customers, along with social media and influencer marketing.
Children’s apparel brand PatPat launched in 2014 and has 21 million customers and sells its products in 140 countries.
Coleman joined the brand in 2023 and realized there was no team dedicated to top-of-funnel marketing. She hired six marketers to her team to focus on brand marketing and to drive the next chapter of PatPat’s growth, she said.
The power of micro mom influencers
One way PatPat is generating that growth is by tapping into micro influencers, or content creators with followings of about 4,000-10,000 consumers. Often, it’s the mom influencers who drive the highest return on investment, Coleman said.
PatPat dedicates about 10% of its marketing budget to influencers and the channel brings in roughly the same amount (10%) of its sales, Coleman said.
The apparel brand works with about 100-150 influencers, and 30% of them on a recurring basis. PatPat likes working with the same influencers regularly, as they become more of a brand ambassador, she said.
“It shows that they’re loyal to the brand,” Coleman said. “When you spread out too much and you’re working with so many different people all the time, it’s really hard to gain more of that trust versus having someone that you work with every month that’s trying out your new collections and promoting you. It just feels more authentic.”
Geographic-specific product images matter for kids apparel
Working with specific influencers also helps PatPat localize its campaigns, as the mom can talk to her audience in that geographic market.
“Being a real mom in your community, wearing our styles helps a lot,” Coleman said. “We work a lot more with micro influencers versus the larger ones because we just find that, especially for moms, they tend to drive the most engagement. Their audiences are more engaged, and they’re very trusted within their circle.”
PatPat likes to localize its campaigns when possible to feature clothing in the ads that resonates with that region’s taste profile (based on its customer data) and weather patterns. For example, some regions prefer minimalists designs and a neutral color palate, whereas other regions lean into seasonal trends and bold patterns. Or, a mom in Texas might be looking to outfit her family for a football game, whereas it might be more common for a mom in New York to be looking for outfits for a formal portrait, Coleman said. Plus, using an influencer who is active in her market helps to ensure that the brand is featuring the right apparel.
PatPat also might have a targeted marketing campaign to women in California with light layers, while the ad image might be warmer winter styles for an East Coast family, Coleman said.
Use Instagram’s algorithm to find influencers
PatPat uses a couple of influencer marketing software tools to find content creators, such as “mom with 8,000 followers who lives in Atlanta.” Often, PatPat has more success when its employees are looking on Instagram for influencers and letting Instagram’s algorithm find lookalike accounts to ones they like.
“When you hit that little arrow and it’ll show you all these other accounts that are similar to that, that helps a lot more than our influencer tools,” she said.
The brand focuses its resources equally on Instagram, which is good for sales, and TikTok, which excels in brand discovery, Coleman said. About 15-25% of PatPat’s marketing budget goes to social media, she said.
PatPat measures its success by looking at views, and if the comments are talking about PatPat or the product. Beyond its own benchmarks, PatPat also aims to have its content engagement to be equal to or above that creator’s average.
PatPat’s other marketing initiatives
Coleman is not worried if TikTok goes away. Another social platform would likely replace it, and it can always invest more in its other social channels, she said. Beyond Instagram and TikTok, Pinterest is another channel that is good for acquiring moms when they are looking for baby clothing. Referral marketing, affiliate marketing, such as review sites, also work well for PatPat.
PatPat also runs campaigns with its licensed apparel including with Mattel, Disney and Paramount. These campaigns help PatPat tap into those well-known brands’ audience. For example, right now PatPat is running a mommy-and-me matching outfit campaign with Barbie, she said.
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