This agency bakes creativity with purpose for single mothers

SINGLE mothers are compelled to make ends meet working long hours and juggling between their children’s well-being and their finances.

With a mission to empower single mothers, SuperMum Bakery – a social enterprise by the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya (RCPJ) – provides practical training for single mothers to pick up the art of baking and hone their business acumen, to enable them to re-enter the workforce as pastry chefs or even to open their own bakeries.

Moved by SuperMum Bakery’s mission, m/SIX – a media communication agency (a division of WPP Marketing) – looked to apply its creative instincts and marketing know-how during the Ramadan-Raya period to bring this worthy cause to a wider audience.

For a start, m/SIX employees spent the weekend at SuperMum Bakery to lend a helping hand with their Ramadan-Raya baking orders.

It also brought on-board one of Malaysia’s largest providers of quality baking books, Bagus Marketing Sdn Bhd as a sponsor of baking ingredients, so that SuperMum Bakery could maximise its profits.

Turning on the spotlight for a good cause to drive awareness for SuperMum Bakery, m/SIX looked to turn tasty cookies into gift packages with a purpose.

The Ramadan and Hari Raya season is a time for the giving and receiving of festive hampers. And in the digital age we live in, it is second nature for these recipients of festive hampers to snap a photo and share it on social media.

Leveraging on this behaviour for the benefit of SuperMum Bakery, m/SIX refashioned an ordinary greeting card into a new media space.

“Sponsor a post this Raya”

Following the instructions placed on the card accompanying each hamper, recipients can share and tell SuperMum Bakery’s story with a social post. But beyond that, the m/SIX team needed to ensure that SuperMum Bakery’s story got in front of the right people.

Tapping on the emotions of socially conscious individuals who tend to have higher propensity to share social impact stories, m/SIX selected a group of influencers among its clients, business partners and the media, who are advocates of female empowerment to drive relevant publicity for SuperMum Bakery.

Sheila Shanmugam, Managing Director of m/SIX, believes that driving social change in the country doesn’t fall solely on the shoulders of the Government but the private sector has a role to play too.

Elaborating on the agency’s initiative, “As a marketing agency, our role is to tell our client’s story. Consequently, when the opportunity arose to shed some light on a just cause, we had to jump on it.

"Today, we are excited to share the work of SuperMum Bakery and look forward to working with the team to further develop and promote this cause alongside with the Rotary Club.

"We at m/SIX are truly fortunate to lend a hand to such a respected social enterprise, that has made a difference in so many lives.”

Also present was Rotary Club Petaling Jaya (RCPJ) president Siti Haslindah Sheikh Ismail, who lauded the efforts of m/SIX and Bagus, as it will go a long way in providing much-needed publicity for the programme and keeping it sustainable.

“We are truly thankful that m/SIX has come forward to work with us and we hope this continued partnership will make a difference in bringing hope to this group of single mothers.”

The public can be a part of this great effort as well, by supporting the SuperMum Bakery. Those interested in buying some of their delicious cookies or looking for expert bakers to join their organization, can reach out to SuperMum Bakery on their Facebook page here: https://tinyurl.com/askSuperMumBakery .