Top 8 Changes in the Mom Market over 5 Years

A great deal can be learned by looking back. Perhaps that is why a convention organizer recently asked me to include a slide in my presentation noting the greatest changes in Moms in the last five years. Of course, there are many fashionable, parenting and philosophical changes that have occurred, but I elected to focus on those that have impacted marketing.

Consider this blog post a two-part series. I’ll focus on the greatest changes I’ve seen in the past 5 years here and follow it up next month with part two- my predictions for the next 5 years.

Here are the top 8 changes I’ve seen in the mom market in the past half decade.

1) Marketing “with” Moms rather than “to” moms
I’ve written about this before. Marketers used to spend millions on a brand message, distribute it to mothers and they would repeat it on the playground or at a PTA meeting. Today, moms read, see and hear that brand message, they define it for themselves and family and repeat it to other moms as they see fit. Wal-Mart may be the place to “Save Money, Live Better” but to some moms Wal-Mart might mean, fast easy shopping and if that’s the way they feel, that may be what turns up in the blog, vlog or YouTube video. Moms have become your marketing partner, not your target market. Market WITH moms, not TO moms.

2) Motherhood as a brand
Gone are the days of the Stepford wives. Today’s moms are branding themselves- MizFitOnline, Dr.Mommy, and MilitaryMom. Moms are doing it their way and just as companies are trying to build their brands, so are the mothers they are marketing with.

3) Customization
Millennial moms have redefined Burger King’s old tagline, “Have it your way”. Today’s new mothers expect to customize products, media and even the lifestyle of motherhood. They are applying their pre-baby style to post-baby life and customizing motherhood to their daily activities, personal values, goals and philosophies and expect the products they purchase to be customizable to the motherhood they define for themselves.

4) Frugalista Mom
The economy may have forced moms to shop differently but now that she’s tasted the sweet success of saving money, she’s not going back. The Mom Frugalista is here to stay, regardless of her income level. Moms have discovered that saving money is empowering, fun and a badge of honor among her peers.

5) Emergence of the virtual playground
Moms used to trade ideas and product information on the playground down the block. Today the physical playground as a social platform for mothers has been expanded to a virtual playground. Monkey bars and slides have been replaced with blogs and tweets. Moms mingle on the virtual playground passing along tips, advice and product recommendations just as they passed along casserole recipes next to the swings on the corner lot.

6) Sphere of influence on steroids
Word of mouth marketing has been the most powerful form of marketing in the world of mothers. Take yesterday’s sphere of influence and inject it with steroids and you have Word of Mom 2010. An influencer once was the PTO President or soccer mom but today she is a Blogger, business owner, YouTuber, Turbo Tweeter and Facebook Fanatic as well as the team and homeroom mom. Engage her as your brand evangelist and you have word of mom on steroids.

7) It’s A Small World After All
Moms have gone global. Thanks to technology, moms in Europe can compare business plans with moms in the US or mothers in Australia can trade sleep tips with moms in South Africa. Mothers love nurturing relationships and this includes interacting with moms across the globe.

8) Boomers are Becoming Grandparents
They may be the youngest group of “nanas” and “grandmas” in history but the good news for marketers is that these young- at-heart boomers are purchasing the same products that they did when they were moms. Loyalty is important to mothers and the fact that this young generation of grandmothers are fully engaged in their new role means that their old favorites still make it into their shopping cart.

Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media and the author of “Marketing to Moms,” “Trillion Dollar Moms,” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mother by Leveraging New Media and Technology.” She is also the Host of Mom Talk Radio and Co-Founder of MomTV.com. She can be reached via Twitter @Momtalkradio and email at maria@bsmmedia.com.

Marketing Muscle of Mom Bloggers

In over a decade of formally studying moms, I’ve never seen as much of a frenzy surrounding one type of marketing initiative as I’ve witnessed with mom bloggers. Blogging has taken everyone by storm including the moms themselves. Much to their own surprise, Mom Bloggers are accidental business women. They are mothers who simply started a blog to chronicle their journey as a mother or to find like-minded women with children and are suddenly receiving hundreds of product samples, special event invitations and free merchandise in their inbox every day.

With as much attention as the mom blogosphere receives, it still only represents about one-third of the general population of mothers. Today, according to BlogHer research, more than 45 million women participate in the blogosphere weekly. It is estimated that about half are women with children, bringing the total to about 23 million of the 83 million moms in the US. This is why I often warn marketers who are targeting mothers not to view blogs as a silver bullet. The majority of mom bloggers are Generation X and Millennial mothers who post about their experiences as moms. More than 40% of women consider blogs a reliable source of advice and information and over 50% admit that blogs influence their buying decisions. (1) Most mom bloggers have only been in the blogosphere for less than twenty four months.

Blogging is the perfect tool for the Generation Y and Generation X mothers. Its functionality aligns very closely with the character traits of these two cohorts. First, blogging provides immediate gratification. Second, blogging fits nicely with their desire for customized motherhood. Blogging allows moms to connect with like-minded moms. If you are a Christian mom, you might follow Lori Seaborg’s blog, Just Pure Lovely, and if you are a New York mom you may follow the posts on Mommypoppins.com, where Anna Fader celebrates her New York upbringing by sharing the fun of raising a baby in Manhattan. Blogging also gives moms a platform for cause marketing and philanthropic support. Many moms use their blogs to connect with moms who share the same priorities or values. Finally, blogging as a tool allows moms to retain more of their own individualism. Yes, many of these moms blog on motherhood, but many use their blogs as a sounding board on life. Whether it’s not being satisfied in the bedroom or resenting housekeeping, moms have an outlet for their concerns or frustrations to be heard.

The use of mom blogs allows marketers to maximize the influence of mom mavens. This group, as we know, has long shared information about products, retailers and services with other mothers. Today with the help of the Internet, they can tell thousands, and in some cases millions, of other mothers. I hear more and more from moms that they have added mom blogs to their list of resources when researching a new product, travel destination or retailer. Marketers have quickly come to realize the power of mommy bloggers. Two great marketing initiatives rolled into one- viral online marketing and word of mouth influencers. However, it’s the “how to use mom bloggers” question that has created so much debate in the blogosphere and even more discussion in corporate America. The undefined rules of engagement with bloggers combined with the tidal wave of influence- both positive and negative- that can be generated by bloggers has forced many companies to make mistakes along the way.

Take the example of an egg company who sent out invitations to mom bloggers to distribute their Easter ideas to other moms. A great idea that, you’ll see, was spoiled by poor execution. The mistake that these eager marketers made was to send the Easter pitch to Jewish mom bloggers who were insulted that the marketer didn’t take the time to get to know them. The egg company received a great deal of negative reaction throughout the blogosphere. In traditional outreach, I’m sure that the egg company would not send the Easter ideas to the sports editor at the Washington Post but the appropriate features writer. The same rule applies with mom bloggers. Marketers and public relations professionals must take the time to get to know their target audience. Here are a few rules to remember in engaging Mom Bloggers:

1) Take the time to get to know the mom before contacting her.
I suggest reading the blog for a few days or follow the mom on Twitter;

2) Make sure the bloggers you are contacting are people you want representing your brand. Not all mom bloggers are created equal. If you have a problem with the “F” word being used in the same paragraph as your product’s name, it is in your best interest to identify the style of the mommy blogger;

3) Remember they are trying to build their brand just as you are trying to build yours. Create programs that allow the mom blogger to build her traffic via giveaways, sweepstakes, coupon codes and product exclusives;

4) The relationship should be a two way street. Don’t send a blogger a generic press kit with a lot of information about YOU and nothing in it for her. It’s not enough to say, “We think your audience will find this interesting. She doesn’t need your marketing messages, she’s got plenty others in her email inbox;

5) Personalize your communication to her;

6) When all else fails, just ask the mom for help.
Moms love to nurture relationships- not only with her children but also with brands. If you aren’t sure how to work with her, simply express your desire to collaborate and ask her for suggestions. Moms are innovative and creative and happy to help.

There are many ways to leverage your relationships with mom bloggers beyond basic product sampling. Some of the most effective programs include exclusive interviews with celebrity spokespeople, Twitter events, vlogging tours and meal planning kits. Recently, my team sent dinner kits to mom bloggers intended for their husbands. The dinner kits had everything the spouse needed to cook dinner and give mom the night off. As you can imagine, moms loved having dinner planned for them and expressed their appreciation through photos posted to Twitterpics, blog posts, videos posted to www.momtv.com, Facebook mentions and of course lots and lots of tweets. The idea is to get creative and establish a meaningful dialogue with these influential moms.

One final word on engaging mom bloggers: don’t stop at blogging when trying to connect your brand to social media mom influencers. Technology is changing quickly and moms are changing with it. Today’s mothers are quickly introducing video into their blogs and onto their Facebook profiles. Sites such as MomTV.com now have over 50 mom-produced live shows that draw hundreds of mothers every day to videos and vlogs. Newbaby.com boasts over 500 mom vloggers who are reviewing product and chronicling motherhood with their webcam. Moms are moving at the speed of technology and in order to truly engage them in a dialogue with your brand that allows them to share with their peers, you must communicate in a way that stays up with their multi-tasking, multi-media lives.

(1) -Wright, Susan. “BlogHer Statistics,” US National Census Data Projections, June 2007, www.compasspartners-llc.com.

Maria Bailey is CEO of BSM Media, a marketing and media firm that engages moms with brands. She is the author of “Marketing to Moms”, “Trillion Dollar Moms” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology”. She blogs at www.bluesuitmom.com and is the co-founder of MomTV.com, Newbaby.com and MomSelect.com. Marketers can watch her on www.marketingtomomsTV.com or follow her on Twitter (MomTalkRadio).