Making Breakfast a Cause for Moms

Hats off to the folks at Kellogg’s for their “Share Your Breakfast” campaign. The cereal maker reached out to Moms to share a photo or description of their breakfast. For every entry, Kellogg makes a donation to increase school breakfast participation. Their goal donating one million breakfasts to the Action for Healthy Kids program.

Cooper Munroe, co-founder of TheMotherhood.com who helped launch the campaign, found three basic elements that led to the success of the program.

• Keep the program relevant – not just to Moms but also to the product.
• Keep the program simple – the message must be short and to the point otherwise Moms just don’t have time.
• Involve the kids – the campaign needs to provide Moms with the chance to engage her kids with the cause.

Thanks to Kellogg’s for the effort and success. Helping kids start their school day with a nutritious breakfast is a proven way to help them succeed in the classroom.

Team Mom

Look out, Edward and Jacob. Team Mom is the new superhero with extraordinary powers. No, we are not talking about the famous Twilight movies. We are talking about enlisting Mom panels to help drive your brand engagement.

Who’s recruiting this important demo? At the top of the list is Walmart, with its cadre of Walmart Moms, whose role is to help brands connect with larger Mom audiences. The Walmart Mom system includes tapping her for insights and getting her to blog, tweet and create content on Walmart’s behalf.

If a marketer takes the route of the Mom panel, here’s a short list of mandatory considerations:

• Websites need to be content-rich, social-enabled and mobile friendly.

• Any apps must add value to a Mom’s life.

• Content must be entertaining and informative.

• Brands need to think about philanthropic causes and being eco-friendly.

Not every brand has a budget that can include Mom panels, but marketers who want to create one must devote considerable time and thought to doing it right.

Communities Versus Networks in Communicating to Mom

We have read and written about the power of social media in today’s marketing tool kit for Moms. A couple of recent studies have clarified the role of online communities and social networks in women’s lives.

iVillage in conjunction with Burke Research found that over half of all women trusted the information on brands from online communities compared to just 14% for social networks. The percentage was virtually the same for belief that communities had the experts needed for Mom to make the right brand choice.

Half of women feel online communities are the best place to find out information on new products versus 21% for social networks. And 47% found communities and forums as places to provide help in making purchase decisions as compared to just 16% for social networks.

Social networks continue to dominate with Mom as places to keep up with friends and family and provide entertainment.

So marketers need to not overlook their role in supporting online communities and forums in addition to developing a robust presence in social networks.

Banks and Women

At the height of the financial crisis I was at a not-for–profit board meeting with the President of a regional bank. I sought him out on the pretense of asking for advice and said, “What should I do? I bought a new toaster at Target and they gave me a bank.”

In the subsequent months, the financial services industry has rebounded but in marketing to women, it appears they still haven’t turned the corner especially with Boomer women.

Vibrant Nation and Buchanan Marketing recently reported that among Boomer women 50+:

• 97% believe they have to take control of their own financial future

• Three-of-four believe financial security starts with financial independence

• Over half are fearful about their financial future

• Only one-in-ten are secure about their financial future

“It’s time for the financial world to start marketing to women—Boomer women in particular. And at the same time, it’s time for women to take a more active and aggressive role in their retirement planning,” said Gordon Plutsky, director of marketing and research at King Fish Media.

Contests Recognizing Mom

While many companies still don’t seem to understand that Mom deserves special marketing attention, a few recent promotions show there are still a few who get it, and they’re hoping that rewarding Mom will lead to higher sales and brand loyalty.

Ester-C vitamins, Chicago’s Brown’s Chicken, and the Emerald Coast CVB in Northwest Florida are all running promotions where consumers can show their appreciation to a deserving Mom.

Ester-C wants you to nominate a “24/7” Mom, while Brown’s is looking for the “World’s Best Mom,” and the Emerald Coast just unveiled its “Search for America’s Most Deserving Mom.” Rewards include a Mediterranean cruise and 200 other prizes from Ester-C, and a 2011 Buick Enclave plus a free vacation from the Emerald Coast.

While Mom contests tend to pop up a little more around Mother’s Day, these promotion organizers clearly understand the ongoing importance of Moms and their control of the family budget. The Emerald Coast is expecting a big impact from their promotion, including:

• 75 million impressions online

• A 15 percent increase in Web traffic

• A more than 25 percent increase in Facebook page “likes”

It’s nice to see companies who are actively recognizing Mom.  Not only do these kinds of promotions get Mom’s attention (and hopefully a little loyalty as well), but they enthusiastically engage the rest of the family as well.  We’ll keep an eye out for other Mom-recognition promotions and look for results as they come available.

WhyMomsRule.com Poll: Moms Still Unsure About Gulf Coast Safety

Last year, the Gulf Coast drew significant attention during the BP oil spill, and Moms were paying attention. Based on our newly released Why Moms Rule 2011 Family Travel Survey, just 57% of Moms think it’s safe to visit the Gulf Coast again. The numbers dropped even further when it comes to letting their own children swim at a gulf beach. Thirty-eight percent of Moms don’t want their kids in the water, while another 30% aren’t sure; only about one-third (32%) think it’s okay to dive in.

Where do Moms go for information updates to form their opinions about the safety of tourist areas after a disaster hits? Why searches for information updates (45%), followed by state tourism associations (44%), magazine/newspaper articles (44%) and convention and visitors bureaus (42%). On the other hand, personal testimonials such as Facebook/Twitter posts from visitors (35%) and posts on personal blogs (33%) were considered much less trustworthy.

Download the survey results by clicking here.

Survey Methodology:

The online survey was conducted January 14 – 17, 2011, among U.S. Moms who were over eighteen years of age, with at least one child living in the household, and who planned to travel with their family for leisure purposes in 2011. Results are based on 634 total responses, with a margin of error of 4% at a 96% confidence level.

WhyMomsRule.com Poll: Moms Grow Optimistic About Family Vacation

Based on our newly released Why Moms Rule 2011 Family Travel Survey, more Moms are comfortable about taking time off work for family vacation this year, but they’re still watching their purse strings. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the employed Moms are optimistic about actually taking all of their paid vacation days, up from only 57% last year.

Just as last year, however, most plan to pay for vacations out of current resources such as monthly savings or tax returns. Forty-four percent of Baby Boom and Gen X Moms and 46% of Gen Y Moms will pay with monthly savings, followed by 28% of Gen Y and X Moms and 11% of Boomers using their tax refunds. This cash mentality mirrors last year’s feelings.

Download the survey results by clicking here.

Survey Methodology:

The online survey was conducted January 14 – 17, 2011, among U.S. Moms who were over eighteen years of age, with at least one child living in the household, and who planned to travel with their family for leisure purposes in 2011. Results are based on 634 total responses, with a margin of error of 4% at a 96% confidence level.

She’ll Take a Small Order of News with Her Day

Could the days of long-format news be gone for moms? Is she looking for smaller news updates, ones she can digest between carpooling, cooking and chasing kids?

According to a popular website for Moms, FansOfBeingAMom.com, the key to engaging the more than half-a-million moms who “like” the site on Facebook is delivering tasty, bite-size content morsels served up directly in their Facebook news feeds.

Results from the recent FansOfBeingAMom.com survey:

• 73 percent of respondents said they “consume” Facebook content in quick bursts (less than 15 minutes up to 30 minutes)

• 70 percent said they love the back-and-forth “conversation” that takes place in the news feed comments

• 70 percent of Moms use the social network to keep in touch with family and friends

The average Mom has 100 friends in her network, so she has to power through her news feed. In order to keep her engaged, marketers really do have to give her a KISS (as in Keep It Simple, Stupid).

The Growing Importance of Online Communities

In case you haven’t noticed the definition of community has changed. Neighborhoods now exist online and the impact of communities and groups is real.

A recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found eight in ten active Internet users are involved in groups online. And groups are focusing on social media to provide connection for members.

• 48% have a Facebook page
• 42% use text messaging to communicate with members
• 30% operate blogs to provide a two-way communications vehicle
• 16% are actively using Twitter

“Use of the Internet in general, and social media in particular, has become the lubricant for chatter and outreach for all kinds of groups ranging from spiritual communities to professional societies to ad hoc fan clubs, “ said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet Project.

Market research firm NDP Groups report Social Media Moms – How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behavior confirmed the impact. They found that 79% of all Moms with children at home under age 18 are actively using social media. And 23% confirmed they made a purchase based on a recommendation from a social networking site or blog.

Jamie Lee Wallace and Meredith Tedford editors and publishers of Fans of Being a Mom.com, a blog for Moms using social media recently found that almost three-in-four (73%) of Moms are consuming social media in short bites of less than fifteen minutes.

They have three recommendations to maximize your Facebook presence.

• Sticky Note Quotes – Put a thought=provoking or humorous quote in your news feed.
• Social Slideshow – Using photos supplied by members they produced a themed slide show that was duplicated by members on their own Facebook page.
• Social Sweeps – A sweepstakes served up via a widget allowing users to enter for a drawing without leaving their news feeds.

All very smart strategic tactical ideas for getting the most out of your social media efforts, thanks to Jamie Lee and Meredith for sharing them.

Socially Active and Ready to Spend

A recent study from Media Audit supported the notion that the life stage of having children present in the home makes Moms more active in social media. Overall just over 60% of all households with children at home are active on Facebook, Twitter or My Space as compared to 51.3% of all adults.

The new news is that Moms with children under 6 are not only more active (67.1%) but are more likely to make big-ticket purchases.

Don’t overlook the potential of social media for your marketing message to Moms. She is active online and primed to purchase.