Mom Market Trends   

Fabulous story in yesterday’s New York Times  by Jennifer Mendelsohn on the evolution of mommy bloggers and their relationship with brands. Despite the somewhat snarky title, “Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand,” the piece provided a very thorough and fair assessment of where the momosphere stands today and the issues that apply. It traces the development of blogs from “glorified electronic scrapbooks”  where moms shared photos of and updates on their children to “a cultural force to be reckoned with….a burgeoning industry generating incomes from $25 a month in what one blogger called ‘latte money...Read More

We had so much fun before, we’re doing it again!

I’m pleased to announce that on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 in Los Angeles, Child’s Play Communications will hold its third annual Bloggers Brunch, an ideal opportunity for companies to connect directly with leading mom bloggers in an intimate, relaxed atmosphere, conducive to conversation and personal connections.

As with our most recent Bloggers Brunch, a standing-room-only event held last November in New York City, the LA Brunch will kick off with a panel of leading mom bloggers, who will discuss best practices for reaching moms through social media – blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Sharing their ins...Read More

Last week, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at Toy Fair titled, Connecting With Moms In Social Media — Blogs, Twitter and Facebook,  featuring representatives from toy companies K’NEX and Hidden City Games, and mom bloggers. In a previous post, I offered a summary of the marketers’ point of view. Today I’d like to share some key tips from the wonderful mom bloggers on the panel — Kimberly Coleman, Mom in the City an...Read More

At Toy Fair, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel titled, Connecting With Moms In Social Media -- Blogs, Twitter and Facebook,  featuring toy companies and mom bloggers.

Speakers included Barb Rentschler (Chief Marketing Office, K’NEX) and Dell Monson (Senior Director of Marketing, Hidden City Games), both of whom have reached out to mom bloggers through Child's Play Communications' award-winning Team Mom  review network;  Kimberly Coleman (Blogger, Mom in ...Read More

Late last month, I was invited to the Meredith Parents Network presentation of its recent study, What Moms Want. Meredith’s Parents magazine is a Child’s Play Communications client; we have represented its toy line for some time. The research turned up some interesting facts, and I’d like to share some of the key findigs here:

• 62% of moms grade themselves a “B” at balancing the demands of motherhood.
• 56% of moms meet other moms via friends of friends, while 39% rely on social networking sites. 
• 70% say their ability to multi-task has improved since becoming a mom.
• 79% of moms agree finding “me time” is a challenge, but 75% find a way.

I was impressed that most moms considered themselves pretty good at balancing–this is such a ma...Read More

There was an article in this week’s PR Newser – an online newsletter for the public relations industry — that excoriated Ann Taylor LOFT, the fashion company, for “paying” bloggers to run a post, calling it an “obvious infringement” of the new FTC guidelines.

The company sent this event invitation to bloggers: 

“Come take a sneak peak at LOFT’s summer 2010 collection before anyone else! Bloggers who attend will receive a special gift, and those who post coverage from the event will be entered in a mystery gift card drawing where you can win up to $500 at LOFT!”

Followed by:

&...Read More

No surprise: Blogs, Twitter and Facebook are increasingly popular with moms, as they share experiences and information on all kinds of subjects.

According to a recent Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) survey conducted by BIGresearch, women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook (60.3%), MySpace (42.4%) and Twitter (16.5%) than average adults (50.2%, 34.4%, 15.0%, respectively). And 15.3% maintain their own blog.

Research from ...Read More

What to do and what not to do when marketing to women was a popular subject last week, with major posts on the subject appearing, among other places, on Mashable. Among the many points made, there were a few that I thought were particularly worth repeating:

From 10 Musts for Marketing to Women on Facebook:

“Create a series of posts that your fans can look forward to on a daily or weekly basis — something they will feel a real connection to and will teach them something they can use. If you run a fashion web site, for example, provide a piece of advice from a designer every Friday –- it will make it much harder for your fans to block your update...Read More

Dads are responsible for all the tech purchases in the family, right?

No way.

A survey of more than 1,000 moms and expectant moms released Friday by BabyCenter shows the significant role moms play in making home technology decisions.

According to the study, while men respond to specific features when shopping for technology, it’s the practical side of tech that appeals to women. “While men are drawn to screen size, processor speed and other numerical specifications, women look more at price, ease of use and energy efficiency,” the BabyCenter survey concluded.

As BabyCenter president, Tina Sharkey, summed it up, according to an MSNBC story, ”It’s not about the toys, it’s about the tools.” Moms look for tech tools that will help them manage their families’ daily lives and record their children’s ...Read More

In the next few months, there will be more women in the workforce than men – surely a cause for celebration for those who believe in equal opportunities for the sexes.

Or is it?

According to a Pew Research Center study conducted last spring, 19% percent of Americans – nearly a fifth of the entire population -- think women should return to their traditional roles. For those of us who were around before the term “women’s lib” was even coined, that number is something of a surprise.  But even more intriguing – although possibly less surprising – is the response of mothers surveyed: “A substantial majority of all working mothers (62 percent) say they would prefer to work part time. Only 37 percent would prefer to work full time. In contrast, an overwhelming majority (79 percent) of working fathers say they prefer fu...Read More

Holidays make me ambitious. It's true: I have so little down time during the rest of the year, I can't think beyond what absolutely needs to be done, right now, this instant, to make sure we're on top of things for our clients. When I take a few days off, I actually have time to let my mind rest and wander, which is when I'm at my most creative. (Then and in the shower, of course.)  My key ambition this year: create a series of wonderful events to bring marketers and moms together. We've already held two successful Bloggers Brunches and a mommy blogger panel presentation in New York City, as well as a lovely Team Mom dinner in Chicago at BlogHer, among other events. Next month, for client Goddard School, we're organizing an expo offering moms answers to everything they wanted to know about choosing a preschool  and highlighting hands-on participation by moms and kids a...Read More