A Healthy Shade Of Green

• by Patti Minglin , April 13, 2011

As we prepare to celebrate Earth Day 2011, mom as a green consumer becomes part of our marketing-to-mom conversations, and well it should. A 2009 Mom Central study found 81% of moms consider themselves to be some shade of green. The power of the mom consumer only seems to intensify when moved into the green space for moms not only see being green as a way to protect the environment, but they see it as an opportunity to protect their families -- and that protection includes keeping family members healthy.

The focus on health is not new to the green movement, but it is one that continues to rank very high with mom consumers. "Most moms recognize that the state of childhood has changed," says Meri-Margaret Deoudes of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), and helping mom navigate her family into a more healthy way of life is key to any green marketing message. For the NWF, that messaging is front and center of its latest initiative, "Hike and Seek," which encourages families to have a "life-long connection to nature" through fun activities, hiking tips and more.

There are numerous lessons to be learned from the success of this program, which focused on using word of mouth, social media, listserves and some internal NWF marketing channels to achieve its first-year results.

Keep It Simple
The beauty of the program is that it is simple for moms to do with their families. Keep the steps needed to implement your program, use your product, etc. as simple as possible. "As moms, in planning the event, we wanted to be sensitive to the challenges we face of doing the right thing for our kids with busy schedules," adds Deoudes. "With that in mind, we sought to package an easy outdoor experience that would serve up a fun morning in the woods."

Solve an Everyday Problem
While mom may be interested in saving the planet, she is also concerned with cleaning up the spilled milk on her kitchen floor or getting her kids to put down the video games and get outside. "We make it easy for moms to schedule outdoor time for kids by packaging a fun and easy nature hike and scavenger hunt for the whole family," says Deoudes. "Once they are on-site, we deliver a memorable, entertaining outdoor experience about birds, trees, water, plants and live animals, complete with a mission guidebook and naturalists along the route."

Build a Community (and not just online)
Yes, creating an online community has its perks and we all know moms love to participate via social media, but don't overlook your opportunity to pull moms together offline as well. Moms love to be part of something bigger than their own backyard, so give them a chance to meet others, join in on a cause or -- in the case of NWF -- have fun. "The event finds fun and entertaining ways to educate moms and kids about nature," says Diane MacEachern of The Big Green Purse. "The combination of science and fun, hands-on activities make for a great day."