Commentary

Thank You, Brands

by Patti Minglin , November 14, 2012

In honor of this month of giving thanks, let us give thanks to those brands who are paying attention to what moms really want and are giving us campaigns, products and strategies that connect with Mom in new and innovative ways. This November we are thankful for brands who…

Recognize that Motherhood is Rewarding (and Hard)

For years, the portrayal of Mom in advertising and marketing either showed a woman completely crazed and exhausted or a woman doing housework while wearing pearls—neither of which showcases the real world of motherhood. Today’s brands have embraced the beautiful chaos that is motherhood and have started to show us the true rewards of being a Mom—without making it necessarily appear easy (or clean).

Engage with Mom via Mobile

As we have discussed before Mom is mobile and brands are beginning to not only acknowledge the mobile growth, but embrace it. Websites are becoming easy to access via all mobile devices, more relevant apps are being created and brands are even starting to discover new ways to connect with their consumers via mobile devices (i.e., text message reminders for appointments). Success via the mobile space really comes from being focused on how to make Mom’s life easier and sharable.

Help Mom Celebrate Everyday Moments

No longer are we reserving the celebrations for holidays. Brands are helping Mom celebrate the everyday moments of success such as good report cards, everyone home for dinner on the same night and the last football game of the season. These are the moments where memories are made and any brand that can tap into helping Mom celebrate them, capture them or organize them is connecting with her in a very big way.

Showcase the Diversity of Modern Families

It is great to see so many campaigns that show the average family being anything but average. From adding more ethnicity to the marketing conversation to adding new generations (hello, Grandparents!), today’s brands recognize and celebrate that all families come in different shapes, sizes and colors—allowing more moms to see themselves inside the brand.

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2 comments about "Thank You, Brands ".

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Andrew Mockridge from TRCo Marketing, November 14, 2012 at 11:06 a.m.
Let's give thanks to Tyson Chicken.
Tyson and TRCO built the "Tyson Says Thanks Mom" campaign(http://www.tysonsaysthanksmom.com) which rewarded every Mom who purchased Tyson Chicken with a free Beauty or Spa treatment. After all, there isn't a Mother on the planet who doesn't love to be pampered.
This is one of the most innovative ways a brand has connected with Moms emotionally, while building brand loyalty and delivering rewarding experiences that create lifelong memories.
To find out how Tyson and TRCO delivered this campaign, contact freeyourbrand@trcoworld.com
Reply

Michal Clements from Insight to Action, Inc., November 14, 2012 at 5:20 p.m.

Good points Patti! You are right- brands who get moms, or a particular group of moms right in their marketing are much to be commended as it's not necessarily easy. At M2Mom this year, P&G shared how the success of "Thank You Mom" campaign and also all the deep insights they mined to come up with this, and carefully execute. For instance, they altered their "Thank You Mom" campaign to not show the mom of an athlete from China in the stands watching her son as that was culturally inaccurate (too much pressure on the child), instead they show her watching from home as was correct.
This points out the need for deep research and thoughtful approaches rather than regarding all moms as the same.