• by Aaron Baar , May 7, 2015

Mother’s Day promotions are all about flowers and jewelry and sweet sentiment. But anyone who has ever had a child knows the true accomplishments of parenting are often less than glamorous. That, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t award-worthy.

Having positioned itself as the partner for young parents, Fisher-Price has created a new category of awards, especially for Mother’s Day. #TheMOMMY’s, as they’re called, salute accomplishments such as potty training, solid-food feeding and chasing toddlers around the house. (One award, rendered in art by agency 360i salutes the “Super-sonic spoon feeder.”)

“Behind every one of those milestones is a parent who changed her behavior and made that happen,” Rahul Sabnis, group creative director at 360i, tells Marketing Daily. “The thing about Mother’s Day [marketing] is it’s incredibly schmalzy. What’s missing for us is the authenticity.”

Awarded on Facebook only, #TheMOMMY’s are intended to acknowledge the daily work moms do. (The awards are named in honor of Mother’s Day. Dads will get their acknowledgement in June.) The intention is for moms and members of Fisher-Price’s Facebook community to share their accomplishments and support each other. 

“Social [interaction] among moms in our online community is all about support,” Michele Zimmer, director of global brand marketing, digital, for Fisher-Price, tells Marketing Daily. “The campaign is not about tagging. It’s literally a shout-out. It’s peer-to-peer social currency.”

The effort is aimed at Millennials -- who, after all, are the ones having children. Those young children, and the busy-ness that accompanies them, is another reason why the campaign is meant to be simple and easy, she says. 

“Moms don’t have that much time. Any parent knows time is precious,” she says. “We want to make sure our audience — the Millennial parent — knows we get them.”

The social media effort will run in 15 global markets to celebrate moms all over the world, she says. In addition to the heavy Facebook and Twitter presence, it’s also being supported by direct e-mail marketing and on the company’s home page.