Today’s American “mommy market” is the most powerful group of consumers in the history of the world, spending more than $17 trillion per year and controlling 80 percent of the purchasing decisions for their families. Since having my daughter 22 months ago, I’ve paid a lot more attention to how marketing programs connect, or don’t connect, with moms. What cuts through the noise of the chattering toddler, or breaks through the fog of the multi-multi-tasking, hormone-befuddled mommy brain? What earns my brand loyalty now that I’m mom?
In Trillion-Dollars Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers, authors Maria Bailey and Bonnie Ulman present some surprising ways that marketing and PR pros are missing the mark with moms. Three key points stand out.
Because women are having children later in life and often postponing motherhood for their careers, there is a wider age spectrum among mothers than in previous generations. As many as four distinct generations of women have school age or younger children in America now. The critical question for ad campaigns, PR pitches and brand messaging is this: If you’re trying to market a product, service or idea to mothers, how do you tailor your marketing message to resonate across this 50+ year age gap?
The key, according to Bailey and Ulman, is in understanding that a mother’s affinities and preferences have less to do with her age than the age of her child. I identify more now with my role as a mother than as a (very) early Gen Xer, and my consumer habits have shifted substantially as well. Though I am in the last months of my 30s, my “mommy friends,” women with kids relatively the same age as my daughter, are all ages . . . from mid-20s to mid 40s.
One marketer that understands this is BabyCenter. When you join this online community, you register the age of your children and receive age-appropriate updates once a week for each child. Online advertising and product endorsements are tailored to the particular growth stage you’re currently experiencing, from trying-to-conceive to kindergarten. This is extremely helpful for the busy toddler mom who is past the point of needing baby food or bottles but wants information about discipline strategies or potty training.
Successful marketing programs such as BabyCenter’s have learned that segmenting by the child’s age, rather than the mother’s, is the key to creating a marketing program that resonates with moms and moves their products.
Next Week: The Mommy Market Part Two: Manolos vs. Mom Jeans.
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