2009 M2Moms®: Return on Involvement

The Fifth Annual M2Moms®-The Marketing To Moms Conference has come to an end. Whether you were a speaker, sponsor, attendee or a virtual fly on the wall following the numerous ‘Tweets’ throughout the event, you are certain to have come away with a head full of new insights and a rolodex full of new contacts and possible business partners. This was the year where we changed the focus of ROI from ‘Return on Investment’ to ‘Return on Involvement’—a fitting phrase for a conference that focuses on the one consumer that is as involved with our brands as she is with the relationships in her own life—Mom.

Toward that theme, this year’s conference was dedicated to Nan McCann’s Aunt Rose—who stood up to the rousing sound of applause during Nan’s opening remarks. “She has made such a difference in my life and I would not be quite the person I am today without the involvement of the woman you see before you,” said Nan, who is the President of PME® Enterprises, producers of M2Moms®. “So, Aunt Rose, I dedicate this year’s Marketing To Moms Conference to you and to all the Moms and women of influence who touched the lives of everyone in this room today. To you and to them I say, we are your best ROI…your most enduring Return On Involvement …thank you for investing in our lives. Let us pass that involvement on…and remember that involvement in the lives of others is another special ingredient in what makes Moms such a unique consumer group.”

Important indeed, but how do we get Mom involved when—according to M2Moms® speaker Gigi Carroll, SVP Creative Director, Draftfcb—we only have “6.5 seconds to convince her to engage with our brand”? While no one claims to have the only answer, this year’s conference gave us some great takeaways for building our relationship with Mom—getting her more involved with our brands by allowing her to be more involved with her family, her friends, and her community.

Relationships Are the New Partnerships
“You have to work very closely with your partners to enhance their brand and the customer experience,” said M2Moms® Workshop leader Zanny Oltman, VP, Marketing Partnerships, Destination Maternity Corp. “You can no longer just give someone money and be done with it.” There are certainly some new rules of engagement where quality trumps quantity every time. In the blogosphere, marketers are encouraged to actually read the blogs they pitch and bloggers are making sure they stay true to their audience. When the blog and its audience align with a brand’s overall mission and values, that’s when success happens. “We are moving beyond partnerships and are about building relationships,” said M2Moms® Panel participant Jessica Smith, VP, Fleishman-Hillard. “That includes treating blog partners as influencers and spokespeople—not reporters.”

The relationship extends beyond those between brands. Paying attention to what makes Mom happy and helping her achieve happiness go a long way towards increasing a brand’s bottom line. “There is a direct correlation between a Mom’s state of happiness and what she will buy,” said M2Moms® speaker Candice Hinds, Director, Luth Research. “Brands need to find ways to affect her state of happiness.”

Mom Empowerment Rules
“The game is no longer about scaring parents, it’s about empowering them,” said M2Moms® speaker Colleen McKenna, Global Marketing Director, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec Corp. More moms are headed back to the workforce (there will actually be more women than men in the workplace by end of 2010), kids have busy schedules, money continues to be tight…the list goes on and on when it comes to a Mom’s daily stress list and the last thing she needs is to feel as if she is doing it wrong. “Don’t take away from what Mom is trying to do for herself and her family,” said M2Moms® Panel participant Greg Frtiz, SVP Marketing, Big Idea, Inc. From faith and values to nutrition and physical fitness, when the family is happy and safe, Mom is at her best. “Moms are concerned with nurturing the whole child—mind, body and spirit,” said M2Moms® speaker Laurie Klein, VP, Just Kid Inc.” Adds M2Moms® speaker Alison Bryant, Ph.D., Chief Strategic Know-It-All, Smarty Pants, “Brands that are winning are really hitting the whole family.”

Just Cause: Cause Marketing Makes a Comeback
There are numerous brands that do good things (check out the ‘Big Brands Doing Cool Things’ feature on www.coolmompicks.com), but today’s brands are getting Mom involved with their movements. “Cause branding is a way to make your brand irreplaceable to your Mom consumer,” said M2Moms® presenter Mike Swenson, President, Barkley. As Mike shared Barkley’s latest work with the March of Dimes, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. It is a cause that speaks well to Moms—encouraging them to be more involved. What other causes resonate with today’s Moms? With the childhood obesity rate hitting 17% (staggering), National Wildlife Federation’s ‘Be Out There’ campaign encourages kids to get outside (“Some say it takes a village to raise a child. I say it takes a backyard, a playground and a park,” said Jaime Berman Matyas, EVP, COO, National Wildlife Federation) and Kellogg’s got Mom involved with the movement to help 12 million children in the U.S. who are “food insecure’ through their Feeding America partnership. “This sort of value messaging really resonates with Moms,” said Susanne Norwitz, Brand Public Relations, Kellogg Company. Moms really want to help other Moms and their families succeed.

DFMS: Don’t Forget Mobile Stupid
Great acronym, right? Wendy Clark, SVP, Integrated Marketing Communications and Capabilities, The Coca-Cola Company gave us this little truth statement during her M2Moms® presentation at the end of Day 1. “The shift has happened,” said Wendy. “And if we are too focused on other things, we will miss it.” The ‘shift’ is in how consumers are now engaging with brands as well as where this engagement is taking place. “95% of all moms are going to the grocery store with a cell phone in their hand,” said M2Moms® presenter Margaret Lewis, EVP, Catapult Marketing. Digital applications are allowing brands to interact with Moms at the very moment purchasing decisions are being made. From digital coupons and deli kiosks to shopping list applications, digital is changing the way Moms shop in-store.

And, digital is helping Mom take control of that brand relationship even when things aren’t going well. Bad experience with a credit card while trying to make a purchase? Thanks to handy mobile applications, Moms can now jump on Twitter to share their grievances instantly. “And Moms can powerfully express their brand POV in 140 characters with the best of them,” says Wendy. Do Moms really expect brands to respond to their immediate feedback and issues? “Eighty-nine percent of Moms believe a company should be present and interact with consumers to solve problems and solicit feedback,” said M2Moms® presenter Julie Murphy, Director, Gannett Digital Media Network.

Not All Moms Are Created Equal
We continue to lump all Moms into one niche category, but clearly all Moms are not created equal. There are ‘green’ Moms (“She is involved, she’s an influencer, she’s an activist—the perfect target for marketers”), first-time Moms (“The first time mom is the ‘perfect storm’. She is not only spending money on herself, but her network is spending money on her as well”), and Mom fashionistas (“Do not ignore who she was before she became pregnant—especially while she’s pregnant”)—not to mention Moms who work outside of the home, Moms of multiples, Moms who like photography, Moms who are artists—I could go on forever. While all Moms have similar wants and needs, do not overlook who they are as individuals.

Having said that……..

The Mom Inside The Woman
And while brands continue to learn the value of treating Moms as unique individuals, we need to not lose site of motherhood and all its glory. From eco-friendly Moms to Mom Bloggers, we heard from brands, marketers and bloggers that the most effective messaging approaches them as Moms first. “Don’t forget the Mom inside the green,” said M2Moms® Panel participant Jeff Pillet-Shore, Brand Manager, Stonyfield Farm and Eileen Gaffen, Director, Public Relations, Hallmark stated, “Always approach Mom bloggers as Moms first—bloggers second.”

Still not quite sure Mom should be one of your target consumers?

“Moms are the core,” said Wendy Clark of The Coca-Cola Company. “The core influences the connectors and the connectors influence the masses.” See you at next year’s M2Moms®!

If you want to see more photos from this year's event, visit http://2009M2Moms.shutterfly.com