When I first started UrbanMoms I produced most of the content myself but once the Go2Girlz were developed and we began our Product Testing program much of what was written was contributed by others. Then we added our community of bloggers and now the vast majority of what is written on UrbanMoms is contributed by the community itself.
So, when a brand comes to us and says they would like to submit their product for testing or represent their brand somehow on UrbanMoms we take this very seriously. We have turned down brands that we simply don’t think fit well or believe bring little value to the community members.
There are times we instantly know that a product is a great fit and will be well received. However, much of the time we aren’t familiar with the product specifically or have never used or tried it. In these cases it is critical that we become familiar in order to find the best way for the product or brand to add value to the community. So, what do we do in those cases? The strategy varies depending on the type of product but I will give you a recent example:
The Project: A few months ago we were called on by Chef Boyardee. They were looking to talk to members about the versatility of their product, introduce recipes and get feedback from the Go2Girlz. Of course, we were all familiar with the brand but none of us in the office had tried Chef or prepared it recently. We were not only curious about the product but also wanted to make sure it was a good fit for Canadian moms and that we identified the best way for the brand to work within UrbanMoms.
Ready to serve at our meeting!
The Approach: The first thing we needed to do was try Chef Boyardee ourselves. So, Carol, Leslie and I cooked up an office lunch and served it up for the tasting. I will not lie, I was hesitant. I remember the Chef products from when I was a kid but, for whatever reason, had not considered them for my family.
Before we tucked into our team lunch we discussed the product, its ingredients and the various recipes provided by Chef. We were all more than impressed to learn that there were no preservatives. I mean, most of us like to have a few convenient, tasty foods up our sleeve for busy evenings so this was a huge bonus compared to many of the others we had all been relying on.
But the real test was, what did we think? Would we serve it to our families? Would we feel good about sending it out to moms across the country?
Leslie at her desk ready to dig in.
Now it’s time for me and Carol to eat up!
So, what did we think? We were actually really excited to recommend this product for the Go2Girlz to review. We all agreed that it was very tasty, the texture was surprisingly hearty and the ingredients made us feel good about using it ourselves. We knew that this would be news to some of our members too so it was a perfect fit.
It is important to us that we stand behind the products we represent. Every product may not be for everyone but we know that, like us, most moms enjoy hearing the opinions and recommendations of other moms more than an ad by a brand.
It was a thumbs up from the UrbanMoms team for a quick, hearty and easy meal you can feel good about serving!
Check out Chantel’s post for more recipes and a chance to win a $200 President’s Choice gift card and more! For more great recipes visit Chef Boyardee’s facebook page.
