Recently, I was at a conference and we talked a lot about "Mom". We analyzed, we compared, and we assumed. We were presented with data, facts, and information about how to speak to "Mom". What I found curious about this and slightly disturbing was that many of us, if not most, in the audience were moms ourselves. We listened intently and learned that "Mom" can be defined in 4 buckets. "She" can also be predicted and targeted and influenced. Simply get to know "her" habits and "her" behaviours and you can influence "her" purchasing decisions, create brand loyalty, and win "her" heart…um…wait a minute…aren’t you talking about ME?!
OK. Maybe it wasn’t that simple but, it is funny. Most of us attending this conference were women and almost all of us mothers. Are we really so unable to connect the personal to the professional? Are we really so easily influenced? Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ad as much as the next person. I have brands I am loyal to and products I buy because the message rings true. But, overall, I am most influenced by those I trust. It is not that I don’t trust big companies but I just don’t know that they are thinking about it like you and I do. They are thinking about it from 30,000 feet up. Looking down on "Mom" as a group of consumers not as individuals. It is impossible for big brands to look at an individual’s needs or even the needs of a specific group. It would simply be too costly.
What impressed me though was that it seems that many organizations and marketers are starting to pick up on this and are beginning to put value on truly understanding and relating – not to "Mom" but to moms or, even better, to a mom. Generating interest from an individual in a product or service or idea and having them pass this on to their friends has a lot more value than a TV spot, no matter how creative.
In the end, I felt good about the conference because, what it reinforced is that urbanmoms.ca makes sense. There is no flashy advertising and slick messaging. We are simply moms, like you, who are providing relevant information on topics, products, and issues that we know make sense to you. How do we know this? Because we know you, we listen to you, and we are moms too! The idea for urbanmoms.ca was built around the value of women’s friendships. Not from research and formal focus groups but from personal experience. We apply what we know from our relationships and what we hear from you, our members, to ensure that the site truly reflects the diverse needs of the urban mom in Canada.
Please share your comments below or send me an email with suggestions or ideas.
Jen
Certainly the fact that we’re all mothers means that we have one critical thing in common, but we are all so different and unique.
For an excellent reminder of how different and unique every mother is, I’d recommend a book I’ve just finished. “Because I Said So” is a collection of 33 essays by mothers on all topics; sex, race, religion, men, politics. Reading the experiences of a woman who escaped an abusive relationship in Guatemala, but left her children behind reminded me of some of the core values we mothers share, but how different our experiences are.
Also included are essays by single mothers, lesbian mothers, a mother whose husband was killed by terrorists and a mother battling cancer. Few of these mothers make up the demographic that the marketers you met with are targeting, but this book is a very valuable reminder of how different mothers are.