Mothers Day plans? Most are opting to stay in for their celebratory meals

Mothers Day is Sunday, May 11, and this year moms are likely to stay home and have the celebratory meal with family. In an online survey conducted by Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., the majority of mothers polled stated this year they are more likely to eat at home versus eating out. “While Mothers like to be pampered and enjoy a day of relaxation, I believe the results of this survey are a factor of the uncertain direction of the U.S. economy,” said Mary Beth Dukes, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications for Hamilton Beach. “A home-cooked meal, preferably prepared by someone other than Mom, is memorable, and a little lighter on the wallet than a restaurant meal.” 

Gift idea allows mom to make a global difference

GlobalGiving, the groundbreaking marketplace for goodness that connects people to philanthropic causes worldwide, is offering the “Mother’s Day Menu”—gift options for the mom who wants to make a difference.  The “menu” provides a choice of 10 projects from 8 countries focused on the most crucial issues facing women and children today.  “GlobalGiving operates under the premise that good things happen — locally and globally — when people are connected to one another,” said Mari Kuraishi, President of the GlobalGiving Foundation. “What better way to honor the connection we have with our own moms — the women who provided for us — than to help mothers around the world gain access to better education, proper healthcare, or clean water for their children? More than just a token of gratitude, the GlobalGiving gift will help women and mothers thrive for years to come.”

 

Study finds new moms are queens of the word of mouth hive

New research by BabyCenter(R), the largest online resource for expectant and new parents around the world, and industry-leading market research company, the Keller Fay Group, reveals that today’s pregnant women and new moms engage in one-third more word of mouth conversations per day than the total public or women and almost two-thirds of these conversations include brand recommendations. This group has an average of 109 word of mouth conversations per week about products, services and brands, most of which are positive and considered highly credible by other moms.  The BabyCenter/Keller-Fay Word of Mouth Marketing Study, conducted in the first quarter of 2008, shows that 60 percent of conversations among this group carry with them a recommendation to buy, try or consider the brands under discussion and positive brand sentiment outweighs negative by a 10:1 margin. The credibility of word of mouth measured higher for pregnant and new moms than for the total U.S. public or women in every category measured. Among the mom segment, word of mouth about shopping, retail and apparel is highly impactful, with 69 percent likely to purchase based on what was heard.

 

Child’s Play launches mommy blogger initiative

If you want to reach moms, consider the mommy blog: According to research released at this month’s BlogHer Business conference, 46% of the 36.2 million women who blog have children at home. Blogs are the latest – and most economical — way to interact effectively with Gen X mothers – and Child’s Play Communications’ new service, Team Mom, can ease the way.  Launching now, Team Mom is Child’s Play’s very own, select group of influential mom bloggers who will regularly review our clients’ products and services. This team of opinionated, enthusiastic and Web-savvy mothers will get the word out and lead the conversations about our clients’ brands.  Team Mom joins the successful Web Mom Directory as part of Child’s Play public relations and marketing programs that specialize in targeting moms. 

 

Shortcuts, a service of AOL, selects Lucid for WOM and online media marketing promotions

Shortcuts, a new free service for paperless online coupons from AOL, is making it even easier for grocery shoppers to save money by linking online coupons to their store loyalty cards. The first retail partner to endorse this program is The Kroger Co., the largest pure grocery chain in the U.S. with 2,487 stores in 31 states. General Mills, Kimberly-Clark and Kraft are the first partners to sign on to participate with coupons for their popular consumer brands.  Lucid Marketing will define and execute geo-targeted online media and word-of-mouth marketing promotions in support of the Shortcuts launch. In addition, Lucid is consulting in creative development and the tactical management of customers from registration through member retention.

Kathy Ireland prepares to launch new baby product line

Thank You Baby^® (TYBB) is proud to announce an exclusive licensing agreement to design and manufacture infant bedding and accessories for Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW), a leading design and marketing firm founded by CEO and Chief Designer, Kathy Ireland.   “The opportunity to be the sole provider of baby-related top of bed and coordinated accessories for Kathy Ireland Home, the nation’s most trusted and loyally supported brand name, is a unique honor and a giant step,” said Tracy George, president of Thank You Baby. “We feel truly blessed for this opportunity and incredibly excited to enter into this relationship with Kathy and her company. Being the first to introduce an entire new product line in `baby’ with Kathy is not only inspirational but amazing.” Kathy Ireland Home^© by Thank You Baby will debut in September 2008 at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, with over 15 new collections available to the public nationwide by early 2009. 

 

Famed nursery designer designs new site for moms

Being a mom is a little easier with the recent launch of Nesting.com, a new online community that helps families organize their lives and memories and find resources while helping more babies be born healthy. “Nesting.com is a free online experience that provides everything a modern mom may need to meet the daily challenges of parenting,” says Wendy Bellissimo, celebrity nursery designer and co-founder of Nesting.com. “Any activity your family participates in, be it school, ballet or soccer, can now be managed in one centralized and secure place.” In line with Bellissimo’s mantra to design everything from a family’s point of view, Nesting.com’s scheduling, planning and sharing tools are well designed and practical, like photo organization that recognizes and remembers family events.  Nesting.com is also the National Family Teams Sponsor for March for

Babies and families participating in the event can use Nesting.com as a forum to share photos and announcements.

 

Anthem hosts local baby shower for moms-to-be

For moms-to-be in Evansville, IN, April showers took on a whole new meaning as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield hosted a community-wide baby shower at the local Community Resource Center (CRC).  Amid the traditional theme of pink and blue, mothers-to-be were treated to valuable educational information from special guests such as registered nurses and perinatal coordinators who educated mothers on important topics such as nutrition during pregnancy and how to care for their new baby. Joining Anthem was representatives and speakers from Vanderburgh County Health Department and the Tri-State Perinatal Association. Babies”R”Us, the nation’s premier baby products retailer, was also on hand to provide information on its in-store educational seminars.

Electrolux targets “do it all” moms in the U.S.

Electrolux is introducing a new line of stylish, high-performance kitchen appliances exclusively for North America.  The new line of premium kitchen appliances is designed to help today’s multi-tasking moms do what they need — and love — to do — better, faster and easier.  In order to penetrate — and connect with — the on-the-go, do-it-all target (women, ages 35 – 54 who are juggling career, family and volunteer responsibilities, along with a love of entertaining), the company is tapping America’s poster child for successful multi-taskers –Kelly Ripa — to star in a new campaign that will launch its newest premium appliance brand in North America.  “Just like our target, Kelly Ripa is a really amazing woman who appreciates beauty and performance and the way the right appliances can help you do more of what you want to do. And that’s what this new premium appliance collection from Electrolux is all about … helping today’s ‘do it alls’ be even more amazing,” notes Keith McLoughlin, president and CEO for Electrolux Major Appliances, North America.

 

 

Website helps parents keep school activities, schedules organized

SchoolPulse announced the launch of SchoolPulse.com, a one-stop resource for strengthening school communities. SchoolPulse provides parents, teachers, administrators and students a simple online solution for organizing everything from school lunch menus, newsletters and sports schedules to local resources and discussions. A pilot is currently running in New England before a national roll-out planned for back-to-school 2008.

”Based on market research and on our own experience as parents, we saw an unmet need for a user-friendly website to help parents manage their busy lives,” said John Boynton, founder, CEO, and father of four young children. “Every parent knows how hard it is to keep in touch with the myriad activities going on around their children’s schools. We want to make their lives less hectic, keep them up to date and help them make sure their kids are getting the best education possible. Our users aren’t doing anything on our site that they weren’t doing before – they’re just doing it all in one place.”