Kids at Work

Posted by Melissa in children | CSR | media | moms | Uncategorized - (2 Comments)

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, launched nationally by Parade.  I am fortunate enough to work for an organization that not only understands work/life balance but embraces it. To mark the occasion, we had a group of six children in the office ranging from infants to age seven. Interestingly, they were all girls.   Check out a few photos here thanks to PRWeek.

As I commuted into the city with my twin girls, many commented on the huge number of youngsters on the train.  And while Peppercomm’s group happened to be all female – as did many on the train, the majority of thosOur Kids @ Worke commenting assumed it was Take Our Daughters to Work Day.  I wondered why that was. Is it simply because more women tend to participate and happen to have daughters who join them? Or do we think that girls will be more engaged (read: behave better)?

As part of their coverage, Parade, the magazine that launched this tradition nationally, published a story about Jackie DiMarco, Ford’s lead engineer on the F-150 pickup.  Jackie happens to be a woman and have twin daughters. She uses the day to encourage her daughters’ interest in math and science, and I hope, to dispel the ongoing stereotype that girls (and women) are not as interested or as talented in these fields of work.

The article focused on her rise in this particularly male dominated field where some have assumed prior to meeting her that she would be male and others have assumed that she would be more understanding of family commitments than a male manager would. Her response? Why would you think that?

Bravo to Parade for focusing in on what continues to be an issue in the workplace even though many believe it’s not.

Special thanks to Peppercomm’s culture committee for making this a meaningful experience (and truth be told, wrangling cats!).

Moms to Advertisers: The Shoe Don’t Fit

Posted by Maggie in brand | children | loyalty | moms - (0 Comments)

Fifty years ago, Marketing to Moms was perceivably simple. Based on historic icons and a few episodes of Mad Men, reaching moms was one dimensional and focused purely on making June Cleaver’s life easier. Now, the women of that time may disagree about the singular dimension approach, but it worked. And it worked well for large ad agencies relying on piles of research to identify the singular mom audience. Not anymore.

According to a recent blog from EmpowHER, 91% of women feel that advertisers do not understand her. The problem here is that “her” is more multi-dimensional than ever, and old research methods and blanket ad campaigns are just not getting it. Marketers today need to be more nimble and have honest dialogues with their female consumers. The secret sauce that worked to sell home appliances to the perfect housewife now involves 25+ recipes to reach the moms of today. Let’s start with the basics – there are single moms, divorced moms, married moms, moms by mistake, grandmoms being moms, moms to pets, etc. Then we get into situation analysis like the miserable moms, the perfect moms (or they think they are), the active moms and more. So how can one brand or agency claim to be able to reach this moving target?

Listening is the first step and recognizing that no amount of expensive research can uncover what honest conversations can. Second is having these conversations where your consumer is and not forcing them to come to your sandbox. For example, last year Frito-Lay made great strides communicating their healthy brand promise by partnering with Farmville to let social gamers learn about the ingredients in their products. And it worked. And finally, it has to be authentic. Let’s be honest, Kelly Ripa doing laundry and cooking with her Electrolux appliances is about as un-authentic as you can get (at least in this blogger’s mind). Why not show real women – and all types– struggling with daily chores, re-heating the takeout and running to Home Depot to fix things herself.

Agencies that continue to target just June Cleaver are not only getting left behind, but ignored by moms and trampled on by other, more authentic brands. They can’t see themselves in June’s shoes and they are letting brands know this loud and clear. Remember, hell hath no fury…

Bucking a Time-Tested Trend

Posted by Melissa in brand | children | moms | product | retail - (0 Comments)

That is what I am calling the fact that I procrastinated starting back-to-school shopping for our twins until yesterday – the first day of school.  The onslaught of sale information (read hurry up and buy!) started in July.  I was involved in creating and disseminating some of it, yet I refused to shop.  I blamed it on work, summer-itis, you name it – anything to avoid starting the annual spending spree.

Well, yesterday was the first day of kindergarten, and guess what?  The girls wore an outfit they have worn several times before and nothing happened!  They looked adorable. And you know what else?  We went shopping today after school ended.  Expecting the worst – picked over aisles and no size options – I was pleasantly surprised.  The shelves were stocked and I discovered something else. I am not the only one.  I met two close friends and another class mom in Target doing the very same thing.

So to all of my fellow procrastinators, just because they say it’s time to shop doesn’t mean it is.  Remember that when the holiday décor and sales start in October.

I am speechless.

Posted by Melissa in children | moms | product | retail | wellness - (0 Comments)

Guest post by Erin Howard, fellow Peppercommer and YAY DIY! blogger.

Well, maybe not. Ready?

So yesterday, the blogosphere exploded with images of this shirt, apparently on sale just in time for back-to-school. The shirt in question was available in sizes 6-16; targeting not only elementary school girls, but girls in that already awkward and confusing time that most of us would rather forget called middle school.

There are so many things wrong with this! There’s the fact that somewhere along the line, multiple teams of people thought this was not only acceptable, but maybe even a money-maker. Because let’s face it. No one designs, creates, buys and promotes a shirt they think isn’t going to sell. Maybe they’d buy this for their child.  And maybe they’re the kind of people who dream of their daughters being First Lady and not President.  I’d like to hope that mentality is held by only a very small minority of parents in this country.

School age girls are impressionable. They believe what people tell them.  One thing they should NOT be told is that
they can’t be both pretty and smart. There are no “roles” or “molds” girls should be taught to fill.  They don’t have to be “The pretty cheerleader” or the “mousy computer nerd” or the “smart girl in Future Business Leaders of America.”  That pretty girl, the one who’s always cast as the cheerleader, or head of the “mean” squad in
the movies?  That girl should be encouraged to be an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, or even President, just as
much as anyone else.

The young women who can fit into this shirt are tomorrow’s leaders – but only if we help them realize their full potential. There is nothing wrong with telling young women that they’re beautiful – there is only something wrong with telling them that beauty and intelligence are mutually exclusive.

OK, I’m done.

 

What’s Candy Got To Do With A Detective?

Posted by Sara in brand | children | entertainment | food/bev | retail - (0 Comments)

Special guest post by Mari Abe

Dylan’s Candy Bar is a New York institution for candy lovers of all ages. On any given day, you can find a mixed bag of kids, parents, tourists and adults milling about rows of gummy bears, chocolates, licorice and lollipops. I walk past it every day on my way to and from work and the display of bountiful candy never fails to make me smile. That is until they decided to sell their soul and put up a horrendous window display promoting the season premiere of the TNT drama series, The Closer, presented by Hershey’s.

Really? Now what’s a candy store got to do with a detective? At first glance, it looked like a shameful attempt to reach the moms and dads who are in the store with their kids. Curious to find out more, I took a look inside. Upon entering, an employee greeted me with a complimentary piece of chocolate.

Nice touch. What’s more? There was a highlight reel of The Closer playing on the flat screen behind the checkout register. (Seeing as there’s always a line, it’s a smart idea.) Only here do you make the connection between candy and The Closer – the video loop shows the main character, played by Kyra Sedgwick, obsessing over candy in a variety of scenes. Apparently, she is notorious for her sweet tooth.

While I like the out-of-the-box thinking from Dylan’s, TNT and Hershey’s, this completely misses the mark. If you’re a tourist, Dylan’s is the type of place where you want to take pictures and capture the magic of the candy store. With Kyra’s face all over the store display, it just doesn’t make for a memorable photo. And while there are adults in the candy store, this campaign completely ignores their target consumer – kids! I guess times are tough for Dylan’s and they probably got paid handsomely for selling its window display, but maybe next time they could focus on something a bit more in line with their brand and target consumer. Movies like Cars 2 or Winnie the Pooh come to mind. Other suggestions?

Town Hall Podcast with Michelle Fernandez of Mom Central

Posted by Maggie in children | media | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Mommy bloggers are a force online – this is nothing new, right?  But their influence continues to grow so the About You crew decided to take a closer look in honor of Mother’s Day with a special edition of the PepperTown Hall podcast series. There are, in fact 3.9 million moms who blog, according to analysis firm eMarketer.  Peppercom’s Maggie O’Neill and Melissa Vigue sat down with Michelle Fernandez of Mom Central, a one-stop web resource dedicated to providing busy Moms with smart household and parenting solutions. Click here to listen to the three M’s discuss the how, why and do’s and don’ts when it comes to engaging this powerful audience on behalf of your brand.

Download PepperTown Hall Podcast

I love your dogs, but keep your kids to yourself

Posted by Maggie in airlines | children | travel - (7 Comments)

Contributed by RepMan – http://www.repmanblog.com/

I’m not sure why every new parent in the world feels compelled to show off her son or daughter, but they do. They must. It’s been mandated by someone or something on high. It’s also been mandated that we must respond with an “Oh, how gorgeous, little Alex is! He has your eyes!”  

 Also, ALL new moms feel compelled to bring their infants and toddlers to their erstwhile place of work. Why? Beats me.

But, in the spirit of About You, I think it’s important for new parents – and especially you moms out there – know that many men (and, I suspect, some women), simply aren’t that interested in meeting your newborns. I know it’s heresy to say, but there it is.

Don’t get me wrong. Dads love kids. I love mine. But, most of us just don’t love everyone else’s kids. It may be a gender thing, but I’m reminded of the classic Seinfeld episode in which Jerry, Kramer, Elaine and George are introduced to what is obviously one very ugly baby. Kramer’s non-verbal reaction is just classic. As is Elaine’s ‘The dingo ate your baby’ comment. Trust me, ladies. There are lots of ugly kids out there and we guys don’t like to have them shoved in our face.

The same holds true for kids on planes. Ever notice how parents expect their fellow passengers to think their screaming, kicking and vomiting kids are just absolutely adorable? Well, guess what? They’re not. Nor are the toddlers who run pell-mell up and down the aisle. If it were up to me, moms and dads with infants and toddlers would be roped off in special sections of the plane (preferably as far away from this guest blogger as possible).

Lest you think me some sort of latter-day Ebenezer Scrooge, though, let me tell parents everywhere that I absolutely adore meeting your dogs. I love any and all canines. Big ones. Small ones. Ugly ones. It doesn’t matter. I can even warm up to a cat. But, getting back to the human side of the story, please don’t shove your newborn in my face and expect me to fawn all over little Eddie or Kirstin. Because while this post may seem all about me, it’s not.  And when it comes to your kids, it’s so not about you.