360PR Blog

Call it a stunt.  Call it desperation.  MomDot issued a challenge to its community of bloggers last week calling for a PR Blackout for one week in August.  (Just so happens that’s the week everyone’s on vacation anyway, haha.)  The ironic thing is the announcement was the most successful PR move ever for MomDot, accidental or not.  The Wall Street Journal was the latest to cover the news, in today’s edition.

On the one hand, I don’t blame MomDot.  Bloggers, and mom bloggers in particular, are over-saturated with PR pitches.  We get calls daily (truly daily) from brands wanting to dive in.

I often think of our mom blogger friends on the inevitable receiving end.  Step into their world for a minute.  Unlike journalists, most mom bloggers don’t work full-time. They’re balancing blogging with their other passion – family.  And some of the pitches, no scratch that, MOST of the pitches they get are just awful.  Read Bostonmamas Christine Koh’s recent “Bad Blogger Outreach” series.  Delete, delete, delete.

The good news is blogs are now widely recognized by brands as a legitimate channel in the mom media mix.  And there are brands and PR firms (wink, wink) that get it.

It’s important to look at blogs individually and not as one big mom blog bucket.  So much of good blogger relations is about content mapping. What’s the blogger’s focus?  What value does the brand bring to the discussion?  How can you be a true resource to a blogger and not a source of exasperation?

For more, look for 360 at Blogher Business this week, and if you’re not headed to Chicago, keep an eye here and on our tweets (@Laura360, @C_Pierce, @BWelch).

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - 12 Comments →

We just posted a new issue of our MomSquad Trendletter. If you’re still tinkering with your summer marketing plan, there are some great insights gleaned from 360′s MomSquad members. From New England to Georgia, Chicago and out to the West Coast, moms say they’re staying close to home this summer, an opportunity for brands with an angle on backyard fun and budget-friendly activities for the whole family.

“Even though we don’t have any major plans, I’m excited for the summer,” comments Laura Often of North Grafton, Mass. “The summer gives us more options – ice cream runs, the pool, picnics, the beach and just being able to play outside makes the days better.”

Among summer vacation travel trends identified by the 360PR MomSquad:

• Families are planning shorter, drive-to trips.
• Day trips to local attractions – from beaches, parks and museums – top the list of destinations.
• If staying overnight, most will be bunking with family and friends taking advantage of built-in babysitters.
• Those planning a staycation say they’re saving their money now to be able to eat some meals out this summer.
• Top purchases will include GPS systems, grills (and the usual accompaniments) and outdoor toys.

And before they go anywhere, moms will head online.”We make sure to look things up online before going to find any coupons for activities or places to eat,” says Missouri mom Courtney Foster. “You can go on a great vacation and spend about the same you would at home if you plan ahead and look for deals.”

Deal Seeking Mom is one of my personal favorites. For deals on summer groceries, be sure to check out the web site of your local supermarket before hopping in the car. 360 client Stop & Shop posts their weekly circular and other deals online, and our Peapod (grocery delivery) client lets you sort your virtual cart and list for items on sale that you may want to stock up on. (Don’t forget to pick up some Ball jars to store everything!)

“And just because school is out doesn’t mean the learning stops. I try to have some educational aspect of our vacations – I’m looking for ways that my children can have fun and learn something,” says Anita Doberman, a military mom in Georgia.

For more MomSquad summer insights, checkout the Trendletter.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Marketing to Moms, Parenting, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - 1 Comment →

Bloggers and marketers have new common ground: the proposed FTC regulations that, if enacted, will hold bloggers liable for product reviews.  That could have some bloggers skittish about accepting your next product sample for review.

Blogger X says the product cleans your house, picks up your kids and puts dinner on the table.  If the product doesn’t work the same way when you try it at home, you now have someone beside the product maker to blame – that nice mom blogger up the street, who, by the way, was just expressing an opinion, not writing a product manual.  Check out NJ Mom Blogger Liz Thompson’s comments on the subject.

There’s something, no wait, there’s a lot that bothers me about the idea of mom bloggers like Liz having to hire legal counsel.  But things may not be as bad as they sound.  The proposed regulations are primarily aimed at curtailing pay-for-play posts – separating editorial and advertisement, as traditional media have historically done (though things do seem to be murkier every day with “advertorial” copy and product placement, not to mention celebrity endorsements).

The new regs would also hold brands liable, requiring brands to ensure information provided to bloggers is 100% accurate – and PR people don’t embellish the pitch beyond what the product truly delivers (not a bad thing, truth in advertising, truth in PR).  The bigger challenge for brands would be traversing the blogosphere to make sure information delivered is accurately translated, as reviews are posted.  No small task.  Perhaps an opportunity for social media monitoring services, such as Radian6 (which we use) and more advanced tools, such as Trucast.

One positive that could come from all of this is the demise of pay-for-play agencies that promise to deliver XX number of positive reviews in XX days.  They can guarantee the reviews because they’re buying them.  I’ve been surprised at the level of brands who have subscribed to these models.  Why not be transparent and just place real ads on blogs and at the same time earn the editorial and endorsements?

Some networks, like BlogHer, have put in place their own standards – requiring bloggers participating in their network to place advertising and editorial on different pages – and sometimes different blogs altogether (many bloggers have separate blogs for product reviews, though their readership is not always as strong as their main blog).  That policy is meeting with mixed reviews, as some bloggers say they don’t want third-party groups controlling their blog.

I’m headed to NewComm Forum to join Susan Getgood on a blogger relations panel Monday, where the FTC regs promise to be a hot topic.  Stay tuned for more here and keep an eye on Twitter #sncr for the discussion.

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Marketing to Moms by LauraTomasetti - 3 Comments →

Community and collaboration are key to growth, no matter what industry you’re in. In today’s digital age, we all have the ability to share knowledge, thoughts and opinions with others online. While the openness of the web can be seen by some as an obstacle when it comes to PR, the way I see it is that the collective knowledge of online communities is what helps us learn from one another and, ultimately, succeed.

So, to contribute to the super-sized round table we know as the web, here’s my quick two-cents of a few digital posts and stories from this week:

MediaPost "Forrester: Social Media Reaches Empowered Women" – Women are using the Internet more and more to help "manage their family life" as well as to ask others for product recommendations. I happen to be one of them! Just one of the key takeaways- social media campaigns, whether targeting women or not, are long term commitments. Definitely not a case of wham-bam-thank-you-mam.

B to B Magazine "When to Avoid Social Media" – The social media "revolution" has led some companies down the wrong path – i.e. "if competitor X or company Y is doing it, so should we!" This is a trap to keep your eyes out for and social media guru Paul Gillin has outlined some instances of when to avoid social media.

BrianSolis.com "Introducing MediaOnTwitter" – Social media execs Brian Solis, Sarah Evans, Peter Shankman, Melissa Hourigan and Ed Dunigan have launched a new collaborate site called MediaOnTwitter, which offers "a centralized, comprehensive, and global user-generated database for tracking media on Twitter." Check out the post for more details.

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Digital PR, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

Last week was school vacation week in many parts of the country.  I was struck by the number of clients who were juggling work while “on vacation” with the kids.  School vacation comes at a tough time – just six weeks after the holidays, when we’re knee-deep into the year’s campaigns.

Indeed, one of the most pervasive mom trends currently is moms returning to work.  Some moms are being driven back to work, full- or part-time, by economic conditions.  Others are re-tracking and re-launching careers after a hiatus at home raising their children.  While many companies are downsizing, the marketplace is seeing the biggest influx of mompreneurs yet.

An opportunity exists for marketers who offer or can reshape their products, services and content to support moms returning to work.   A new conference series has sprung up to help.  The latest Detours & OnRamps Forum will be held March 25 in Boston (actually just outside, in Waltham).  It’s worth passing to moms you may know who are transitioning back to work.  Conference Leader & Founder Meghan McCartan  has been there (and back).  360PR will be there scouting for new members of the 360PR MomSquad.

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Marketing to Moms, Parenting by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

We just distributed the latest issue of the 360PR MomSquad Trendletter, with highlights from the Marketing to Moms Conference and a look ahead at how moms will be shopping this holiday season.  The operative word there is “how” not “if.”

Everything we’re hearing tells us that moms will be shopping, though later than past years and on the hunt for deals, according to Mommies with Style’s Whitney Wingerd, a contributor to our MomSquad Trendletter.  Retailers like Wal-Mart and K-Mart are priming moms to expect deep discounts.  One of the interesting findings of a new Silver Stork Research survey of 1,600 moms is that 9 out of 10 of moms who plan to shop online say they will watch for sales and coupons to make their holiday budgets go farther.

And moms shopping online will be clicking around more than holidays past.  Increasingly Internet savvy, moms they say they’re not wedded to one e-commerce site and will be searching several to find the best gifts and deals for their families.  You can read other highlights from Silver Stork’s report in the Trendletter. 

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Events and Conferences, Internet, Marketing to Moms by LauraTomasetti - 1 Comment →