Captivating Connections.

when will marketers recognize we need to market to PARENTS, not just mom or dad?

Listen, I get it: Moms rock. They're awesome. But so are dads. For reals!

In a world where the average family structure is changing and the roles people play vascilate, it's important to recognize that PARENTS run the family household, not just a mom or a dad. Sometimes if you only speak to moms, you make dad feel left out. And if you only speak to dads, moms feel like you're ignoring them.

So what's wrong with talking to parents as...wait for it...PARENTS!

According to work done Edelman and The Parenting Group, dads are social media monsters, too. In fact, "fathers—particularly first-time fathers—are engaging in the same types of social media activities that new moms enjoy...42% of new US dads who use social networks write family-related status updates on a daily basis. It further found that 56% of new dads post family photos at least a few times a week, while 21% post family-related videos."

Some dads are even 'beating' moms: "There was even one area in which dads were actually ahead of their female counterparts: Millennial dads have more online friends than millennial moms. These dads reported an average of 96 online friends, while moms averaged only 70."

So how do you appraoch this dads? I like how Mark Wildman, vice president and group publisher of magazine and digital media company The Parenting Group, sums it up. He points out that, as a dad himself, “I don’t just view myself as a provider. The nurturing, the cooking, the food buying—I am doing it in partnership with my wife.”

What do my parent readers think about this?

disney wants your babies (in a socially acceptable sort of way).

I wrote earlier about how Disney is upping it's ranking on the list of the world's most valuable brands.This is one of the many reasons...

Disney has announced the launch of "DisneyBaby.com, a Web site intended both as a product showcase for its new line of infant apparel but also as a type of community scrapbook and resource center."

What's the big deal about another baby-centric website?

"It’s Disney’s way of latching onto the 'social commerce' bandwagon — sites that include user contributions (in this case, tips for new mothers from new mothers) that can lead to selling merchandise. DisneyBaby.com is organized around different times of the day — dressing, eating, bath time — and the heart of the site (aside from the products, of course) is something called Magical Moments, an area where parents can upload baby pictures and share stories.

The site is sponsored by Huggies diapers."

Parents, what do you think?

dads are more likely than moms to buy electronics (shocking I know).

Granted I may be an anomoly when I become a mom, but, according to Ipsos OTX MediaCT's LMX Family Study, "dads with kids aged 6-14 are significantly more likely than moms with kids the same age to be planning to purchase a host of consumer electronics including smartphones, TVs, Tablets, Blu-ray players, 3-D TVs and desktop computers."

 

do kids ruin everything (and by everything i mean shopping)?

According to BabyCenter data, having a baby takes the fun out of shopping.

"Before they have kids, women described shopping as 'relaxed,' 'impulsive,' and 'social.' Being out with their friends is fun. That all changes when their shopping companion no longer pushes a cart, but rides in one. Moms find shopping 'rushed' (258 index compared to general population), 'stressful' (188 index), and 'overwhelming' (167 index), according new data from the American Mom Report from BabyCenter and ComScore, released exclusively to AdAgeStat."

What do you think, Moms (and Dads!)? Agree? Not so much?

are you helping the under agers (log on to facebook)?

Parents often complain about how they don't want their kids doing things online they're not supposed to do or that they cannot track. So what's up with parents helping their kids log on to Facebook if they're not of age?

"The minimum age Facebook setsfor its social network is 13 — in line with federal laws to protect children’s online privacy.

Yet according to a study funded in part by Microsoft and universities, more than half of all parents with 12-year-olds said they knew their children were signed up for the service. One in five parents of 10-year-olds knew of their children’s activity on the site.

Asked how the kids signed up for the service — thus violating the site’s terms of service — nearly seven in 10 parents said they helped their children set up accounts."

Among the top reasons for helping their kids get on line 'illegally'? According to Danah Boyd, a Microsoft researcher, “they don’t want to be told how to be a parent.”

What do you think?

are you screwing over your infant?

Whether or not you're currently a parent, or you plan on being one soon, infants, more specifically, their bottoms, are being screwed by the economy and their parents.

According to new data, "sales of diaper-rash cream are up, rising for the third straight year on a unit basis, even though the number of babies has kept declining over that period. Data suggest that babies are getting diaper rash more often because parents are changing their diapers less.

The number of babies ages 2 and under in the U.S. fell about 3% to 8.1 million last year, based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which tracks the number of live births. Yet SymphonyIRI data show unit sales of disposable diapers fell 9% in the 52 weeks ended Aug. 7, three times as fast as the population of infants. At the same time, unit sales of baby ointments and creams rose 2.8%, despite fewer babies.

Diaper rash doesn't rise to the level of concern that the CDC tracks cases, so sales of diaper-rash cream are one of the better barometers for tracking its frequency. And the trend of diaper-ointment sales rising even as diaper sales decline has been going on since 2009, according to SymphonyIRI data from Deutsche Bank. The disconnect between fewer diapers and more rash cream has intensified in the past year."

ouch!

back-to-school means back-to-basics.

We've got some great new research coming out of MediaVest's civic observatory that made the news this AM, looking at B2S shopping trends. 

What we've found is that, despite the usual push by parents to purchase technology for their kids, this year, "parents are much more focused during this back-to-school shopping season on basics like clothing and supplies. They are less interested in spending on bigger-ticket items, such as computers, phones and software."

What's driving the change? "New fears of a double-dip recession and other economic woes have altered priorities." This pessimism is resulting in major spending hits across all targets, but is especially visible in this case.

What do you parents out there think about this? Is your B2S shopping being impacted?

smartphones as a family tool.

According to research conducted by The Parenting Group publishing company and BlogHer, consumer electronics are seeping into the core of the family structure, impacting the everyday life of families.

The proof?

"71% of moms do not go more than one day without using the Internet, with 40% saying they can go only a few hours without using a mobile phone and the Internet. (Comparatively, only 18% say the same about television.) In fact, 79% said that cell phones are a necessity, compared with 42% saying the same about a typical landline."

This isn't just about Moms, though. "According to the survey, parents are allowing their children to use electronic devices at ever-earlier ages. While parents in a similar survey last year said 13 was the average age to let children have their own mobile phone, respondents this year said they began allowing kids as young as toddlers to use the phone (25% said they allow their 2-year-olds to use the phone). Of course, they're not using them to communicate. According to the survey, the moms are giving the phones to their toddlers as a toy or diversion (23%) or as a game device (15%)."

what's getting cut in back-to-school spending?

Accordign to American Express, "while parents say they will not scrimp on what kids need to start the school year, it won't be painless: They'll cut back on restaurant spending, entertaining, and their own clothing."

Why? It's all about making trade-offs to ensure everyone gets what they need for school (vs. what they want).

"The average family of four expects to spend $800 on back-to-school shopping. But 67% say they will make financial trade-offs to cover it, including dining out less (53%), spending less on entertainment (39%), and buying less clothes for themselves (37%)."

are you buying electronics for the kids (or simply justifying it that way)?

"According to new research from the NPD Group, it seems many consumer electronics purchases were completed with the express purpose of letting the kids use them. According to the company, 78% of portable video game systems purchased and 56% of portable digital media players were given to kids.

At the same time, the research company found there are almost as many kids using computers (73%) as are using televisions (74%). Three-fifths of kids (60%) are using a portable or console gaming system.

A child's presence is also driving adoption of newer technologies. Among households with a child between the ages of 4 and 14, e-readers and media tablets were acquired at 8% and 5% rates, respectively, over the past year.