In their “2010 Generations Survey” in September, research from WhyMomsRule unearthed some interesting data for people marketing to moms.
Gen Y moms only spend 48% of their time communicating with their family face-to-face. Email and Facebook combine for 17% of her family communication time. Add in texting and phone, at 35% combined.
There is some cause for skepticism in these numbers; the survey was conducted online after all. You might expect that the digitally savvy mom was overrepresented.
On the other hand, according to eMarketer, “90.3% of women with children under 18 access the internet from any location at least once a month, compared to just 76.3% of all adult females.”
I’ve raved about Johnson & Johnson’s digital strategy with Babycenter.com before. They realized – very early on – that mothers have always wanted support from each other, but with young mothers spending time online, a smart brand could bring that support community onto the web.
And it’s hard not to be intrigued by the survey’s reported difference in communication behavior between Gen Y, Gen X, and the Baby Boomers.
In general, it seems to reinforce that younger mothers are becoming more digitally savvy, and their communications are increasingly happening online and via mobile devices.
The point isn’t that analog motherhood is dead, the future of parenting is on Facebook, and that a marketer can’t reach an audience of moms in the traditional way.
Instead, consider:
- All of these trends are pointing to a near future where the primary place a brand will be able to influence purchasing decisions for moms will be online.
- Online influence doesn’t happen overnight; you have to cultivate it over many years.
Combined, these points tell me that it’s time for mom-focused brands to refocus themselves online, even as they see returns from their traditional marketing efforts.
It’s a choice between slowly losing relevance or carving out an online brand position before the competitors can catch on.