Today's MediaPost Daily--a must read for any marketer--talks about the reality of convergence -- across platforms, media and marrketing in general. Every marketer worth talking to today knows that digital influence and conversational influence is transforming and will continue to transform our current market opportunities.  Especially in this challenging environment.
 MediaPost speaks to what Mommies Clique is doing every day for brands and companies and products: We marketers spark the conversation and the Mommies drive it. Like MediaPost says, Mommies Clique Mommies are mentors, hosts, ambassadors, advocates, and--at their essence-- communicators. The MediaPost reiterates what we have been saying about moms:

-    On many consumer brand purchases, they are the primary decision-maker.
-    They are brand loyal - but they try new things, especially when advocated.
-    They are recommenders; they listen to recommenders.
-    They appreciate "review" content.
-    They are community-driven and have shown an interest in social media from its very beginnings -- and now are there to a notable height. Once in chat rooms and on message boards, they now frequent social media forums, sharing online.
-    They blog. Big-time -- and often about brands with the motive of advocacy.

 The eMarketer report entitled "Mom Bloggers Fuel Online Brand Talk" underscores new models for monetizing, engaging, and really harnessing the power of Mommies in the blogospherem like Mommies Clique.   MediaPost goes on to say that "More than three-quarters of mothers who blog in the US review products, according to recently released data from Mom Central Reporting" and "Mom bloggers may be especially open to contact from brands in the current economic environment: More than 60% of mom bloggers considered making money important and wanted more connectivity with companies; over one-third (37%) said they had already been contacted as a resource for the press." and
"Working with mom bloggers makes sense because the Internet is a leading conversation starter about products and brands among new and expectant mothers, according to a January 2008 study by BabyCenter and Keller Fay Group."
It warmed this Mommie Blogger's heart that Kendall Allen concluded that she "would argue that the advocating, connector mom is major firepower."  MAJOR FIREPOWER!  How about that Mommies?  This warmed this overtired, very spent Mommies' heart.  Thank you Kendall Allen and more power to the Hand That Rocks The Cradle!  Mommies, what do you think?

I am on the road pitching Mommies Clique in Chicago this week, actively recruiting Chief Mommie Organizers (CMOs) in Chicago, San Fran and New York! Know anyone? 

Someone told me about a new community called Savvy Auntie.  What a cool idea!  Everyone---including me--has been talking about the "Power of Mommies" and Mommie bloggers but what about The Power of Aunties?  I have to think there is tremendous spending power there. 

Savvy Auntie says" Though many women opt not to have their own children, that doesn't mean they don't dote on the kids in their life." and  is a "parenting site for non-parents" targeting PANKS--"Professional Aunts, No Kids".  The site includes recommendations for activities indoors, outdoors or from a long-distance, age appropriate gift ideas, and a forum to share tips.

As Auntie to precious Ava, Alex, Robert, Levi and Hannah you can bet I am going to check it out to make sure I am doing "All Things Auntie"!  Love it.  Melanie Notkin is a genius!

Mommies Clique was founded on the idea that the best way to reach moms is to create messages by moms, in their terms. Now it looks as though other companies are capitalizing on similar, parallel themes ... Omnicom Group has recently announced the development of a consultancy group to assist marketers in reaching out to an elusive and influential consumer: females. The name of this faction is G23 - G for group, and 23 to represent the second set of chromosomes that determines one’s gender. G23 will be managed by top leaders within Omnicom, all of them women. So why focus an entire consultancy group on one gender? Women have a 75 percent buying presence in the marketplace. Once these shopping mavens become wives and mothers, their buying presence really grows. Women influence purchase decisions for their children, husbands and households, including everything from automobiles, health care and home improvement, not to mention clothing. While women have spent years shopping the latest trends, it is the female consumer that is now in fashion. Marketers know that buying power lies within women; however, tapping into this market in the most effective manner has proven challenging for many. G23 has assumed the role in guiding agencies towards reaching out to females. What better way to reach out to women than through a consultancy run by women? With an ever-growing presence in universities, the workplace and the online world, there are no signs of this female presence slowing down. Looks like it’s a woman’s world after all!

When I was pregnant with my first baby five years ago, my neighbor Sheryl offered me a list of things to buy, register for and not to bother with. The list had various tidbits from “don’t buy bibs, you’ll get a million of them at your shower” to “make sure you have nipple soothies in the fridge just in case.” Just in case for what?! (I soon found out.)

I’ve since amended Sheryl’s no-frills Word doc list for my friends, adding my own insight on booster seats vs. high chairs and my research on the safest car seats (they aren’t always the most expensive). The list is now outdated again, due to the flux of designer strollers, toxic baby bottles and the much better color selection of baby linens out there.

Who knew Sheryl was onto something? On the front page of the Syracuse Post-Standard’s Life and Leisure section yesterday, there was a story on baby planners. Think wedding planner but baby planner: Someone to help you sort through the choices and register for the best stroller, car seat, crib, high chairs and feeding accessories for your lifestyle. (At the risk of sounding like a total sell-out, there are better strollers for the city vs. the 'burbs).

Baby planners can consult on anything from selecting a pediatrician to nursery design to finding the best baby photographer. According to the article, Melissa Moog, founder of Itsabelly: Baby Concierge, found out about other baby planners via CoolMomPicks.com, which led her to form the National Baby Planner Association, comprised of 14 members.

What would you want to ask a baby planner if you had one at your disposal? (Rates start at 75 dollars for an hour phone consultation.) What are some of your favorite products? The ones you can live without?

One more tip from Sheryl: Bring a bottle of champagne to the hospital.

Bumbo baby seats, bottle warmers, wipee warmers, bottle drying racks: These baby products are surely useful to some. Personally, I never slow down long enough to warm wipees. And if I did have a wipee warmer, it would have been hijacked long ago by my three year old daughter so her baby doll’s bum is warm when getting changed.

Baby companies have developed a “baby gadget” for nearly every purpose imaginable. If you’ve shopped at Babies 'R Us, you know what I mean. I've passed on purchasing many of these "necessities" because long ago I realized I would never take the time to use them. Nor do I have space in my home. (Because I live in a small, old New England house, baby products must first have "high floor real estate value" before ever being purchased.)

In any case, as far as I can tell, baby companies still have missed one giant opportunity - to develop something that can help me contain my squirmy, wormy, active baby while I change his diaper. I realize there are changing tables and changing pads, but honestly I have not found them useful. Perhaps it’s me, but I have a hard time changing my baby’s diaper while he is at an awkward right angle to me.

So I’ve been battling my son for months with every diaper change. The scene looks like this – I place my son on his back and he immediately flips over. I then wrangle him to his back and hog-tie his feet. He arches his back and turns into a plank while becoming airborne from the head down. I then throw a diaper under him and go through 20 wipes so I can change him as quickly as possible. By now, he’s wrangled himself onto his stomach and begins to crawl away. I pick up the diaper and run after him. Once I catch him, I pick him up and diaper him. After this, he usually dons a diaper for long periods during the day because redressing him after a diaper change is like flogging myself for no reason. Repeat this process five to six times a day and you have one frustrated mom. Don't even get me started on changing him in public.

So how about a baby product that is useful – a baby-changing contraption that would safely secure a baby so he or she lies down straight in front of you and SOMEHOW takes the above described frustration out of the diaper changing experience.

I’m not asking for the scene to be so calm that I’m apt to mistake my diaper changing experience for a day at the spa. I’m just asking for something – seemingly basic – that would keep babies somewhat immobile while I perform the task quickly.

If/when this baby product is designed – I’ll be the first one to spread word of its value. And sign me up for any focus group, interview, questionnaire and prototype testing on this new product. If there weren’t already a Diaper Genie out there, it would be the perfect name for this product because it takes magical powers to change an active baby’s diaper.

Is this invention of any interest to anyone else – or does anyone have suggestions on how to keep my 11 month old son from saying "sayonara" every time I change his diaper? Recommendations or war stories are welcome.

- Mary

Picture from the New York Times online

The cover story for the New York Times Magazine last weekend was, When Mom and Dad Share It All, a story about parents who share all parenting and home-related duties from laundry and meal preparation to thank-you notes and paying the bills. This is not the story of the stay-at-home dad and the high-powered career mom or the stay-at-home mom and the really involved and helpful dad; this story is about couples who are trying to shatter parenting gender stereotypes of all kinds. Both parents pull back on work hours, and discussions are about who will be home with the children, who will wash the darks and who will wash the lights, and who will plan the children’s birthday parties this year. At its core, the story reminds us of the importance of ongoing communication with our partners and figuring out what will work best for both us and our children. As the article shows with its example families, equally shared parenting doesn’t work for everyone, and what is most important is to figure out what works for your family, regardless of what society says it should look like, which is perhaps the hardest part of all. What does the division of labor look like in your home? Are you happy with that balance or would you change it if you could? Is there a way to be equal partners in the home without sacrificing career advancement and monetary gain? Will equally shared parenting ever be the norm?

- Karen

Lately, we've been very excited to notice others realizing and harnessing the power of word of mom. Recently, Safeway, a California-based grocer, announced the launch of its new line of store-brand baby products called "mom to mom." Based on mommy guidance and insight about what moms value most in baby-care products, Safeway rolled out an 80-item line that includes diapers, baby wipes, toiletries, lotions and infant formula. The "mom to mom" product line was created after research conducted by Safeway revealed important characteristics of the baby products mothers looked for and valued - gentleness and ease-of-use. As a result, these key attributes were integrated into Safeway's product research and development, eventually "giving birth" to the new "mom to mom" product line, which includes items such as hypoallergenic baby wipes and wide-bottom baby wash and lotion bottoms to prevent tipping and spilling.

An added interactive element found on Safeway store displays includes parenting tips from fellow mothers, such as:

Read to your little one every day. It's great bonding, and it will help prepare him for school.

One thing's for certain: the "Mother Knows Best" motto is still the final authority in childcare. Have you noticed any other ways people are tapping into mommy resources? Let us know!

Our Mommies Clique members have been enjoying Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's new book, Groundswell. Particularly, we've been digging into the authors' research findings and insight on Alpha Moms. About a year ago, buzz about this group of "educated, tech-savvy, Type A moms with a common goal: mommy excellence" began circulating on- and off-line. Not only does this group have significant purchasing power, they spend about 87 minutes online every day according to ComScore; that's seven percent more time than most consumers spend online. With good reason, companies have been paying attention and see this group as an incredible audience for new family-friendly products and services. What we appreciated about the findings presented in Groundswell is that Charlene and Josh show marketers how Alpha Moms are spending their time online by offering a technographic profile of the group. Armed with this insight, any company interested in connecting with them can be sure its doing so in a manner that will be most meaningful to moms and effective in satisfying its business objectives. Here is a recent presentation Charlene gave and data chart outlining these key findings:

One finding that is particularly interesting to me is that a significant number of Alpha Moms act as critics online. Smartly, Alpha Moms TV has a great product review section to cater to this interest. Additionally, the site is cleanly organized and nicely presented. This will particularly appeal to the 54 percent of Alpha Moms who are primarily spectators online. Any brand interested in connecting with Alpha Moms should consider taking a similar approach.

Are you an Alpha Mom? If so, we'd love to hear your perspective on how Forrester's technographic profile matches up to your own online habbits.

Data chart source.