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2009-11-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

Adapt To Reach Your Audience

2009-11-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

by Stephanie Piche 11/25/2009

If you really want to engage with Moms, you need to adapt your strategies to understand what the influencers are. From spouses to children, health to finances, friends to colleagues, finding the triggers to how a mom engages is not an exercise for the weak, nor is it one that is going to be delegated anytime soon.

I like to watch people and follow trends, including reading research about who is doing what and why. For 20 years, I've been a sales and marketing executive, responsible for creating go-to-market strategies to lower costs with shortened sales cycles to increase sales, so observing and adapting have been vital keys to successful programs.

One of the lessons I learned as a sailor and use often is that you need to constantly be adjusting your sails or you'll end up on the rocks. This lesson holds true for influencers or those wanting to engage with moms. Take this case in point: my son and his method of adapting to engage his mom.

One of my favorite pastimes was spending Sunday mornings going through the newspaper while my son looked through the circulars. He would circle the items he liked (a/k/a wanted) and then share them with me, communicating his desire for specific items especially prior to birthdays and holidays. Over time, this tradition evolved to surfing the Internet and instant messaging the links, subtle hints about items he liked.

Whether I bought them or not, it provoked engagement, conversation and provided me with the information as a call-to-action, making it easy for me to click and buy. As a professional marketer, I couldn't help but be amused at the way my son was learning to adapt and engage me, to influence me so he could get to "yes" (a/k/a mom buying what he wanted).

So, why do brands and agencies still think engagement consists of consumers clicking on banner ads, when a recently released report pointed out that just 8% of Internet users click on 85% of banner ads, and speaking as a mother, moms are not part of the 8% who are clicking on those ads.

Recently, I found a newly released white paper published by Advertising Age, titled the "Rise of the Real Mom." In it, Boston Consulting Group states Moms control $4.3 trillion of the $5.9 trillion in U.S. consumer spending, or 73% of household spend. Hoping to find that the researchers who wrote this paper have hit the Holy Grail in helping marketers engage with the highly coveted "mom" demographic, I instead found parts of it to read more like a scene from "Mad Men."

The most startling paragraph contained suggestions that were offered up to guide marketers, including:
-not to just "communicate goods and services they offer are practical and convenient; they also need to make real moms feel confident and in charge"
-"empower female consumers to delegate to others (spouses, children, brands) so they can have more time to be who they want to be"
-"use new ways to reach a population that rarely has time to sit down and read or watch or enjoy something without simultaneously doing something else"

Wow, okay. I scrolled down the page past lots of impressive pie charts as I had to find out who wrote this 28-page whitepaper and, you guessed it, they were two women who aren't moms.

News Flash: Moms are empowered, confident, and in charge. We are ahead, way ahead, of the curve. We have adapted by embracing technology and are highly functional multi-taskers. We use our smartphones on the go to find products and services, VoIP products to stay in touch with family and friends and to meet and connect with other moms using Twitter, blogs and Facebook. We engage in real-time conversations daily on the Internet using "social TV" that goes beyond what traditional television is trying to morph to today on MomTV.com.

Moms are learning, growing and changing, but that does not mean childcare and household duties shift over to our spouses because of our pursuit of personal goals. It's just not how moms (or dads) are wired. The "mom target market" has moved light years ahead of "Mad Men" mentality. It's time for brands and agencies to get ahead of the curve and adapt their strategies to reach and engage moms with an authentic voice in a two-way conversation.

"The great secret of succeeding in conversation is to admire little, to hear much." Benjamin Franklin

MomTV Needs Your Vote! Mashable Open Web Awards

2009-11-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of year when we start thinking about our family and friends and what we are thankful for. It is with a full heart that I want to tell each of you how thankful we are here at MomTV to have you share your passion, family and expertise with the MomTV community and by supporting our LIVE web shows that happen every day of the week.

Thanks to your continued support (and great feedback), we now have over 70 live web shows making us a real - live "Social TV" online network. It's my hope that by the end of January we will have also grown to 100 live web shows. As a community we are collectively ahead of the other social networking sites in what we are doing with the live web shows and our community sharing and support.

Over the past month, I had the privilege to speak at events like Digital Hollywood, where the MomTV concept was met with shock and awe (in a good way), and I have also been speaking with leading brands and agencies about how to engage with the MomTV audience and have an authentic voice and be part of the live, engaging conversations we have here every day. We have two awesome site sponsors now withLogitech (webcams/headsets) and Creative Labs (pocket video cameras) and who knows who else will join us as we revolutionize the way brands market. (they also give back to us with special discounted pricing on their products for the MomTV community - click on their names for more info).

Right now - MomTV is one of the top 5 finalists for the Mashable Open Web Awards: Best Online TV Network: You can help us win by:

Vote for us today and every day through 15 December 2009 http://mashable.com/owa/votes?v=&c=22 (you can promote us on your blog or website by embedding the vote for button if you'd like) and it would be helpful to tweet it out to your followers as well. (you can vote every day if you really want to).

Thanks again for your ongoing support of our community! We would love to invite you to connect with ideas to make it better.

OH ->> and watch out for some very cool promotions we have coming up for awesome giveaways in time for Holiday Giving! And be sure to comment & rate when you watch or read posts/videos cause you get points that you can turn in for rewards!!

Have a wonder-filled Friday!

Best,

Stephanie

The Difference Being a Mom Makes

2009-10-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

What do women want?

Having kids changes your life. It may also change your feelings about online marketing, according to the “What Women Want Consumer Survey” by Prospectiv.

More moms than women without children said they did not mind seeing online discounts and coupons for products that interested them, and moms were less likely to report skipping over such offers. Mothers also reported trusting online coupons more than female Internet users without children.

When asked what they would like to see in marketing e-mails, 45% of moms said they wanted information relevant to their lifestyle, and another 21% said they wanted to see “anything they send me.” Women without children were much pickier: 35% did not want any information at all, while 30% were interested in messages pertaining to their lifestyle.

There is a lot of buzz around mommy bloggers, but Prospectiv data suggests marketers may be overestimating their usefulness. Just 1% of moms surveyed thought blogs were the most effective way to promote a brand, compared with 47% who favored product samples offered online and 40% who preferred coupons.

Female Internet users without children actually liked blogs better than moms did—but blogs still came in near the bottom of the list.

Samples were also effective as a purchase driver: 39% of all female Internet users told the research firm they would be most apt to buy a product after trying it out. Sales and discounts would get about three in 10 women (31%) to purchase. Notably, females without children were twice as likely as moms to say they would pick something up based on a personal recommendation from a friend, family member or co-worker.

The MomTV Online Network - 60 LIVE Weekly Shows with More on the Way

2009-10-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ever since we started MomTV, we were excited to provide a platform for moms with passions, expertise, causes to be able to have a place where they can share with others - network live and in real-time. We started using Twitter to promote our site and the live web shows that we started with and over time we have been growing every month with new visitors, community members, and MomTV show hosts - including adding Dads to the mix.

We believe MomTV is the start of the conversation. We would love to have you join us and vote for us as the BEST TV Online Network for the Mashable Open Web Awards- as it represents YOU our members, friends, show hosts - a collaboration of parents - sharing friendship online on a platform that empowers us all.

The Difference Being a Mom Makes

2009-10-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER 12, 2009

What do women want?

Having kids changes your life. It may also change your feelings about online marketing, according to the “What Women Want Consumer Survey” by Prospectiv.

Female Internet users without children actually liked blogs better than moms did—but blogs still came in near the bottom of the list.

2009-10-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

Understanding the New FTC Guidelines

View more documents from Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

From MediaPost's Engage Moms: WIIFM: Keeping Up With Moms

2009-10-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

by Stephanie Piche, Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 8:47 AM

When I worked as a marketing strategist for several startups in Silicon Valley, I did my homework and built ROI (return-on-investment) models to show how the technology we were pitching actually saved money and made you more productive. Successful B2B (business-to-business) marketing strategies apply the WIIFM principle (what's in it for me) to engage the client.

This was the lesson I learned early on in my career: If you want to engage the corporate client, you need to start by listening and understanding its workflow and problems before you can provide a better process or technology to streamline its operations. The net result of delivering on the WIIFM model is a happy client who can now do more for less.

As a mom, that's what I've looked for in the partners that I've chosen to shop with, the ones that can help me do more, for less (time and money).

In the mid '90s, I started shopping online to gain time back from my work and travel schedule. The convenience of e-stores saved me time as I could order the items needed on the Internet while away from home and, in return, I had more time for my family.

Many of my family and friends thought I was nuts for buying something that I didn't try on or touch and for putting my credit card out there. Merchants got wise to these fears quickly and engaged security providers to ensure SSL encryption along with great return policies. We've come a long way over the past 12+ years with personalized email marketing for opt-in subscribers, rewards programs, coupon codes, rebates, recurring shipments, and the best of all, free shipping (my favorite).

Now that's how you engage and gain adoption, make it easy to save time, money and reduce waste through electronic communications that I ask for.

As an uber-geek Mom, the adoption of new technology and services that enable me to do more in my day comes with one minor pitfall ... I keep adding more to my day as my productivity increases. But that's what moms do; we adopt new ways to do more in our day.

Looking beyond the social revolution, going mobile is the next frontier for those seeking to engage with the mom on the go.

Why mobile? According to The Nielsen Company (Sept 30, 2009), mobile Internet users are up 34% to over 56.9 million in the U.S. The biggest gain is the 9 percentage points of growth for female users putting them at 47%. Two key things that women are utilizing mobile web access and apps for: shopping and social networking.

A huge benefit of mobile for me is that brands are starting to figure out that moms really don't have hours to clip coupons every week, that's so June Cleaver! As much as we love to save money, more and more of us want to do it on the go.

One of my favorite iPhone apps is called Yowza. It's free and not only does it carry local deals but it counts up the dollars that I save, and that's a huge warm-fuzzy! There are also cool services like Cellfire that store your coupons on your club card. You simply go to the Internet and click on the product coupons that you intend to use (look Ma, no clipping).

Then there are the merchant programs that offer coupon codes for discounts and free shipping along with the ones that pay you back with rebates like Drugstore.com and Ebates.com. I also love sites like K9cuisine.com, where I can set up a regular shipment of the same dog food I buy every month and they will auto ship it.

You have the technology, you can use it to help you engage - WIIFM is not just for B2B marketing ... now more than ever: What's in it for Moms?

The New York Comedy Festival Presents: "You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up... A Love Story"

2009-10-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

MomTV show hosts Perform @ Tribeca Mainstage November 5th

After thirteen years of marriage, Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn have found out that “We’re just not that into us.” Though the secrets of happily-ever-after might not be revealed in this live love story, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up is a humorous, surprising and honest take on love and relationships, adapted from Annabelle and Jeff’s forthcoming memoir of the same title, which will be released in February 2010.

"So funny because it is so accurate. Kahn and Gurwitch illuminate the insanity of marriage. They make you want to embrace your spouse for the same reason you want to strangle them."~ Ben Stiller

“Although, after 11 1/2 years of pure, uninterrupted marital bliss, I don't relate at all to the subject matter, I still found Jeff and Annabelle's book to be hilarious.”
~Judd Apatow

Date & Time: Thu, Nov 5, 2009, 8:00pm

Location: 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street Directions

Venue: 92YTribeca Mainstage

Price: $12.00

For tickets, go to the NY Comedy Festival web site or 92YTribeca:

http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92Tri+92YTribeca+Comedy888&productid=T%2DMM5CM02<http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92Tri+92YTribeca+Comedy888&productid=T%2DMM5CM02>

Three Screens of Increased Viewing

2009-09-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

TV, Internet, mobile: up, up, up

Americans are consuming more video content across their three screens—television, Internet and mobile—according to The Nielsen Company.

The research firm’s “A2/M2 Three Screen Report—2nd Quarter 2009” indicates the screen to gain the most US video viewers was mobile, with a 70% year-over-year increase. Traditional television viewing climbed by 0.9% between Q2 2008 and Q2 2009, while online video viewing was up significantly in June (due to changes in methodology, online figures should be used for directional purposes only). Timeshifted TV viewing was on the rise as well, with 32.2% more viewers in Q2 2009 than the prior year.

Most video viewing channels also saw quarterly gains. Traditional television, however, is subject to seasonal viewing patterns that led to a decrease from Q1 2009 to Q2 2009, despite the rise over 2008.

Americans spent significantly more time watching video content on the Internet in June 2009 than a year earlier. Average mobile viewing was down 10%, however, with mobile subscribers watching 3 hours and 15 minutes of video per month. Consumers also reported watching more than 141 monthly hours of traditional TV, and 7 hours and 16 minutes of timeshifted TV per month.

Nielsen emphasized that consumers were adding screen time, rather than simply replacing one screen with another. The report noted that 57% of Americans with Internet access at home multitasked at least monthly by using the Web and TV at the same time.

“Though this two-screen, simultaneous usage amounts to just 3% of their TV viewing, it already represents more than a quarter of their at-home internet usage (28%),” according to the report. “This simultaneous activity is one reason we see continued growth of both Internet and TV consumption.”

Another look at technological adoption and media consumption habits of Americans comes from “The State Of Consumers And Technology: Benchmark 2009, US” report from Forrester Research. According to the study, 25% of US households have a DVR, facilitating timeshifted television viewing.

Forrester also found that consumers spend an average of 8 hours per week with traditional media such as television and newspapers, and another 8 hours per week with new media, including the Internet. Despite the even split across the board, those under age 40 spend an average of about 2 hours more per week with new media than traditional.

Cutest Kid Photo Contest ~ Win a HD Vado Video Pocket Camera

2009-09-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Contest starts Sept 20th and runs through October 4th 2009. Winner will be announced on Monday October 5th.

Contest rules:

1. Upload your child's photo age 0 - 10 years old - only one entry per child / no limit per family - must be current within the last 6 months

2. Tell us about the photo briefly and post it to the Creative Vado Group with the words: "Creative Vado Contest Entry: Please Vote!"

3. If you have a blog, post your photo entry on your blog post and get votes from your viewers, be sure to put the link in your entry HERE so we can see how many votes you are getting.

4. If you have a twitter account - be sure to tweet the contest out directing them preferably to your entry on MomTV and use @CreativeLabs and #momtv in your tweets. (example: "Please vote for my child to win the @CreativeLabs #MomTV cutest kid photo contest http://is.gd/3t3yr ~ enter your child today!")

5. The top 10 will be selected and posted at for more exposure for the final day of voting at MomTV's sister site, NewBaby.com, on MomTV and NewBaby.com's FaceBook pages.

6. One winner will be selected and will be awarded the Grand Prize of a Creative Labs HD Vado pocket video camera valued at $229.

Contest starts Sept 20th and runs through October 4th 2009. Winner will be announced on Monday October 5th.

Capture life in HD

See it, shoot it, share it - capture life's unforgettable moments in high-definition clarity and share them online with Creative's Vado HD Pocket Video Cam. The thin, lightweight Vado HD is small enough to fit in a pocket, purse or the palm of your hand, and easily captures video in 720p high-definition quality with just the touch of a button. The Creative Vado HD is the only pocket video camera to feature high quality HDMI connectivity and an included HDMI cable that provides 1080i output to an HDTV.

Capture high-definition video
Record all your fun moments at an HD video resolution of up to 1280x720p! With the wide-angle glass lens, you can also capture wider scenes and more action in your videos. This precision-engineered glass lens produces sharper and clearer images, giving you professional-looking videos. Vado HD also has 2x digital zoom and works great in dim environments.

2 hours of recording and playback
Simply start and stop recording with the touch of a button. Record up to 2 hours¹ of stunning HD plus quality video, up to 4 hours¹ of HD quality video or up to 8 hours of video at VGA resolution. The large 8GB internal memory¹ and three recording modes give you the freedom to choose the video quality that's best for you.

Connect and share in an instant
Simply plug in Vado HD's flexible USB tab and post your videos directly onto popular web sites such as YouTube™, Photobucket or Box.net with the built-in Vado Central software. You can even save your great quality video clips to your computer for a lifetime of memories.

Edit movies and snap photos
Make and edit your own short movies, or capture snapshots in still and burst mode with the built-in Vado Central software.

Playback video on your HDTV
Connect your Vado HD camcorder to any HDTV with the included HDMI cable and enjoy your videos in 1080i HD quality.

High-quality video compression
The latest H.264 video compression technology provides unprecedented video quality at ultra-efficient file sizes for the best possible viewing experience. Record up to 4 times more videos, compared to MPEG-4 encoded ones.

Large 2", antiglare screen
Set up the perfect shot, review clips onscreen or show them off to friends. Keep the videos you like; delete the ones you don't.

Rechargeable for hours of fun
Enjoy 2 hours of recording and playback with the Lithium-ion battery²; simply recharge via USB. Need more time? The battery is even removable so you can change out for a fresh one.

Total Online Video Streams up 41% from Last Year

2009-09-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2009

The Nielsen Company today reported overall online video usage and top online brands ranked by video streams for August 2009. Year-over-year, unique viewers, total streams, streams per viewer and time per viewer were up, led by a 41 percent growth in total streams.

Overall Online Video Usage (U.S.)
	August 2009	Year-Over-Year	Month-Over-Month
Unique Viewers (000)	139,176	18.00%	2.40%
Total Streams (000)	11,363,819	41.00%	1.50%
Streams per Viewer	81.7	19.60%	-0.80%
Time per Viewer (min)	204.9	38.60%	-3.20%
Source: The Nielsen Company

Top Online Brands ranked by Video Streams for August 2009 (U.S.)
RANK	Video Brand	Total Streams (000)	Unique Viewers (000)
1	YouTube	7,188,638	107,730
2	Hulu	392,545	9,894
3	Yahoo!	226,601	28,402
4	MSN/WindowsLive/Bing	180,603	17,244
5	Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network	158,790	6,376
6	Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network	151,606	7,826
7	Fox Interactive Media	149,304	14,823
8	Disney Online	103,992	9,524
9	MTV Networks Music	102,021	6,227
10	Blinkx	94,728	425
Source: The Nielsen Company

Note: Effective with June 2009 data reporting, Nielsen has made several enhancements to the VideoCensus service, including a panel that is 8 times larger, more granular reporting and improved accuracy and representativeness. These enhancements provide the highest quality data to our clients and the marketplace. For some sites, trending of previously-reported data with current results may show percentage differences attributable to these product enhancements and should only be compared directionally.

VideoCensus Methodology and Metrics:
Nielsen Online’s VideoCensus combines patented panel and census research methodologies to provide an accurate count of viewing activity and engagement along with in-depth demographic reporting. Online video viewing is tracked according to video player, which can be used on site or embedded elsewhere on the Web. For example, if a “Saturday Night Live” clip from NBC.com is embedded on a personal blog, that video would be attributed to NBC because of the NBC video player.

A unique viewer is anyone who viewed a full episode, part of an episode or a program clip during the month. A stream is a program segment. VideoCensus measurement does not include video advertising.

Save Big on the Go with Yowza!

2009-09-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

POPULAR FREE MOBILE COUPONING APP. YOWZA!! CO-CREATED BY HEROES’ STAR, GREG GRUNBERG, LAUNCHES YOWZA!! VERSION 2.0 WITH ADVANCED FEATURES AND MORE RETAIL PARTNERS

New Version– Including Maps, Push Notifications, New Offer Alerts at Consumers’ Favorite Stores, Better Social Media Integration & More – is Now Available for Free via the iTunes App. Store and can be used on iPhone and iPod Touch Devices

Los Angeles, CA – September 9, 2009 –Yowza!! (www.getyowza.com) has announced the launch of Version 2.0 of its free mobile couponing application is designed to save consumers money and stimulate retail business.

Yowza!! removes the need to clip coupons or print out emails with promo codes by offering deals directly to the mobile device. Users can search for nearby, participating retailers either via zip code or by using the device’s built-in GPS to find stores within 1, 5, 15, 25 or even 50 miles of their current location. Once an offer is selected, a mobile coupon code or scan-able barcode can be redeemed at checkout.

Yowza!! Version 2.0 makes saving even easier. New features include the "My Stores" tab which lets the user keep track of their favorite stores and the number of new offers available at that particular location and push notifications that can be sent to the phone every time a favorite store adds a new offer, even when the application is closed. Yowza!! Version 2.0 also provides users with integrated maps: simply rotate the phone 90 degrees and a road map with all of the nearby retailers will appear making it even easier to get to a specific store and save money.

Another new addition, "Share your Savings," allows users to pass information on about the amount of money they have saved using Yowza!! – using social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as via e-mail.

“We have gotten a great deal of feedback from our consumer users and retail partners – via social media, email and personal conversations, and – we are excited about how the new features will add to the overall mobile couponing experience for all parties,” said Greg Grunberg, co-creator of Yowza!! “We are building off of our successful launch to add new features that all of our retailer partners can now take advantage of.”

Yowza!! downloads have increased an average of 46% every month since its launch, and more than 200 merchants – in over 10,000 locations – are now participating. Retailers who have partnered with Yowza!! since its June launch include Sports Chalet, Loehmann’s, Madison Square Garden, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, Cirque du Soleil, Maria’s Italian Kitchen, Lobster Festival Weekend and Concerts, Little Joe’s Famous Pizza, San Jose Earthquakes, Vans Stores, Pat & Oscar’s Restaurants, 17th Street Café, Killer Dana Surf Shop, Shore Club Miami Beach and Spa at Shore Club, Sears Hometown and Hardware Stores, Plaza Hotel & Suites, additional Aveda Salon and Spa locations and Guitar Center stores nationwide.

They join these retailers on the cutting edge of the growing mobile couponing trend: Pier 1 Imports, Sears, Sports Authority, McDonald’s, Polacheck’s Jewelers, Finish Line, ESPN Zone, The Container Store, Islands Restaurant, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, REI, Saks Fifth Avenue, Regency Shopping Centers, California Pizza Kitchen, American Golf Corporation, Cavallo Point Lodge, Marmalade Café, Traditional Jewelers, American Car Movers, Aveda Salon/Spa, Inner You Pilates, JRK Hotel Group, Cheeseburger Restaurants, Kiehl’s, Midway Car Rental, Santana Row Lifestyle Center, Seaton, Jill Roberts and Paige Premium Denim as well as Sysco, a national wholesale distributor with sales and service relationships with approximately 400,000 customers in the foodservice industry.

Jeff Haddox, Direct Marketing Analyst, Pier 1 Imports said, “The Yowza mobile application has allowed Pier 1 Imports to target potential customers within the vicinity of a particular store location. This enhanced targeting allows us to speak in a more concise and relevant manner regarding the event and pricing of an individual store.”

About Yowza!!
Founded by television and film writer/producer/actor Greg Grunberg (currently starring in NBC’s Heroes), along with technology entrepreneurs August Trometer and Rick Yaeger, and launched in June 2009, Yowza!! is an innovative mobile couponing application designed to save consumers money and stimulate retail businesses. Yowza!! is currently available in the U.S. as a free application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. Yowza!! provides consumers with deals and discounts while also giving businesses the ability to monitor performance on an up-to-the-minute basis. Unlike traditional forms of couponing such as newspaper ads and insertions, Yowza!! offers can be updated instantly and targeted per region or particular store location and are environmentally-friendly.

For more information on Yowza!!, visit www.getyowza.com or www.twitter.com/yowza.

Notice: Annie’s Family Fund

2009-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Reprinted From Mommy Brain Reports:

Sep-3-2009 By Monica

A very dear friend of mine lost a family member this past week. You might know her as @CraftyMamaof4… Her cousin’s baby Annie was taken back to Heaven after just 2 months here on Earth. Her passing has just crushed the hearts of so many people I know.. many who have never even met her. She is a sweet angel now.
Another very good friend (@PlusSizeMommy) has started a donation fund for Annie’s Family. As you can imagine, with Annie being born preemie, and then passing after just 2 short months, her family is going through a whirlwind of emotions right now. Funerals and burials are very expensive, and she is trying to help in any way she can.
I spoke to her this evening, and am going to get together a little memorial care package for the family.
If you are able, it would be appreciated if you could donate anything you can. 100% of the donations will go directly to Annie’s Family.
To read more about Annie’s journey back to Heaven, go to CraftyMamaof4’s website.

If you’d like to make a donation, please donate via the widget below. I’ll also add it to my sidebar to make it easier to find… All funds are going directly to a Paypal account for the family.

Thank you so much!

Do You Know Who’s on Twitter?

2009-08-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

AUGUST 28, 2009

Demographics and usage habits of the microblogging crowd

Twitter has experienced explosive growth in 2009. According to “An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World,” from Sysomos, 72.5% of all Twitter users joined the service in the first five months of this year. Who are they?

More than one-half of all Twitter users (53%) are women, and the majority are young. Among users who disclose their age, 66% are under 25, and another 15% are ages 25 to 29.

Most Twitter users are quiet: 85.37% tweet less than once per day. Only about 1.1% of users update their timeline an average of more than 10 times daily. This means a small group of users dominate the Twitter timeline—75% of all Twitter activity comes from just 5% of users.

Not surprisingly, the more followers a user has, the more that person tweets. Sysomos reported that the average number of daily updates rises from three to six among users with more than 1,000 followers. But relatively few users are that popular. In fact, almost 94% of Twitter users have fewer than 100 followers. Just 0.68% reach the thousand-follower mark.

The situation is very similar in the other direction. The vast majority of users (92.4%) follow fewer than 100 other microbloggers. Less than 1% subscribe to the feeds of at least 1,000 others. Among users who identified themselves as marketers, the numbers were significantly higher: 15% follow more than 2,000 people.

Marketers are also more likely to update than the average Twitter user. More than 65% post less than once daily—significantly better than the 85.4% overall figure. Another 6.3% of social media marketers post twice per day (compared with 2.8% overall), and 4.3% post at least nine updates per day (versus 1.31% overall).

Be a power user—follow eMarketer on Twitter.

Making Real-Time Connections: Moms Are Wired Differently

2009-08-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Piche, Aug 26, 2009 10:46 AM

As evidenced throughout history, women have been very influential in shaping civilization. In 10,000 BC, they were the first food gathers and initiated agriculture, a/k/a grocery shopping. They've used their empathizing and mentalistic skills to anticipate and understand the needs of others, while using their socializing skills to integrate with neighboring clans for marriage, and making friends and allies by connecting through story telling, a/k/a word-of-mouth.

Harvard professor and historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich chronicled the role of women in the household and how it affected the local market economy back in the 1700s in her book, A Midwife's Tale: The life of Martha Ballard based on her diary, 1785 - 1812, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize.

It's no surprise that moms control over 85% of the household income, which, according to some research, is valued at $3.1 trillion in annual spending. Compared to our current national debt of $11.7 trillion, that's a staggering amount of power.

Women as a whole are a powerful entity in our society. Sometimes, people forget this, including women themselves.

Throughout history, women have been taking on more tasks at home, school and work while looking for ways to multi-task more efficiently and stay connected.

One growing trend for moms is socializing online. Through the use of social media sites, blogging, and text messaging (mobile and Twitter), women are making more connections. With that said, more moms are going beyond Twitter connections for real-time socializing to using media such as streaming video.

Earlier this year, for the first National Moms Nite Out event, created by Maria Bailey of BlueSuitMom.com and attended by thousands of women across the country off- and online, MomTV.com launched with several "live" streaming video parties from Los Angeles to New York, including a mom makeover with Audrey McClelland of MomGenerations.com and the first "live" streaming video show on saving money with Shynea from the PennyPinchingDiva.com blog. Since May, the demand for more "live" mom-themed streaming shows on the site has grown to over 50 weekly hour-long shows where the host can connect with viewers in real-time via text and video chat.

Last November, comScore found that over 75% of Internet users watch video online, and Brian Pickens of Ipsos Media recently said, "The digital video revolution is no longer centered on short clips via YouTube." His firm also attributes the uptick to the growth of video streaming web sites.

Looking towards the future, conferences like Digital Hollywood, which covers broadband, TV, movies, gaming, advertising, and social media, offer tracks on streaming video and tying in brands that are looking to create that next great user experience for today's consumer.

Are we already there?

It will be interesting to watch as this trend starts to build more momentum in the coming months; a Pew Internet survey earlier this year showed 62% watched video while 46% used a social networking site.

Have moms pushed the envelope in tackling live video chat while using other streaming tools like TinyChat, Snazl, Skype and Logitech Vid? Which brands will join this revolution and engage in real-time video chat with moms as they continue to grow in numbers using these tools to make connections?

Marketers Court Female Bloggers

2009-08-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

AUGUST 13, 2009

Know your audience

Many marketers now comfortable with social media and the power of online product reviews have also started to lose their timidity about approaching bloggers.

In fact, some women bloggers report marketers may be becoming overeager.

Ketchum, conducting a survey of registrants for July’s annual BlogHer conference—billed as the largest gathering of female bloggers in North America—found that nearly one-half of respondents were contacted by PR professionals weekly. A further 30% got such messages on a daily basis.

Some of that contact, however, appears to be unwanted. Respondents to the Ketchum study indicated that marketers were not doing the necessary research when looking to stir up online word-of-mouth about their products.

One tip: Women would like marketers to read and understand their blogs before making contact, to make sure they are a good fit with the product or service being marketed. Some bloggers reported hearing about offers that were not even available in their location.

Also, despite the “mommy blogger” buzz, not all female bloggers fit that category.

ShesConnected found that more than one-half of US female social network users polled in spring 2009 had started their own blog.

“The incidence of starting a blog was exceedingly high, likely a reflection of the education level and social media involvement of these core users,” according to the report.

March 2009 data from BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners indicated that 8 million women in the US publish a blog.

The same study also found that 31% of women who read or posted to blogs did so to “provide advice and recommendations.”

Women bloggers are more than willing to help marketers out—when it makes sense to do so. About 40% of Ketchum respondents said they had provided marketers with information collected on their blogs, and 53% said they would consider doing so if asked.

“Our research at Ketchum shows that women want marketers to understand them, and the female blogger audience is saying the same thing, loud and clear,” said Kelley Skoloda of Ketchum in a statement. As with all social media, it is crucial for marketers’ blog outreach efforts to be a good fit for everyone involved: the brand, the blogger and the audience.

Word-of-Mouth Posts Big Gains

2009-08-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

AUGUST 11, 2009

Tell your friends.

Marketers are slashing many ad budgets in the downturn, with eMarketer predicting an 8.2% decline in US total media ad spending in 2009, after a 3.6% decrease last year.

Some channels continue to grow, however, including word-of-mouth. According to PQ Media, much this growth is due to the rise of new media channels, such as blogs, social networks and other online communities.

The research firm found that US word-of-mouth spending on online communities increased 26.6% in 2008 to $119 million.

Further, after 37.6% compound annual growth from 2003 to 2008, PQ Media predicts total US word-of-mouth marketing spending will keep climbing, albeit at a slower pace. They estimate word-of-mouth dollars will rise 14.5% compounded annually between 2008 and 2013.

Total word-of-mouth spending for 2009 is estimated at more than $1.7 billion, a 10.2% year-over-year increase.

“Despite impressive growth in the industry, word-of-mouth remains just a fraction of the overall advertising and marketing landscape,” said Patrick Quinn, president and CEO of PQ Media, in a statement. “But double-digit growth in this economic environment is a strong sign of an increasingly prevalent role in the future.”

Consumer goods firms were the biggest spenders on word-of-mouth in 2008, with a 17.4% share of the total. The food and beverage industry contributed 12.2% of spending. Other shares were below 10%.

“The most influential marketer in a consumer’s life is someone they know and trust, such as a family member, friend or colleague,” said Mr. Quinn.

Data from Mintel supports that assertion. Among US Internet users who bought a product based on a recommendation, 34% said that recommendation came from a friend or relative. One-quarter followed the advice of a spouse or partner. (For more information, see “Whose Word-of-Mouth Matters?”)

MomTV is excited to have Mrs. P. on the Consumer Queen LIVE Thursday, August 6th @ 8 PM EST

2009-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

We are excited about Mrs. P being on the Consumer Queen's show this coming Thursday, August 6th.

Mrs. P’s ‘Be-A-Famous-Writer’ Contest Starts September 1st: Did you ever read a story and think, “I could do that!” Well, now’s your chance to prove it. Enter Mrs. P’s “Be-A-Famous-Writer” Contest. Write a story, submit it to MrsP.com – and Mrs. P herself might read your story on her website! (Judges include Dave Barry, Craig Ferguson, Diana Leszczynski, and Andre Bormanis) Learn more by watching Melissa from the ConsumerQueen.com interview Mrs. P. this Thursday on MomTV.

About Mrs. P.:
Actress Kathy Kinney (Mimi on the Drew Carey show) is now the star of a new kids entertainment website called www.MrsP.com. The site is all about reading and is unique in that it contains no advertising and is FREE. Kathy's story is fun because while she still does TV stints, like being seen in recurring roles on “My Name is Earl” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” she also started this Internet production company with several partners and created the first live action character for kids on the Internet. She is akin to being the Mr. Rogers for the broadband generation. Mrs. P also goes around the county reading to kids as schools, bookstores, book fairs, hospitals etc, just to get kids excited about reading. The website is free so all schools, libraries and children everywhere can have a great book read to them. The site also has FREE coloring sheets, activity guides, and games.

Mrs. P just won The National Parenting Center’s 2009 Seal of Approval
http://www.tnpc.com/search/tnpcarticle2.asp?rec=6263

as well as the American Library Associations recognition of MrsP.com as a Great Web Site for Kids. http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm

Disclosure Not Enough to Solve Blogola Problem

2009-07-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

BlogHer COO Says Paid Posts Should be Segregated

Produced by Hoag Levins
Published: July 20, 2009

Thousands of female bloggers are involved in producing content for BlogHer.com.
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- BlogHer.com, the online female community that logs 15 million unique visitors a month, holds its fifth annual convention in Chicago this week. And one of the things attendees will be buzzing about in the corridors is the growing debate over blogola. In a pre-conference interview, BlogHer co-founder and COO Elisa Camahort Page said a blogger's mere disclosure that she is accepting money, freebies or perks to include product mentions in a post is not enough to solve the problem.

Follow link to video interview:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370868150/bctid30004519001

BlogHer - BowlHer - MomTV will be Streaming LIVE from both!

2009-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

If you are attending BlogHer 09 in Chicago, look for the cameraman...

Don't worry! If you aren't able to attend (like me, MomTV Stephanie) we're streaming LIVE each afternoon with Maria Bailey and special co-hosts Danielle Smith from ExtraOrdinaryMommy.com and Trisha Haas from MomDot with recaps of the day. We also have moms capturing video which they will share on MomTV and NewBaby.com as well.

We are also streaming LIVE from BowlHer 09 - where we will capture the event from the red carpet for the opening (so you can see all your Mom blogger friends) and some of the cool events planned during the evening. We will have 6 parties streaming LIVE with us like we did on the MomTV launch for Mom's Nite Out on May 7th.

You won't want to miss MomTV! Check out the schedules on our LIVE Shows page!

40% of "iUsers" Accessing Internet From Mobile More Than From Computer

2009-07-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

According to AdMob, there are many similarities between iPhone and iPod touch users in the US, especially in the demographic makeup of each group in areas such as age and household income. iPhone users are generally older. 69% of iPod touch users are between 13-24 years of age, while this same age segment represents just 26% of iPhone users. 31% of iPhone users are 35-49 years old, while only 12% of iPod touch users fall in this age segment. In total, 74% of iPhone users are over the age of 25, compared to 31% of iPod touch users.

User Age of iPhone & iPod Owners (January thru May, 2009, % of Users)

Source: admob/comScore, July 2009

The research also found that 5 in 10 consumers on both iPhone and iPod touch devices use the mobile Web more frequently than they read printed newspapers. More than 40% reported using the Internet on their mobile device more often than using the Internet from their computers or listening to the radio.

User Media Consumption Patterns, iPhone and iTouch (January thru May, 2009, % of Segment)

Use mobile web more than they:

Source: admob/comScore, July 2009

Loftlon Worth, vice president, comScore, concludes that "... (it is) important for marketers to understand the mobile landscape and the characteristics of the users of a particular platform or mobile device.. "

Additional findings from the study:

* More than 70% of users on both the iPhone and iPod touch are male
* 78% of iPhone users have an annual household income of at least $25,000, compared to only 66% of iPod touch users
* 46% of iPhone users have children, compared to only 28% of iPod touch users

In the next six months:

* 57% of iPhone users plan to purchase clothing, 47%, entertainment and 45%, travel
* 61% of iPod Touch users plan to purchase clothing, 53%, entertainment and 36%, cell phones

The total sample size of iPod touch participants is 3,848, while the total number of participants in the iPhone sample is 3,454. All results were tested for statistically significant differences at the 95% confidence level.

How To Build Mom Brand Evangelists

2009-07-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

By Cynthia Nelson Thursday, July 9, 2009

It's no big news that moms are word-of-mouth mavens. From the beginning of time, women have been the communicators and the central point of all things home and family.
Luckily for advertisers, women have many facets (think diamond) that influence her ability to be a sparkling evangelist for a particular brand, product or service. The role of wife, mother, sister, aunt, chef, chauffeur, maid, teacher, referee, family CFO, PTA volunteer, and nurse all play a part in the products that she engages with at a particular life stage and how the success or failure is communicated to her peers.

With the advances in technology, access to the Internet, and now the near blinding growth of social networking, mom blogs, Twitter, etc., there are endless ways in which moms can talk about and influence other moms about your brand.

In our most recent study, which included over 10,000 Hispanic moms with children 0-5 in the home, over 50% of them said that they reach out to friends and family for advice -- this means they are having daily conversations about what products to buy, what works as a parent, what doesn't and where to find the brands, products and services that meet her family's needs.

If you are interested in developing Hispanic mom evangelists, below are valuable tips to finding success:

Be Careful What You Ask, You Might Not Like the Answer

Opening up your brand to consumer-to-consumer comments, blogs, forums, questions and comments is a scary and daunting task for most brands. Many times, we've drunk so much of our own Kool Aid -- meaning that we think our brand, product or service is already amazing -- we are not really ready to hear negative comments or air any dirty laundry in public.

One way to prepare your company for some potentially uncomfortable moments is develop a Social Media Strategy. The first thing to understand is that it is not the technology that you should be concerned about -- be it Facebook, Twitter, email, your own forum, call center or other method of consumer interaction -- but rather what as a brand you really want to get out of the conversation. And, to many brands, this means that engagement and a skin in the game from not only marketing, but also technology/development, R&D, Sales and Operations must be engaged and share a vested interest in understanding and being part of the strategy.

Developing a solid strategy includes not only definition of the target consumer, but also testing and measurement criteria and takes time, energy and leadership. Like social networking itself, your Social Media Strategy is a multi-layered and fluid community of key decision makers, influencers, and lots of players on the bench. It is also not a one-time, linear event -- if you are lucky it will evolve, grow, fail, change and continue to morph over time.

Ready, Set, Engage

Step One -- go fish where the fish are. The ability to quickly identify and leverage consumers who are already listening to you and are engaged in your brand is vital to starting up the conversation.

Step Two -- get personal. Rather than starting the first engagement about the brand itself, it is much more valuable to position the conversation around the life stage or facet of life where she engages with the brand. Think of it as consumer dating.

Some examples of appropriate consumer dating could include:

Interact with her where she lives -- Twitter, Facebook, whatever. Where she lives is where you should live with her. This may mean that your social strategy has different types of moms engaged at different times and with different points of view.
Be crystal clear about your relationship's intentions. Define what you are looking for from her, how long it will take, and what she may receive as part of the interaction.
Always acknowledge her issues with your brand quickly and honestly. You don't need to provide a solution but rather just a channel for her to open up and share.
Happy Moms Make Good Evangelists

Building a loyal, viral and active mom evangelist happens over time. By putting mom in the driver's seat, you'll gain valuable insights into her habits while placing your brand in the discussion. Keep these tips in mind:

Continue the relationship as you come out with new products or work on new campaigns to ensure relevant messages and continued trust.
Offer giveaways for moms and those who they influence (friends, family, their social network).
Make sure all conversations speak to not at your moms to keep them coming back for more.
Listen, listen, and listen. Repite por favor.

Save Money on the Go with your iPhone with Yowza!

2009-07-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Launch Yowza!! on your iPhone or iPod Touch and it automatically finds deals and coupons for stores right in your area!

Special Interview with Actor Greg Grunberg

Watch the replay with Danielle Smith from the popular blog, ExtraOrdinaryMommy.com on her interview with Greg (click to watch on MomTV).

Actor, Greg Grunberg, star of shows such as Heroes, Felicity, and Alias, and leader of Band From TV, has launched his cause: Talk About It. TalkAboutIt.org is a new website created to educate the world about seizures and epilepsy on behalf of the 50 million people around the globe, who are cope with the condition, including his oldest son. Greg is also the co-founder of Yowza!!

Forrester Revises Interactive Outlook, Will Account For 21% Of Marketing By 2014

2009-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Interactive marketing expenditures will reach $55 billion by 2015, accounting for 21% of all marketing spending, according to a new forecast released this morning by Forrester Research.

The absolute dollar expenditures are essentially the same as one the research firm released in April, but it has revised interactive marketing's share of total advertising spending, reflecting the downward shift in expenditures for other media since then. Based on Forrester's new outlook, interactive's share of total marketing budgets will rise nine percentage points from its estimate of 12% this year.

"To me, the most interesting takeaway from the research is that overall advertising budgets will decline," Forrester analyst Shar VanBoskirk posted on the company's blog. "Yep. With dollars moving out of traditional media toward less expensive and more efficient interactive tools, marketers will actually need less money to accomplish their current advertising goals. But reasonable marketers won't relinquish budget because their programs are running too efficiently. Instead, marketers will allocate unused advertising dollars into investments like innovation, research, customer service, customer experiences, and marketing-specific technology and IT staff, in order to further marketing's strategic influence within their companies."

The greatest growth is projected to come from social media, which is forecast to rise to $3.113 billion in 2014 from $716 million this year.

The next biggest growth sector will be mobile marketing, which is expected to rise to $1.274 billion in 2014 from $391 million this year.

While search, display and email marketing will continue to grow at double-digit rates over the next five years, their rate of growth is slowing, and will account for a smaller percentage of the interactive marketing stimulus, according to Forrester's estimates.