The Marketing Strategist, Michal Clements

Skype Makes it Easy for Mom

Michal Clements — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:47 -0500

Staying Connected to Her Child is a High Priority for Mom—and Skype Makes it Simple

Skype, the popular telephone and videophone software service, allows users, including moms and their adult children, to inexpensively stay in touch. All Skype calls between devices are free, including computers, smart phones and tablets. There are also paid options that allow for calls to telephone lines. In May 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion. Use of Skype has climbed steadily since its introduction in mid-2004. At present, Microsoft estimates nearly 47 million uses. Parents make up 45.8% of users, and 53.7% are women—so there are a lot of moms using Skype. By sharing these demographics, Microsoft is clearly petitioning advertisers who target parents and families. We have many stories of moms using Skype to stay in touch with remote family members and share the latest developments in their lives. With the average Skype call lasting 27 minutes, users clearly are communicating at a deeper level than a quick text message or Facebook post. An example comes from Susan, who uses Skype to call her in-laws each week. Susan and her husband Rob, parents of an elementary schoolchild, setup Rob’s parents in Italy with a webcam and Skype so that “Nonno” and Nonna” can share in their granddaughter’s life:

“Every Saturday morning, we call Italy computer-to-computer through Skype. Julia loves to show off her toys to her little cousin Emily and say ‘ciao’ to all her aunts and uncles. It means so much to us that Julia can still be seeing her family in Italy every week and really knowing who they are. She constantly talks about Nonno and Nonna, and her memories of being there on their farm stay fresher she she can see and talk to them regularly.”

When an adult child is highly mobile, say, when touring a foreign country, Skype can play a useful role. We met a mom of a 21-year-old who proudly reported that her daughter used Skype and McDonald’s free Wi-Fi service in Europe with her netbook to keep her mom posted of her travels. Another example comes from out interview with Julie, a mom of a toddler. Julie reported using Skype to keep in touch with her husband on a daily basis while he served in Iraq:

“My son has grown up with technology. When he was a baby and my husband was deployed, we would get on Skype every day. So as a baby, he saw his dad every day on Skype. When my husband came home from deployment, Andrew recognized him. It was the greatest thing ever.”

Leslie also uses Skype for communicating with family in the military:

“I Skype with my family during events and holidays. When we have a family dinner, we usually Skype with my nephew who is in the US Air Force.”

Skype’s marketing approach during its early years has been well-documented. The first focus was on a benefit known to have great appeal to moms—namely a product that works well and is easy to use. As Nils Hammar, a former Skype employee, writes in his 2007 research paper “Skype: Reasons for Growth,” documenting the early history of Skype:

“The first version of Skype’s website was just as simple as the software. No technical or complicated words—focus on getting people to understand the benefits, and download and try out the product. The original tagline was simple: ‘Free Internet Telephony that Just Works’… the focus for the development team was all about ‘delighting the user’ and to make sure usability and call quality kept improving.”

Skype drove its growth with a combination of public relations and viral marketing, but with the rise of Apple’s iDevices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and built-in FaceTime, Skype faces competition that strikes right in its main focus—ease of use. Although FaceTime can only be used between users of Apple devices, as these devices become more widespread, so does the service. Jess adds:

“I do not use Skype. We use FaceTime on our iPad to see our in-laws in Wisconsin.”

FaceTime also seems to win with a perceived convenience factor. Even though Skype has an app for on-the-go calls with an iPhone, this user sees FaceTime as more convenient:

“I haven’t Skyped in months. However, I do use FaceTime on my iPhone on the go, at work, at home—usually at night.”

The name FaceTime also is a great example of putting the benefit of the product into the name. Beyond FaceTime, just last week, my daughter called me from her computer using Google Voice, another free application (within the United States). The Skype case example shows a product that quickly became popular with moms but appears to be in danger from competition that makes it even easier to stay in touch with family.

I am Dad, Hear Me Roar

Michal Clements — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:00:16 -0500

Why Brands Are Paying Attention as Dads, Led by Gen X Dads, Take on More Parenting and Household Responsibilities Like Cooking

There’s no doubt that moms see themselves in the lead for a wide variety of parenting and household responsibilities. And for many years, it was taken for granted that Mom was the primary household grocery shopper, except in a small number of households where men shared the responsibilities or in male-only households. Typically, women were estimated at 70% of primary grocery shoppers (PGS) and men at 30%. But that has changed, and brands are taking note. Today’s dads, led by Gen X dads, are taking on more household responsibilities like cooking. In fact, the Marketing to Moms Coalition found in the 2012 State of the American Mom Report that many dads (40%+), led by Gen X dads, see themselves as equally sharing in parenting responsibilities with moms. This includes areas such as grocery shopping, making meals, household cleaning, childcare, taking children to sports, and playing with children. And these dads are working as well as cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. While stay-at-home dads (estimated at 176,000, or 3.4% of stay at home parents) have received considerable recent media attention with their novel approaches to child rearing, the typical Gen X dad is working and also grocery shopping, making meals, taking children to sports, etc. While moms disagree on whether dads are doing this ‘equally’ with her, this is because of moms’ greater intensity and passion around how these tasks are done. By contrast, dads take a different approach to these tasks and aren’t necessarily competing with mom to be ‘the best.’ A good example is found in cooking and how dads approach mealtime. Recently, Kraft commissioned new research on how dads are approaching mealtime. For example, Kraft’s research found that dads see themselves as adventurous when cooking, specifically finding, “More than half (58 percent) of dads surveyed say they are adventurous or spontaneous in the kitchen.” And Kraft is incorporating these insights about dads into its innovation and marketing efforts, according to Barry Calpino, Kraft’s Vice President for Breakthrough Innovation.

"We understand that moms and dads approach meal time differently. Both are looking for inspiration, but not necessarily through the same channels or to the same end. We're excited to learn more about dads and how we can have some fun, and add some value, in their kitchens."

A recent Wall Street Journal interview with stay at home dad, Lance Somerfield, founder of New York City’s Dads Night Out also highlighted the different parenting approach. Lance mentions that he and his son take a more adventurous approach to their outings, for example taking the Sky Train to the play areas on Ellis Island. Some other points mentioned are that stay at home dads “are quicker to set aside perfectionistic child rearing routines, and are more spontaneous.” These findings seem consistent with Kraft’s findings on men overall. At the M2Moms Conference in Chicago in October 2012, a Dad marketing advocate in the conference, asked Janet Domingo Fletcher, Associate Marketing Director of P&G Global Olympics Program, what P&G’s response would be to the dad blogger backlash on the otherwise overwhelmingly successful “Thank You Mom” $500 million initiative worldwide. Janet mentioned that P&G is planning to address dads with dad-tailored approaches driven by dad-specific insights, but is avoiding overly simplistic approaches like ‘Thank You Parent.” As I’ve begun discussing these findings with business people and marketers, I’ve noticed a lot of heads nodding. Dads in the audience have told me they’ve gained new insights into their spouse’s (the moms’) more intense focus and commitment, while moms have told us they are supportive of marketing efforts that celebrate dad’s increased role. And it’s refreshing to see the often overlooked Gen X dads (and moms) leading the trend, while many marketers appear to have shifted all their attention to Millennials, overlooking the fact that most family households with kids under 18 today are headed by Gen X parents. I look forward to hearing of examples of brands that are nailing this insight with dads and moms.

Global Agriculture Manufacturer AGCO Grows B2B Social Media Strategy

Michal Clements — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:00:25 -0500

Global agriculture manufacturer AGCO owes a portion of its $10B in net sales to its progressive social media strategy. The company’s brands include Massey Ferguson, Challenger and Valtra, popular with farmers and farm machinery dealers around the world. For AGCO, social media strategy is all about connecting with their target audiences through thought leadership. Sue Otten, Former Director, Corporate Marketing & Brand Communications Worldwideand recipient of the 2011AGCO Chairman’s Award, took time to talk with me about her strategies for AGCO’s social media and shared success tips for other B2B firms seeking to get started with social media for B2B marketing. She explains:

“Thought leadership resonates with B2B. Social media is just one pipeline for AGCO’s thought leadership to reach their audiences, along with other marketing methods like sales calls, trade shows, brochures and websites.”

AGCO’s end customers, professional farmers, were already active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Before launching its own social media efforts, AGCO explored the current behaviors and found many farmers in many countries were already posting YouTube videos of their equipment with comments. And the company has eagerly engaged these users, garnering 145k Facebook fans, 7k Twitter followers and 2k YouTube subscribers. They have a winning strategy to engage audiences, with a combination of informational and entertaining content. For instance, each week on Facebook, AGCO posts a photo game, complete with nicely stylized graphics. Fans are encouraged to guess which farm machine is represented, and the game seems quite popular: The company partners with their dealers in helping them to be thought leaders for the end consumer. AGCO’s social media strategy engages dealers and offers them training, while AGCO also provides marketing tools the dealers themselves can use. One such tool is a widget, which helps dealers show fresh content on their websites without having to invest in content creation themselves. An example of this customizable widget on the website for Merz Farm Equipment shows a regularly updating blog that also promotes AGCO brand awareness:

Getting Started with Social Media Marketing for B2B

Otten, who started her career with Apple, encourages B2B firms to take social media seriously. She says:

“You need to know what your customer is saying about you, no matter if it is on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or other digital outposts, like forums and blogs. And social media puts speed on your side. You can be much more responsive to customers.”

She also shared some tips with B2B firms on how to get started with social media marketing. Here are her top three:

Define your objectives for social media. Do you want customers to value your brand as a thought leader? Are you seeking to generate demand?
Establish a listening function. Learn what customers are already saying about your brand and where they are getting their information.
Join the conversation. Develop and distribute content that your customers will value. Customers may not want all the information you can give. Determine which is the most valuable to them.

AGCO’s social media strategy is an instructive case for all B2B firms. I would encourage brands seeking to start or improve on their social media strategies to research the company’s blogging, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube efforts more deeply. Social media can be thought of as another way a B2B firm can provide thought leadership and adding value to its customers.

How Parents Use Facebook

Michal Clements — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:00:45 -0500

What Marketers Need to Know About Mom and Dad’s Most Popular Social Network

In the world of social networks, Facebook is king with moms and dads, according to Marketing to Moms Coalition’s 2012 State of the American Mom report. 73% of moms and 68% of dads regularly use Facebook, compared with much lower usage for other platforms: When broken down by age, older Millennials are more likely to use Facebook, followed by Gen Xers, younger Millennials and finally Boomers. The platform may be losing ground among younger Millennials, although a majority of all moms still regularly visit the site: These high-usage statistics should make any brand eager to include meaningful Facebook marketing strategies in their plans. As I wrote recently, Hot Mama is one retailer who heavily focuses on Facebook marketing. But what are Mom and Dad doing on Facebook? And how can marketers reach them?

What do Mom and Dad do on Facebook?

Moms are especially active on Facebook, with 45% of them visiting the site more than twice each day. They are most likely to post updates on their family life, along with pictures of family and friends. Dads use Facebook with regularity—the plurality visit the site once or twice a day. While they also post updates on family life, they are slightly more likely to post jokes, offers from companies, inspirational sayings and re-posts of news they find interesting.

Marketing to Mom and Dad on Facebook

Moms and Dads differ somewhat in their reasons for ‘liking’ a brand’s Facebook page. Over half of moms will ‘like’ a brand to receive offers and coupons. 45% of moms will enter sweepstakes, while 40% will ‘like’ a brand just to show her preference for it. Dads are more difficult to engage in this respect. They are more likely than moms to ‘like’ a brand because of a common interest or recommendation of a friend. ‘Sharing’ a brand’s Facebook post is one of the most valuable marketing activities a fan can engage in. A majority of both moms and dads will share a post to enter a promotion. Almost half of moms are willing to share just to show she likes the brand, and many will share to talk about a product or service. Dads are more likely than moms to talk with other consumers, contact customer service and register a complaint on Facebook. With so many parents on Facebook, it’s worthwhile for brands to develop different strategies for both Mom and Dad. Here’s a brief summary to get you started:

It’s easier to earn Mom’s ‘like’ and encourage her to talk about your brand. She’s eager to connect with brands that have already won her loyalty. Engage her with pictures and offers.
Dad is a tougher target, but he is equally as motivated to enter promotions for brands he already ‘likes.’ Engage him with interesting news, jokes and inspirational quotations. Address his complaints promptly, and he will share it with his friends—who are then more likely to ‘like’ your brand.

Coach Mom: What Brands Should Know About Mom and Sports

Michal Clements — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:00:46 -0500

48% of Moms are Highly Active in Elementary School Sports

Mom’s involvement is very common in supporting her child’s participation in sports during the elementary school years. Research for my book Tuning into Mom shows 60% of moms of children ages 7-12 report their child participates in sports. This high level of participation is seen among both moms of girls (57%) and moms of boys (64%). Within this context of involvement, the elementary school years are the most active and the highest point for Mom’s direct participation, including as coaches. Marketing to Moms Coalition, State of the American Mom reports 48% of moms of elementary schoolchildren report spending more than three hours a week personally attending their child’s extracurriculars, well ahead of total moms at 40%. There are a number of reasons behind Mom’s high level of participation, including the natural stage of her child’s development (vs. greater separation of middle school and teen years) and the need of many elementary school sports leagues for parent volunteers in order to function. The need for parental help in the elementary school years, and to some extent during middle school, contrasts with many high school leagues that have paid coaching or coaching from a schoolteacher. Today, in the elementary school years from a cultural standpoint, it seems almost that a mom who does not stay to attend her child’s game makes a bigger statement than a mom who does attend. While on the sidelines watching her child’s game, Mom can also exchange tips about the best training, summer camps, sports equipment, snacks and other factors related to sports. Gillian, a mom of elementary schoolchildren and a middle schoolchild, shares her family’s spring weekend schedule to show the demands of a sport’s lifestyle on her family:

“With four boys, our family life on weekends revolves around the boys’ sports schedule. This is particularly so during the spring season when they are playing both baseball and soccer. The logistics of getting all the boys where they need to be at the right time is staggering. We are glad the boys are involved in these team sports, but sometimes it seems all-consuming.”

Mom involvement in coaching is higher at the elementary school level. In the American Youth Soccer Organization, for example, the most likely age group for mom coaching involvement are age groups that include under 6, under 8 and under 10. AYSO encourages moms to get involved with extensive training programs, as coach Jennifer Boschee-Danzer recalls in the article “Mom Power:”

“When my youngest daughter started in U-6, I got a phone call that there wasn’t a coach for her team and unless they found someone, she wouldn't have a team to play on. I told the woman who called me that I didn't know enough about soccer to be a coach. She said they would teach me everything I needed to know and give me lots of support. I decided to give it a try, and haven't stopped since.”

From drills and exercises that develop skills and are fun, to equipment that works well, to game strategy, Coach Mom seeks information and appreciates brands that support her. From an interview with Dr. Martha Ewing of the Michigan State University Institute for Study of Youth Sports, we learn that there are several barriers that prevent more moms from coaching, including family time pressures, an expectation that coaches are men, and women’s lack of confidence in their coaching skills and expertise. Resources like Moms Team have sprung up to support Coach Mom, with articles such as, “Why Do Women Make Great Youth Sports Coaches?” Especially during the elementary school years, brands that encourage Mom to coach and support her in this role are appreciated. Brands should address Mom’s concerns, buoying her confidence in herself, as the AYSO has done with their training programs and Moms Team does with their research.

What Marketers Need to Know About Moms and Technology

Michal Clements — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:00:26 -0500

Mom’s top two priorities are her relationship with her child and the quality of communications with her child. She values technology because it helps her with both of these priorities. Marketing strategies need to engage with the benefits mom gets from using technology (the benefits), rather than focusing exclusively on the features (the attributes) of the products. Technology enables Mom in two ways:

It helps her communicate with her child, caregivers and significant others. As we all know, today’s technology allows for communicating in more ways than have been possible in the past—Skype, texting, Facebook, FaceTime, etc. Many moms feel that technology has allowed their family life to be as close or closer than their families were when they grew up themselves.
It helps her accomplish tasks more effectively, and makes her life easier. The iPhone’s turn-by-turn directions is a good example of this convenience, so Mom doesn’t have to locate directions before leaving her house.

Many moms also believe it is important for them to stay on top of technologies, both to communicate with their children in the way that is most effective, and as a tool to juggle their busy lives. In out interviews for Tuning Into Mom, we found most moms are highly wired, using mobile and smart phones with texting and e-mail to communicate real-time information with their children and other caregiving adults. These technologies help moms navigate complicated family calendars with working parents, divorced parents, blended families and myriad extracurricular activities. Marissa’s comments illustrate this point:

“I use a lot of technology… to keep it all together. I send Outlook appointments to my ex-husband, and he accepts them for their [kids’] calendars… I think e-mail has been very helpful for us, too. It’s a very non-emotional way for us to connect about things for the kids. I cannot believe I’m the kind of mom who actually has cell phones for both girls, but it’s just worked for us. My oldest prefers texting. She’s just in that mode and she’s at that age now where she’d prefer not to be on the phone talking to her mom. It’s not cool.” – Marissa, mom of a middle schooler and high schooler

What technologies are popular with Mom?

Among moms with whom we spoke, the mobile phone was the most popular technology for helping manage their personal lives and stay in touch. And, the Marketing to Moms Coalition’s research shows a big increase in smart phone ownership, up from 44% of moms in 2011 to 58% in 2012. And, among the 58% of moms who have smart phones, they are using the phones a lot. Other popular technologies with Mom include laptop and desktop computers: Marketing strategists need to keep in mind that Mom is tech-savvy, but she doesn’t necessarily care as much about tech specs or latest release schedules. She cares how technology can make life easier, improve communication quality and bring her family closer together.

Millennial ‘New Adults’ are the High-Growth Target for Today’s Book Market

Michal Clements — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:00:48 -0500

In-depth segmentation of Millennials ages 18-25 drives results for book publishers

A few years ago, when working in financial services, we found that the phrase “Young Adult” was preferred by teens compared with alternatives such as “Teens” or “Adolescents.” We also learned that by referring to teens as young adults, they are taken more seriously as valued customers by salespeople who interact with them. Interestingly, when a sales representative views the customer as a young adult, they tend to think of greater business potential than when they think of a teen. While our work was in financial services, the ‘Young Adult’ distinction also works with the book category, where young adults are typically defined as between ages 12-18. Sometimes this industry definition has been much broader, ranging from ages 10-25. It’s instructive to see that the book industry has moved to greater segmentation and refinement of the target consumer. As Stacey Laatsch explains,

"The term ‘young adult literature,’ according to Michael Cart of the Young Adult Library Services Association, came into common use in the 1960s. Since then, the population of teenagers has increased, and YA fiction has risen in popularity to the point that, in July of 2000, the Harry Potter series dominated the New York Times Bestsellers List, causing the publication to create a separate list of bestsellers exclusively for children's books and young adult books."

Meanwhile, most businesses are focusing a huge amount of attention on capturing the Millennials as they become new adults (ages 18-25). From BMW with its hybrid car that focuses more on infotainment than driving, or Kraft with its Millennial-focused Mio brand that won the Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation award, businesses recognize the importance of capturing Millennials as customers. And that’s where the “New Adult” segmentation comes in. Dan Weiss of St. Martin’s Press explains why his publishing organization sees New Adults as an important target:

“This generation wants content immediately available and accessible, on multiple platforms and devices, with social applications providing increased immersion. And this demo is quickly becoming a very fast consumer of e-books, probably due to the penetration of smart phones and tablets rather than dedicated devices. They still love great stories, valuable and timely information that’s presented in easy to digest form. They still see themselves as a unique group of people with unique challenges and strengths. As a publisher, I try to appeal to this demo by offering content that reflects and enhances their lives… “I’ve been publishing e-serials; these are series of novella-length episodes that are analogous to a season of TV. Think ‘The Good Wife’ or ‘Melrose Place.’ What’s been great is publishing weekly — and watching reader reactions as the serial unfolds…. I think Gen Y will enjoy reading serials — episodes are short, can be read on their smartphones or tablets on a bus or subway and have propulsive plots that will feel like TV.”

It’s instructive to see how thinking about the customer in a new way, with more refinement has driven success. Beyond the New Adult demographic of 18-25, the average age of a first time mom is 25.4 in the United States, and the average age of first marriage is 26 for women, and 28 for men. With all that’s happening in their lives, the years between 26 and 30 are also quite interesting-- they aren’t “New Adults” at that point. Are they then “Fully Emerged?”

B2B Branding and Marketing Success Story: Ingredion

Michal Clements — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 06:00:50 -0500

Ingredion Signals Its Strategic Commitment with Its Name

On February 14^th, Ingredion Incorporated CEO and Chairman Ilene Gordon addressed the Executive Club of Chicago and shared the story of how she has driven transformational growth for the company. Ingredion is a leading global ingredient solution provider, with sales of $6.5 billion in 2012. It’s my belief that the Ingredion success story is one that many B2B organizations would benefit from looking into. One important component of the success story was the 2010 acquisition of National Starch, and the subsequent successful integration of its $1.3B business within Ingredion. Another important strategic action is the company name, Ingredion. In May 2012, Ingredion stockholders approved changing the firm’s name from Corn Products International to Ingredion. The name change is being implemented in a careful, phased fashion with all countries and regions transitioning to the new name by the end of this year, 2013. Here’s how Gordon described the change:

“We are thrilled to face the marketplace with a name that says ‘ingredient solutions.’ We’re proud of our legacy in providing consistently high-quality ingredients to our many customers and helping them succeed in new realms with innovations they can get nowhere else. We will continue to build our expertise and ingredient solutions portfolio to help our customers address trends and compete better around the world.”

The impact of the name change is that every time Ingredion’s customers, employees, stockholders or suppliers see or hear the brand name, they are reminded that the firm is focused on ingredient solutions and that they can expect more innovation from the firm. A meaningful brand name that speaks to the benefit is one of the most powerful B2B (and B2C) marketing and branding approaches available. So, is your brand, product, or company name pulling its weight?

Summer Camp Planning Segmentation: The Early Birds, The Spring Break Planners & The Last Minute Crowd

Michal Clements — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:00:01 -0500

Eleven million children attend summer camp each year, according to the American Camp Association. Over spring break, many parents and their children are making their plans. This week gives them time to discuss priorities and interests, and to research the various summer camp options. I spoke with Angela Allyn, Senior Program Coordinator for the City of Evanston, about what today’s families are looking for in summer camps, the trends she’s seen, and the camp decision-making processes. Allyn has designed and implemented camp programs for more than a decade.

“In the old days, all you needed was the bug spray and the lanyards. Now parents are more involved—they want to see the curriculum. There is a trend toward more specialized programs. Especially for older kids, parents use summers as ways to learn what ‘lights up’ their kid’s interests. Parents want their kids to be able to pursue passions they don’t have time for in the school year, which leads to us offering more specialized camp topics, such as Aquatics, Film Project or Lacrossse.”

Since the recession, parents are also looking at summer camp costs differently. According to Angela, many have chosen to seek more day camp options instead of overnight camps. Payment plans have become more popular as well. There is also high demand for flexibility in being able to choose one-week options, instead of the standard three to four week camp programs. Summer camp planning segmentation falls into three categories: the Early Birds, the Spring Break Planners and the Last Minute Crowd. As mentioned earlier, there is also demand for more specialized camps for older children. Perhaps surprisingly, an estimated 50-60% of parents fall into the Early Bird category—deciding on their children’s summer camp plans as early as February. Allyn explains:

“Early birds are usually working moms who see summer camp partly as daycare. Their shopping choices are dictated by that. Camps must have full-day, pre-care, post-care and be geographically congruent with the parents’ commute. The best weeks at Camp Echo will be gone by January or February.”

Of moms whose oldest child is of prime summer camp age (7-12), 62% of them work full-time, of which 91% work outside the home. It makes sense that these moms need to plan their summer in advance and fill in the hours that their children are typically in school. Allyn estimates that another 20-25% of moms plan for summer camp during spring break. These moms either are less “Type A” than the early birds, may work part-time or not work outside the home. The Spring Break planner is more relaxed and wants to take her time choosing the best camp in conjunction with her child. The remainder of moms decide last-minute where to send their children. They may be uncertain about their family’s ability to afford camp, or the family may be moving or in transition, meaning that they need to make quick plans for their children’s summer. Even in the already-segmented world of summer camp, deeper market segmentation plays a large role in reaching actionable consumer insights. It’s just as important to understand when to reach out to Mom and Dad as to understand their motivations and aspirations for their child’s summer camp experience. Given the trends towards specialization and flexibility in schedule, many moms with older children will be searching online this spring break for camps that meet their needs, along with consulting other moms, family, friends and community groups that they are a member of (e.g., YMCA, church groups).

Some Kids Like it Hot: Bland Isn’t Better When it Comes to Snacking

Michal Clements — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:00:19 -0500

Spicy Flavor Trend Rewards Brands that Avoid Bland When Marketing to Mom and Kids

There’s a tendency to stereotype children as preferring bland flavors—think pasta with butter, Cheerios and applesauce. But children six and older actually appreciate more diverse flavor profiles, proven by the immense popularity of spicy snack foods like Takis and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Market research experts KidSay shows Takis in the top five for favorite snacks in their Trend Tracker report, while Flamin’ Hot Cheetos ranks at number nine: Terence Burke, Vice President of Qualitative Research at KidSay, talks about the immediate rise of Takis:

“Typically, brands in the snack category move like a glacier. Each year, there’s slight movement in the Top 5 favorite snacks, but there are always the same names. While Flamin’ Hot Cheetos moved up at a steady pace, Takis rose like a meteor and has stayed there. Takis has stayed there for over a year and is a legitimate player.”

Takis, a spicy corn chip snack from relatively-unknown Barcel USA, rose to popularity amid buzz surrounding the “Hot Cheetos and Takis” viral music video. The video was produced by children in Minneapolis as part of an after-school summer program and was hailed as “the summer’s final truly great jam” by Rolling Stone. Over the past 10 years, qualitative research by KidSay has detected this shift towards spicy food. Burke explains:

“In particular, we saw this shift in areas with large Latino populations—south, southwest. Because of the cultural palate, kids got used to the spicy flavors and kids of all cultural backgrounds were exposed to spicier foods. With more families and kids being exposed to more food choices and different palates, they began to expand what they ate. For boys in the tween years, it also became a macho challenge—‘Can you handle the heat?’”

These adaptations to the palate extend beyond snack foods. Last year, a client marketing Asian frozen foods explored marketing their appetizers to moms with children aged 6+, and found that the children and their families were receptive. So don’t be afraid to market spicy foods to Mom and her older kids—they can handle it!