On  April 13th, Child’s Play Communications hosted its third annual Bloggers Brunch – and its first on the West Coast.  The Los Angeles event, designed to connect companies with mom bloggers in an intimate atmosphere conducive to conversation and personal connections, featured a panel  presentation by leading West Coast mom bloggers, [...]]]> What a day in LA!

On  April 13^th, Child’s Play Communications hosted its third annual Bloggers Brunch – and its first on the West Coast.  The Los Angeles event, designed to connect companies with mom bloggers in an intimate atmosphere conducive to conversation and personal connections, featured a panel  presentation by leading West Coast mom bloggers, titled, “Connecting with Moms in Social Media.”

Speakers included Jill Asher, Silicon Valley Moms Blog; Ciaran Blumenfeld, Momfluential; Caryn Bailey, Rockin’ Mama and Maryanne Conlin (MC Milker), The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. I had the opportunity and the distinct pleasure of serving as moderator for this great group of women, all of whom offered terrific, thoughtful and highly useful advice to an audience of corporate representatives mixed with other mom bloggers.

The morning presentation was followed by an elegant brunch in the sun-filled courtyard of the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, where 50 West Coast bloggers enjoyed each other’s company and engaged one:one with top-of-the-line sponsors including Bandai, Cold Stone Creamery, Dyson, Nickelodeon, PajamaJeans, Pottery Barn Kids, Summit Products and Toyota. Temptress, meanwhile, provided makeovers to all our guests. The sponsors offered wonderful giveaways and an amazing array of raffle prizes, from baskets full of toys to shopping and spa gift certificates to vacuum cleaners to a year’s worth of free ice cream. Guests also had the opportunity to test drive cars.

We were so pleased to have such a great turnout of bloggers and sponsors alike, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to speakers, sponsors and guests. Based on the numbers of bloggers who attended, the quality of the sponsors and the  feedback from both—in person and on Twitter —  I’d have to say this was our best Brunch ever!

For photos of  the Los Angeles Brunch, please click here. Video coming soon!

We’ve got more Bloggers Brunch events and other great  mom-focused  social media activities planned for 2010. Be sure to get in touch if you’d like to know more about them (sa@childsplaypr.com). Hope to see you there!

Stephanie  Azzarone

President

Child’s Play Communications

135 W. 29th St., Suite 701

NYC NY 10001

Specialists in reaching moms

Phone: (212) 488-2060 x 11

Email: sa@childsplaypr.com

Website: www.childsplaypr.com

Blog: MomMarketTrends.com

Twitter: ChildsPlayComm

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More than 1,000 young parents were chosen from a  group whose [...]]]> According to a recent study by Ohio State University, women are more likely than men to follow the parenting practices of their mothers. As a result, “We really need to learn a lot more about how fathers learn to parent,” said study co-author Jonathan Vespa.

More than 1,000 young parents were chosen from a  group whose own parents had participated in a nationwide survey initiated in 1979. For the three behaviors researched — spanking children, giving physical affection/praise, and reading to children — women closely followed what their mother did, while men did not.

 The researchers also discovered significant changes in behaviors among this generation vs. the previous one, with parenting today involving much more reading and affection to children and less spanking.

What parenting approaches will today’s young boys pick up from their mothers — and what from their dads? And should companies be developing products and services that tie into these different choices?

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So much for birthing babies into the lap of luxury. This morning’s New York Times points out that even high-income couples are now looking first to second-hand sources when buying for their kids. Craig’s List, hand-me-downs and other money-saving options have become the purchasing preference [...]]]>  

So much for birthing babies into the lap of luxury. This morning’s New York Times points out that even high-income couples are now looking first to second-hand sources when buying for their kids. Craig’s List, hand-me-downs and other money-saving options have become the purchasing preference for many parents.

The reasons: Beyond the practical – in this recession, you never know if you’ll have a job tomorrow – there are both philosophical and perceptual. In the current economy, even couples who are OK financially don’t want to openly champion conspicuous consumption. No longer are moms and dads pointedly asking retailers for the most expensive item in the shop.

What the Times calls the “play and discover” market – a $343 million category for toys and goods marketed to parents of children under  a year old – has declined by more than a third in the past 18 months. According to the article, “New purchases have become more considered, less spontaneous.”

Moms – how have your shopping habits changed? Are you going second-hand for the first time? Marketers, are you experiencing this trend – and how are you responding?

For more, see the New York Times article here.

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Full disclosure: Goddard Systems, the leading child care franchise in the U.S., is a client here at Child’s Play Communications. I thought I’d share some social media activities we’ve recently implemented for the company, as a way of offering suggestions to marketers on how to reach out to moms in [...]]]>

Full disclosure: Goddard Systems, the leading child care franchise in the U.S., is a client here at Child’s Play Communications. I thought I’d share some social media activities we’ve recently implemented for the company, as a way of offering suggestions to marketers on how to reach out to moms in the blogosphere and beyond.

In the last few months alone, we’ve launched Goddard’s corporate blog, initiated its Twitter account (@GoddardSchools), connected with mom bloggers to announce special events, provided helpful information to moms on how they can implement educational themes at home, devised ways that Goddard can connect with those moms in person, even sponsored a blogger to attend BlogHer, the leading blogging conference for women, taking place in Chicago later this month. We’ve also developed a social media policy for the company.

Moms, we welcome you to visit the Goddard blog or follow their director of education on Twitter, where you’ll find a broad variety of helpful child-raising tips as well as Goddard news. Marketers, if you want to reach moms, consider some of the activities above. If you need assistance strategizing a plan or taking the first steps, we’d be happy to help you.

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Mom-stats worth repeating from this week’s Motherlode blog.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Kids Today conference in San Antonio, on how companies in the children’s home furnishings industry can – and should – work with mommy bloggers to market products. There was, happily, clear interest in the topic, meaning these manufacturers and retailers alike [...]]]>  

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Kids Today conference in San Antonio, on how companies in the children’s home furnishings industry can – and should – work with mommy bloggers to market products. There was, happily, clear interest in the topic, meaning these manufacturers and retailers alike understand the influence bloggers have on the community of moms. Thank you to Kids Today magazine for the invitation and to members of the audience for your feedback.

Marketers, what have you learned in your dealings with mom bloggers – what experiences would you like to share?

Mom bloggers, what would you like marketers to know about the dos and don’ts of working with you most effectively?

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Earlier this week, I was honored to be named the winner of the Wonder Women of Toys Award, in the Consultant category – and I’d like to share the good news along with a big thank you to all the judges. [...]]]>

Stephanie Azzarone (left) with Women In Toys president, Patti Becker

Earlier this week, I was honored to be named the winner of the Wonder Women of Toys Award, in the Consultant category – and I’d like to share the good news along with a big thank you to all the judges. The awards are sponsored by Women in Toys, a professional networking organization for women working within the toy, entertainment and licensing industries. The award was presented at the organization’s 5^th Annual Wonder Women of Toys Dinner this week at the Penn Club in New York City. I was delighted to be in the company of other women who are recognized leaders in their fields, including Sharon John, Hasbro (Manufacturer), Laura Phillips, Wal-Mart (Retailer), Leigh Anne Brodsky, Nick and Viacom Consumer Products (Licensor) and Carlin West, 4Kids Entertainment (Licensing Agent).

Child’s Play Communications, which specializes in publicity and marketing communications for products targeted to moms, has represented dozens of toy manufacturers and licensing and entertainment companies, including Hasbro, Gund, K’NEX, Spinmaster, Play Along, a division of JAKKS-Pacific, Elmer’s Products, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, National Geographic Kids Entertainment and Kidz Bop.

For more information, please visit: http://childsplaypr.com/news/news_details.cfm?ID=15

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Last week’s post talked about dads who don’t do their fair share of parenting. All that may change – may have to change — as more fathers find themselves at home because they’ve lost their jobs. With the January unemployment rate for men hitting 7.6%, couples not [...]]]>  

Last week’s post talked about dads who don’t do their fair share of parenting. All that may change – may have to change — as more fathers find themselves at home because they’ve lost their jobs. With the January unemployment rate for men hitting 7.6%, couples not only have to deal with the psychological stress of a lay off, but may also have to reinvent the parenting paradigm.  A potential seismic shift awaits as a family’s tradition clashes with new needs and expectations.

Will men get as involved in parenting as mothers historically have, and, if so, how will dads feel about their new role — and how will moms react to giving up control? Are there certain components of parenting that dads will gladly adopt while ignoring others?  Will the family dynamic be altered forever? And, from a business perspective, will companies who have always targeted moms now include dads in their marketing?

What do you foresee happening as the employment crisis deepens?

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