He begins by blasting the organizers of the event for positioning the mom blogger, in their press materials, as the “holy grail” – his term, not theirs. Yet for most companies, mom is, appropriately, just that – the key target audience, the one responsible for 80-85% of household spending decisions. And these days, the way to reach her is through social media – especially, by means of mommy bloggers.

He goes on to say that “though many Moms who blog or use the Internet are still focused on their kids, some are wholly focused on the almighty dollar – period.” And if that weren’t enough, “I can tell the reader one thing about the Mommy blogosphere these days – marketing and PR money has turned many of these Moms into review slinging money grubbers whose only concerns are freebies and paid for positive reviews of products.”

Whew!

And let’s not overlook this: “I do not want to get into the specifics, or to hurt anyone unduly, but suffice it to say that large PR and marketing companies have pretty much “paid off” many of the most influential Moms out there.”

Hold on there. Paid? We don’t pay the mommy bloggers we work with. We never have. And it’s never been a problem.

He goes on: “We have people working on this very issue right now reporting all manner of “under the table” type operations.”

A little too cloak-and-dagger for me, Phil.

He then provides an example from his own experience, regarding a free service that he felt was valuable for families and that he pitched to the mom blogger community. The response:

“Out of about 50 Mommy Bloggers in our networks, and an untold zillion of others on Twitter and other networks, can you guess how many just told their readers about this wonderful kids tool? One.”

Hey, Phil. Maybe they didn’t like the service. Or maybe you didn’t approach them properly. Or maybe you just thought that they should be grateful for the information. Believe me, these days they get plenty of information. Did they not run it because it didn’t add to their bottom line or their kid’s toy chest? In some – repeat, some — cases, probably yes. The important learning here is that not all mom bloggers are alike.

“As for the ones who we have supported in their social media outreaches all these years, and offered to help in other ways so many times, not one even bothered to ask questions about this tool.”

OK. Now here – finally — we have something to agree on. Yes, when there is an ongoing relationship, and when an agency has gone out of its way to support a blogger, and that blogger simply refuses to review a product nonetheless and doesn’t even get back to the publicist to say why – well, yeah, that stinks. In fact it makes me crazy. But, really, much as I hate to admit it – how is that different from a reporter who may have covered your clients in the past, and then suddenly doesn’t?

Oh, and hey, Phil? Your “thing” in the article about the mommy bloggers’ ongoing use of the word “adorable”? Not so adorable.

Over the past several days, the big news in the momosphere has been all about the upcoming “PR Blackout” — a movement instigated by a blogger who runs a mom blog review network, to encourage all mom bloggers to take a “vacation” the week of August 10 – during which they will refuse to do any product reviews, and in fact will not respond at all to the public relations people who contact them. The gist behind this move was that the bloggers were getting so many products to review and were spending so much time doing it, they needed a break. This has created a tremendous amount of buzz, including repeated observations that mom bloggers are not appreciated – and not compensated — for what they do, and I’d like to share a few thoughts of my own:

• In the world of mom bloggers, public relations agencies are not the enemy, and for bloggers to position us as such is self defeating.  Product sampling began as a mutually beneficial opportunity for marketers and mom bloggers alike: Marketers generated visibility for their products, moms found a way to create more content for their blogs. This content, in the form of reviews, coupons, giveaways and the like, attracts readers. Which increases blogger visitor numbers. Which creates opportunities — including paid opportunities — for those bloggers. For the mom bloggers we’ve worked with on a consistent basis, this has included profiles on our corporate blog and exposure in our company newsletter (circulated to more than a thousand other companies), fun meets-ups hosted by us or our clients, paid spokesperson gigs, paid consulting opportunities, blogger conference sponsorships and more.
• No marketer ever forced a blogger to post reviews. While some moms were already doing reviews before publicists got into the act, many began separate review sites because they saw the possibilities in partnering with us.  If certain mom bloggers are just plain tired of doing product reviews and feel put upon for doing so, they should simply stop – please! We’d all be happier in the end.
• We’re not blind – those of us who have been around for awhile know that as more companies have become aware of bloggers’ value, moms are being bombarded. And we know a proper review takes a lot of time – that’s why we so appreciate those bloggers who take it all seriously and do a great job. We hope they will remain loyal to the companies and the PR agencies that have worked with them from the start and respect the ones that respect them. For those who would rather not, perhaps we PR types should launch our own Blogger Blackout.

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?

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

·         Mommy Bloggers just write to get free stuff

·         Mommy Bloggers are uneducated, lack creativity, and don’t take writing seriously

Some mommy bloggers do just write to get free stuff—and why not, especially in this economy? But in return, they’re putting a lot of time and energy into letting their readers know exactly what they think about those products. Others at this stage are probably getting, from their point of view, too much free stuff, and it’s clearly not the reason they’re blogging. Their goal is to offer support and advice to other moms, build a reputation for themselves as influencers, and, increasingly to develop that positive visibility into professional opportunities. At Child’s Play Communications, where we specialize in marketing to moms, we rely on mom bloggers for educated feedback on everything from new products to the effective use of social media for our clients. We know from our relationships with them that many mommy bloggers come from PR, marketing, advertising and other fields where creativity and writing skills are key.                 

·         Blogging is considered a hobby by most Mommy Bloggers

Not any of the ones I’ve met – which would explain why we’re working with them on a regular basis. Hobby? Everyone I know seems to be running blogging empires or to be on their way to doing so.

·         Mommy Bloggers only write about baby-related topics of conversation

Some do – lots do. But they also write about politics, sex, fitness, illnesses, business and the state of the world. I’m a mom and I blog about social and marketing trends that affect moms. Does that make me a mommy blogger?

·         Mommy Bloggers make tons of cash

·         Mommy Bloggers don’t make any money at all

Exceptionally innovative, dedicated and marketing-savvy mommy bloggers become advisors for corporations, write books, serve as spokespeople, attract major advertising – and make tons of cash. Others make a little bit of cash. And still more aren’t in it for the bucks, will never make money from it anyway and don’t really care because that’s not why they’re blogging in the first place.

For the full list of Top 10 Myths about Mommy Bloggers, visit http://mashable.com/author/jessica-smith/.

• Spell their names right. As obvious as this seems – and as ludicrous that someone might not do this – this is actually not the first time I’ve hear this very complaint.
• Keep follow-up to a minimum – and don’t call. These are moms who are juggling blogging with raising their kids. They do NOT want you to call them while they’re changing diapers. The panelists’ consensus was that it’s OK to follow up once by email – but if there is no response after that, assume they’re not interested.
• Don’t make sweeping assumptions. Savvy Mommy’s Victoria Pericon mentioned one pitch she received about how moms never wear high heels – and commented that she wears 3-5” heels all the time.
• If you’re scheduling an event to which you want bloggers to bring their kids, don’t do it during school hours – another no-brainer that apparently some ignore.
• Ask permission before sending product samples.
• Pitching mom bloggers a product designed for kids the same age as their own is the best way to generate interest, but not the only way. Many bloggers have contributing reviewers whose children vary in age, or run blogs designed to cover a broad range of ages and product categories.
• Don’t be dishonest. One panelist cited the example of a reader who posted about how wonderful a product was, presenting himself as a parent who used it – only to be revealed later as the inventor of the product.
• Keep in mind that bloggers’ impact extends far beyond their own blogs – most of the moms on the panel write for other sites such as Babble or Babyzone, while others maintain a major audience through frequent TV appearances.

We are moms, we work and play with moms, and for two decades we’ve helped companies market to moms. In fact, Child’s Play Communications was the first agency to specialize in publicity and marketing communications for products and services targeted to this incredibly powerful and influential market.  Since then, we’ve connected our clients with moms through traditional public relations, special events, cause marketing and product sampling.  More recently, we’ve established expertise in the digital world, empowering companies to engage and interact with moms via social media, especially the mommy blogger community.

As mother of Evan and founder and president of Child’s Play, I’m delighted to officially join that community with the launch of this blog, Mom Market Trends, an ongoing look at the social and marketing developments that impact today’s moms. I’ll share studies, articles of note, feedback from the Child’s Play Communications network of moms, and more.

At Child’s Play, we’ve been marketing to moms for 20 years, but there is always something new to learn. As I learn it, I’ll share it. And I hope you’ll share your thoughts in return.