• by Holly Pavlika , Columnist, January 4, 2013

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the year’s accomplishments and start thinking about what the next year will bring regarding today’s Networked Mom. Will marketing to moms look different? Will there be any less emphasis on her and her continuing power? Here are our thoughts:

Moms will continue to be at the forefront of global citizenship. We’ve seen what we can do by using words, our voice and technology. There is a global motherhood at hand as well as the realization that the challenges and issues are all connected regardless of geography. 

More women and mothers will run for office. We influenced the election, and we’re realizing that when there are sufficient enough women in power, we will be able to create meaningful change.
Television, social media, and motherhood will come together. Television, social media, and motherhood will learn they need each other. It’s already happening with blogger integration. Television is the second screen to her, and it will be interesting to see how apps like Zeebox, which integrates television shows and social media, do. It could be an exciting year.

Technology/smartphones: She’s not giving up her tech toys. They’ll become more and more a part of her life. Brands need to get ahead of the curve with mobile. 

Brands will continue to try to reach us through “pinked” and specially designed products. And they will fail miserably. Pink cars named “She’s,” pink laptops, and more are just dumb in the U.S. Pink is for lipstick, little girls and breast cancer awareness ribbons. Adding glitter to something hardly raises its ability to effectively meet the buyer’s needs. Brands keep failing to remember we buy many products for the same reason a man would. Focus on features, benefits, providing value, and superlative customer service for her, and you’ll win her over.

There will be more and more advertising featuring moms. Till we scream enough. Advertising and marketing to moms is so blatant right now, it’s almost laughable. So brands will continue to think putting a mom in the picture will attract moms to listen their pitch. Again the emphasis shouldn’t be in “hey, mom,” messaging but in what are you trying to sell. Does she need it, and how does it fit in her life? Then connect with her emotionally and pragmatically.
More growth in the Latina mom market. Brands need to get ready for the Latina mom now. She’s highly social and has huge spending power. And she’s ready to use her voice. She led her family to the voting booths -- Latinas helped Barack Obama win re-election. Generally speaking, 12 million Latinos voted in this election, and, of that number, 76% of Latinas voted for Obama.

There will be a growing interest in the Boomer Mom. Research is showing the Boomer Mom to be very different than moms in this age bracket were in previous generations. This “me generation” has the time, desire, the capital, and is ready to use her purchasing power to enjoy life. She’s a lot more tech-savvy than you may think, and her use of social media is growing each and every day. She’s eager to dole out her wisdom, mind and advice. Kudos to the brand that understands that.

The Networked Mom will continue to adapt and use technology and social media to share ideas and connect with others. As much as it may seem a drain on her full schedule, its positive attributes outweigh the negative. She loves the ability to share her passions and use her voice. The term “mommy bloggers” is simply not indicative of today’s Networked Mom, and she will continue to be a focus of the media and brands in 2013.