Rose Cameron from Euro RSCG provided one of the highlights of the recent M2Moms – The Marketing to Moms Conference. Both her insights (especially on Boomer women and their daughters) and her delivery are unique; no one in marketing is both irreverent and wise in the same way.
She gave us a highlight before the conference of what she would be sharing some interesting connections between the Millennial Mom and her own Boomer mother.
Dr. Spock raised them both
Boomer women were the first generation raised by Dr. Spock, who gave them the belief that they could change the world. They shared this belief with their own daughters, who are now becoming mothers themselves. And these two generations have more in common with each other than they do with Generation X, which came between them.
Boomer Mom: The Untapped Solvent Advisor
Rose described a unique role the Boomer mom plays as advisor to her Millennial daughter, now a mom herself. I wrote about the influence of the “Vibrant Mom” revealed in our own recent research last week.
Rose’s presentation confirmed that work. While GenX moms relied more on their friends than either their pediatricians or their own mothers, Millennial moms rely on their pediatricians and their own mothers equally, and more than any other resource; almost 10% are more likely to rely on their Boomer mothers than on their friends.
The #1 reason a Millennial Mom reaches out to her mother? Advice.
What does this mean to marketers? A generation of brand managers have thought that the surest way to a mother’s heart (and pocketbook) is through her peers. And while friends remain very influential, marketers cannot ignore the role this Millennial Mom’s own mother plays in her life. If you aren’t engaging the Boomer mother you’ll miss a chance to engage her adult Millennial daughter.
The Ignored Boomer Woman is now the Ignored Boomer Grandmother
Rose decried the fact that Boomer grandmothers are ignored in most marketing messages. 48% of all U.S. grandparents today are Boomers, and they are highly involved in the lives of the children of their Millennial children. 55% see those grandchildren more than once a week, 74% are deeply involved in raising grandchildren, and 62% spend significantly on these extended family members.
Yet Rose herself explained that it was almost impossible to find an ad that featured grandparents. If they did, the grandparents looked like senile or passive seniors, not the active 50-somethings they are. Given the importance of grandmothering to Boomer women, marketers who never show them images of themselves as (vibrant) grandmothers are missing the chance to capture a lot of business from what Rose described perfectly as the Millennial’s “Untapped Solvent Advisor.”
Kudo's to you Alicia! Wow you've accomplished quite a lot in your life and you will with dating too at some point. Hang in there! Hugs back! Lisa
tried this (as well as the Garnier tinted moisture) in vacation last week ... Liked the Garnier better, but this provides more coverage and does indeed stay on through everything ... not heavy or greasy ... covers my rosacea. Not sure it will be my e
My parents divorced when I was ten and I always felt like my lack of self esteem most have something to do with my Dad's absence but then one day when I was in my firths my mother said or did something that made me realize she was emotionally abusive
Holy crap! What a sad story. Congrats on overcoming that hurdle. Wow.
How I would handle it. FIrst, I would get into therapy; that could go a long way to helping you and your difficulties.
Second (boundaries are necessary in life)..when your kids call for advice, I would FIRST ask them what their thoughts are an
add your responses
One Response
Stay in touch with the conversation. Subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Continuing the Discussion
You must be logged in to post a comment.