Millennial Moms: The New Target Market

We’ve all heard of the millennial generation; how they’re changing countless aspects of our society and are now surpassing the Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation.  It comes as no surprise that the Public Relations and Marketing world are revamping many of their campaigns to target this generation, as it now has an increasingly important role in our society.

Fall is just around the corner, which means we’re about to be bombarded with the yearly back-to-school ads and promotions.  So what’s different about the approach that many strategists are taking? Rather than focusing on the “tried-and-true” Mom, companies are targeting the “Millennial Mom”.   While previous generations relied on trusted brands and ideas that had been passed down to them, the Millennial Mom has a completely different method of decision-making and newfound creativity.  Millennial Moms rely on lifestyle blogs and social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest to get new ideas for their family.  Our Moms usually paid attention to brand-generated content full of facts, but Millennial Moms are more trusting of word-of-mouth and peer-generated reviews.  Reportedly seven out of ten mothers will recommend their favorite products to friends and family.  Think about it: when we need help with decision-making, our generation is not using research to help us make our choice. We go to our friends, family, and network to choose what is best. 

Millennials are also more concerned with making a difference in their community, and enjoy supporting companies that do the same.  Brands are taking advantage of these views by emphasizing not only how their products will benefit the Millennial Mom’s family, but also how the purchase of these products will give back to worthy causes. 

Implementing loyalty programs has long been a success among major retailers.  Let’s face it, everyone loves an incentive and a great deal.  However, strategists have changed what they are placing the incentive on.  This generation’s Mom is much more concerned with convenience than quality.  One could attribute the preference for convenience to the fact that more moms are working nowadays.  The love for one-stop shopping stems form the working mother’s need for convenience in her hectic day.  Retailers that offer this convenience and extra rewards will attract more Millennial Moms come back-to-school shopping. 

Companies that want to gain the Millennial Mom as a customer need to pull all of these methods into their campaigns.  Give ways for the Millennial Mom to be creative.  Show her how she can find inspiration from the products and personalize them to fit her own family.  Make her feel like she is giving back in some small way by supporting a company that does good in the world.  Millennial Moms may be breaking the traditional “Mom” role that campaigns are used to, but they are also bringing in new, creative ways to target today’s most prominent generation.

Written by Kara Ferrera from Rebecca Adele PR & Events