Mom Central Consulting

CES with Panasonic!

With much excitement I will be attending the CES conference in Vegas this year from January 8th – 10th as part of the Panasonic team! Joining me will be an impressive and eclectic group, all gurus in their own spaces, including Chris Brogan, Melissa Pierce, Steve Garfield, and Cliff Ravenscraft. A little more about all of them:

Chris Brogan
I get to give Chris Brogan another hug- after all he has been declared by some to be the mayor of Twitter! Kind of Obama for us social media addicts. One of the best conference speakers I have listened to and an all-around great guy who loves connecting people. Just started sailing his own pirate ship.
Web: http://www.chrisbrogan.com
Twitter: @chrisbrogan

Steve Garfield
Fellow Bostonian and amazingly nice guy! Steve is a video blogging pioneer (started in 2004 as the first video blogger) and citizen journalist who produces several personal vlogs and contributes to media outlets such as CNN iReport and Rocketboom. Steve teaches at Boston University at the College of Communications and love that he does Qik videos from his classroom.
Web: http://stevegarfield.com (good interview on his About Me page)
Twitter: @stevegarfield

Melissa Pierce
Melissa is a creative coach and documentary filmmaker, currently working on her own independent film Life In Perpetual Beta. Love that she always has kids running under feet during conference calls, fellow Moms braving the social media waters. Life In Perpetual Beta is “a documentary about authenticity and the creative process, that asks the question: Is the planned life worth living?”
Web (Life In Perpetual Beta): http://lifeinperpetualbeta.com
Web (personal blog): http://www.melissapierce.com
Twitter: @melissapierce

Cliff Ravenscraft - Cincinnati
Cliff is a full-time podcaster, whose GSPN network produces nearly two dozen podcasts including series devoted to Hannah Montana, LOST, Heroes and other popular television shows. Committed to building a community where relationships are formed and built upon shared passions. Runs GSPN along with his wife.
Web: http://www.gspn.tv
Blog: http://www.ravenscraft.org
Twitter: @gspn

Convening this group and joining us at CES is a core team of Crayon, a dynamic marketing company working virtually from Boston, Westport, and New York.

Joseph Jaffe
President & Chief Interruptor, author of Life After the 30-Second Spot and Join the Conversation, and popular marketing blogger/podcaster
Web: http://www.jaffejuice.com
Twitter: @jaffejuice

Greg Verdino
Crayon’s Chief Strategy Officer, marketing blogger
Web: http://www.gregverdino.com
Twitter: @gregverdino

As a guest with Panasonic I will blog, vlog, and twitter about the CES conference. In addition I’ll attend Panasonic’s latest announcements and get a firsthand look at all of the company’s newest products (and even get to try out some like their new HD Camcorder!). So look for some cool pictures, video, and blogs from behind the scenes. The Panasonic team dinner on Wednesday night will also offer us a great chance to sit down with Panasonic leadership and hear more about of all the amazing things they have going on. Particularly of interest to me is their focus this coming year on families living in HD, part of an ongoing community effort.

Key invite: Friday night, January 9th, Panasonic hosts a Tweetup that you are invited to attend. I will keep everyone updated on where the event will be held so that you can come join us. To keep up with live happenings like this at CES, check #LiHD on twitter.

If you are going to CES, let me know so we can meet-up! I’ll need some friendly faces in the sea of people that populate the often-crowded and never-ending booths of this vast conference.

TJMaxx Blogger Retreat

15 fashionistas hit the campus buildings of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in Boston today, along with one not-as-fashionable Mom Blogger (me) for a corporate blogger retreat. OK, I have to start by confessing that I am a card carrying member. Of their Visa that is, and for the past fifteen years: thanks to monthly $20 merchandise coupons. So I guess that makes me a passionista?! So with that biased perspective in mind, I arrived at the sprawling modern red-brick and sleek glass campus of TJX headquarters.

So what does Marshalls and T.J.Maxx most want us Moms to know? Here’s what Karen Coppola, Senior VP of Marketing has to say (to the extent my fast typing could keep up with her energetic pace and passion), “We get talked about in the discount bucket of retailers: which can be negative, because while we get associated with great value, people also tend to think cheap goods when they think discount. But in reality we carry the quality and labels of Macy, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales at discount prices. Granted you have to have fashion confidence to shop at our stores: unlike someone dressing you and picking perfect accessories at a boutique or department store. It’s all about discovery of great brands. Most people do not realize we carry amazing brands, and you can find the labels you love to find. Where you find $24.99 blouse at Target, it was manufactured to sell at this price. Whereas our $24.99 blouse was manufactured to sell around $70. We are even very conservative in our compare prices on our tags on the clothing. We want to be believable.” When I asked her how she would describe her brand in one line, Karen offers up: “Quality goods at the best prices on the planet.”

Shares lawyer and skeptical fashion blogger Stephanie Rahlfs of Stiletto Jungle: “I look for high quality goods when I shop, so I had not shopped your stores as I thought it was lower quality goods. And first thing I saw when I went in to the check out the store in anticipation of this blogger retreat was $200 Theory top for $70. Who knew?!”

So the blogger day unfolds with a focus on shifting the brand perception of Marshalls and TJX.

Next up, a PowerPoint presentation by Laura McDowell, Manager of Media Relations and behind-the-scenes of off-price retailing. Some facts I found cool:

• Their stores get 10,000 new items each week. That why the old TJMaxx logo was “Never the same place twice.” This rapidly changing assortment is a key differentiator for them.
• Their buyers shop the world, with over 10,000 merchants in 60 countries. From Italy to Hong Kong to Morocco to Africa to hand-milled soaps in Provence. All merchandise, food and perfumes come direct from vendor. Some fragrances like Holston, which they no longer sell in the department stores, but they work with the vendor to produce the product. It’s all first time to retail.  NOT cast-offs (which I must confess I sort of assumed).
• How do they do it? Opportunistic buying. Flexible stores and flexible pricing; a department store just cancelled an order, or I am doing a 80,000 run for Macy’s and can run an extra 20,000 for you. Buyers craft deals directly from the manufacturers, and have huge buying power with over 1,600 stores.
• Moreover, unlike department stores that reserve the right to return unsold merchandise, TJMaxx and Marshall’s own all their merchandise, and as featured in Business Week they pay on time- apparently a rarity in the fashion industry.
• All of which leads to their treasure hunt experience. Who knows what Italian pottery or designer jeans arrived at the stores today. As a result, business has been up since this summer.

Characteristics of their shoppers: 25 to 54 years old, middle to upper middle income, shops high end department ad specialty stores, loves value positive outlook on life, creative, imaginative, open-minded exploratory, classic and trendy. Ummm…I now begin to understand my TJX passionta roots. Sort of a personality mapping test. Wanted a copy of the PowerPoint slide to show my husband of twenty-one years to explain my character roots and demystify my TJX allegiance. 

Now comes game time: can you guess the price of this merchandise? One item at a time, with bloggers guessing the price from a Michael Kors evening dress to pearl bracelets to American Eagle sweatshirts. Closest without going over wins the item. And all I can say is that these fashionistas clearly shop a lot and know their prices!

Michale Macmillan, President of T.J.Maxx and Marshall’s stores, then shares in his faint Scottish brogue about 23 years of experience and vision going forward from shoes to beauty. Michael shares, “The key to our company is excess merchandise. We found out that beauty industry throws out merchandise not sold once packaging changes. We’ll buy that, we’re not proud! It’s an opportunity for us. Same product, just different look. From hair to skin care to spa products, with many more to come.” So Look out DSW and Sephora! Michael’s passion: improving client service: from perceived sloppy shopping experience due to disorganization in the store or having to shop with your hands, picking through racks, rather than shopping with your eyes. Also- how better get the right goods to the right stores in the right season, accommodating different shopping preferences from Dallas to Chicago.

Intriguing observation: I was the only blogger there with a laptop. Not fashionable for the fashionista? A Mom tendency to type and twitter as we go? Will have to mull this one over. Any thoughts about why?

We next had a splurge or steal fashion show: could we tell the department store outfit from its virtual twin outfit picked up a TJX.

But wait…there’s more. What I can only dub the “Men of Marshall’s” came wheeling in shoes on dessert platters, laden with the latest shoe fashions. On they were cute. Oh…the shoes I mean, of course!  But wait…we net got to play a TJX video game, “Designer Dash” where you zip around a store mock-up to collect designer duds. But you can throw purses at your opponent to stun her, collect the items in her cart and rush to check-out. Having seen way too many video games at home played by my kids, I passed on this one.

Gifts handed out to the bloggers: copy of the book How to Be a Budget Fashionista by Kathryn Finney and connected t-shirt “ Frugal is the New Black, pink cashmere shawl, shoe-shaped chocolates, and $250 merchandise cards to shop at the end of the afternoon at the local TJMaxx and Marshall’s stores.

What happens to merchandise that does not sell? Off to charity.

Insider info: trucks arrive only during weekdays. Markdowns tend to hit on Wednesdays. And avoid the weekends: not fresh merchandise, and only part-time sales associates.

By the way, they just struck a deal today with one of the country’s hottest designer, and bought 300,000 units for the holidays. “Outstanding product!” proclaims Michael. Expect this mystery to arrive in the stores around December 12th. And bring your sense of adventure.

Pepsi Plunges into Social Media with One Heck of a Splash & a Brand New Look

Box 1. Hand-delivered at 10 am: white, oblong, no return address. As a guy hand-delivering it made his way back towards my office, the buzz began. A dozen long-stem roses? A major new technological breakthrough for moms? Inside the box stood five pristine Pepsi-Cola cans, each with a different evolution of the Pepsi-Cola logo, starting in 1898 and ending in 1950.

Box 2: 10:30 am. This box, with the delivery guy now looking like the Pied Piper as curious staffers trailed along, brought us cans with Pepsi’s brand evolution from 1962 to 1998. The logo became more clear, crisp and highly recognizable.

Last box. 30 minutes later. At this point the entire office had gathered to find out what was up with these mystery deliveries. And there stood the new face of Pepsi. A can flushed blue with a stylized logo and a whole new outlook. We love the visual about face: from white to blue, from red print to silver and with a whole new logo:

The enclosed letter read:

You’re a part of a handful of digital and social influencers we’re reaching out to regarding a multi-year, companywide transformation…Pepsi is looking to change the game. We hope you’ll partner with us in defining how digital and social media is shaping the world today and beyond.

And of course, by then I knew - Bonin is behind this!

My very favorite part of living and breathing social media has been the opportunity to work with exceptionally smart, forward-thinking people. I first ran into with Bonin Bough at a Las Vegas conference, when he was heading up the social media team for Weber Shandwick NY. Bonin, simply put, embodies cool. Brilliant, a thought-leader and activist steeped in emerging new media, adjunct professor at New York University, and super-connected, it came as no surprise to me when Pepsi chose Bonin to head their new global social media initiative over 300 other candidates.

Again, not surprisingly given his engaging personality, Bonin has nearly instantly put the new media world on alert as Pepsi makes a strong entrance into this space. He introduced me to his new social media colleagues, Bart Casabona, who he calls the “special czar of Pepsi,” and Josh Karpf, “social genius,” charged with the challenge of evolving how Pepsi speaks with their consumers. As PepsiCo repositions itself to reach the 21st century online world.

In a flurry of exciting rebranding, Bonin has announced Pepsi’s news with old-fashioned flair. Reminding us of how the old reach mode has morphed. Here the snail-mail outreach sparked online debate, just as online social media sparks real-world conversations and influences consumer purchasing decisions.

With a day of travel in between, I am doing what any impassioned social media recipient would do, only late! Up comes my post – out go the Tweets! Hello to my Ning Communities, Mom blogger community, Moms at www.MomCentral.com, Facebook, and Plurk, just to name a few!

Here a few of the other 25 selected social media influencers as compiled by Daryl Parker of http://www.parkerweb.com/blog/

Chris Brogan - Pepsi Reaches Out to Digital People in Analog http://www.chrisbrogan.com/pepsi-reaches-out-to-digital-people-in-analog/

CC Chapman - The New Pepsi - http://www.cc-chapman.com/2008/10/28/the-new-pepsi/

Tara Settembre - Pepsi Mailman Rings Thrice http://www.parkerweb.com/blog/

Peter Shankman - New Pepsi… Heard it Here First http://shankman.com/new-pepsi-heard-it-here-first/

Mack Collier - I Have Three Packages to Give You http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-have-three-packages-to-give-you-over.html

Steve Hall - Pepsi Unveils Packaging to “Digital and Social Media Influencers” - http://www.adrants.com/2008/10/pepsi-unveils-packaging-to-digital-and.php

PSFK.com - Evolution of the Pepsi Logo - http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/pic-evolution-of-the-pepsi-logo.html

Charlene Li (author of Groundswell) - Flickr post of Cans -http://www.flickr.com/photos/18757213@N00/

Shannon Paul - Nice Cans - http://veryofficialblog.com/2008/10/29/nice-cans/

Greg Verdino - Pepsi Gets A 2.0 Makeover - http://gregverdino.typepad.com/greg_verdinos_blog/2008/10/pepsi-gets-a-20-makeover.html

Valeria Maltoni - Your Logo is a Symbol, Your Product Can Be a Social Object http://www.conversationagent.com/2008/10/your-logo-is-a-symbol-your-product-can-be-a-social-object.html

David Armano - Care Package from Pepsi -http://twitpic.com/ix1l

Of course, social media can’t launch without an ability for everyone to join in the fray: Check out Pepsi’s room on FriendFeed and join the conversation: http://friendfeed.com/rooms/pepsicooler

No doubt more will be coming soon. Bonin has invited us along for the ride. We can’t wait.

Meanwhile, we will have to expect the unexpected

Mom Bloggers Emerge as Critical to Brand's Success

Every day, we work with hundreds of Mom Bloggers, both in terms of research as well as running extensive blog tours for corporations. For many brands, tapping the social media power of Mom bloggers remains untested waters. This powerful and yet maverick group proves extremely persuasive when enthusiastic about products and companies, and equally prickly when approached the wrong way.

We wanted to share an elusive insider’s perspective into these Mom bloggers—who exactly they are and how they build powerful brand awareness and influence consumer behavior. The study, which was just completed, includes in-depth interviews with nearly 300 of the most influential and popular Mom Bloggers along with surveys of 495 Moms nationwide.  We asked these women to describe why they blog, their financial motivations, how much time they devote to blogging, their personal and professional backgrounds, and their interactions with brands.

Some powerful findings emerged:
•    96% of Moms value recommendations they find on Mom Blogs
•    Over 78% of Mom Bloggers now review products and services
•    94% of Moms rely on other Moms to make purchasing decisions
•    More than 60% of Mom Bloggers consider making money important and want more connectivity with companies
•    37% of Mom Bloggers have been contacted as resources for the press

The complete research package includes a four page Executive Summary, 56 page Research Paper and 57 page data set. For more information, or to purchase a copy of the research study, please visit here or contact Tracey Hope-Ross at tracey@momcentral.com.

Unicef Cause-Based Marketing Campaign

True confessions: the involvement of Unicef is what made this event a must attend for me. A year and a half ago, I served as a media spokesperson for Unicef on their Trick-or-Treat Halloween campaign and fell in love with their amazing global work. So much so that my spokesperson fee went straight as a donation to their cause.

Carol Stern, relatively newly minted President and CEO of Unicef United States Fund, came to spend time with us to share her passion for Unicef’s tetanus vaccination program, of which P&G Pampers has become a key corporate sponsor. She shared with us pictures and stories from her trip to the field, observing moms birthing in Mozambique, the primitive conditions, and huge risk of death for the newborns. She found herself wondering, “How can this Mom and I exist in the same world? I went into the hospital giving birth to my son practically screaming, ‘Epidural!” And here this Mom is thrilled that her newborn lived, as two prior children died during childbirth.” She describes her work as Moms on a mission: making the world a better place for other moms.

Here’s what we learn: Tetanus is an almost certain death. Each year, 140,000 newborns and 30,000 Moms will die due to tetanus infection, mainly in Africa and Southern and East Asia in poverty-stricken areas with little access to health care. And death involves extreme pain: muscle rigidity, painful muscle spasms, inability to eat, seizures triggered by light or touch. Yet we can never eliminate tetanus: it is a spore that lives in the soil, animal excretion, and can even be airborne. Scarily, in many countries, the umbilical cord gets cut with sharpened sugar cane that carries soil, and dirt to open cuts or wounds proves the greatest risk for contracting tetanus. Yet all this can be prevented by a 5-cent vaccine shot.

The cost of one tetanus shot for a child: only 5 cents. Yet every 3 minutes, one child dies from tetanus, a horribly painful death. Enter Pampers, who thinks of themselves as facilitating Moms helping Moms: every specially marked package bought = one vaccine for a third world child. We watched Salma Hayek on Oprah, with an announcement of a thousand vaccines for every audience member: one million vaccines (quick calculation by me: $50,000). 

Carol shares, “We have a staff of about 6,000 in 157 countries: we have been there yesterday, we are there today, and we will be there tomorrow. Because we are there everyday, working with local NGO’s (non-governmental organizations), we are not the Western world but a trusted neighbor. We have a tract record of 60 years. For 5 cents, a child gets a tetanus vaccine. For $17, a child could get all the immunizations used for life.

Carol raves about her corporate sponsor, “Pampers has made a corporate decision not to just make diapers, but to save lives in the process.” Pampers’ brand managers describe their Unicef campaign as facilitating Moms helping Moms. The result: over 45 million vaccinations thus far to help eradicate tetanus, and the U.S. campaign of this program launched in April 2008. 

Definite a thought-provoking and admirable new evolution on cause-based marketing.