Attracting Mothers - United States of America
By Erina Lin, Tuesday 23 January 2007 at 13:50 :: General :: #217 :: rss
by Tatiana Repkova
Publishers are focusing on doing a better job of going after readers they've always had: America's mothers, who make most of the buying decisions in their households, and are therefore very important to retail advertisers.
Much of the buzz over the new focus on mothers has come with the rise of the Examiner chain, whose free dailies in San Francisco, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., all made a point early on of targeting young mothers, to the extent of offering home delivery in target neighbourhoods. Yet this new focus was catching on even before at the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier, which began shifting its focus to mothers and families three years ago.
“It’s so funny that all these newspapers are just starting to realize the value and power of families with kids,” said Craig Rogers, director of marketing for the Post and Courier.
This raises an interesting question: Why didn't someone think of moms before? Perhaps in their ever-growing panic over declining circulation, the bigger issue has been snagging readers they didn't have – and what they see as the next generation of readers – the young. But another reason has to do with the stodgy, male focus of traditional newspaper managers. As local monopolies, or near monopolies, papers traditionally put little value on understanding their readers' different wants, operating on the premise that one paper fits all. What's caused all this to change is the realization, dawning on publishers and advertisers, that mothers are increasingly hard to reach through traditional mass media, such as the daily newspaper and network television. They are no longer a given, and that has made them a more valued demographic. Mothers these days are very busy people, and less likely to be at home. That understanding is being translated into a flurry of niche publications online and in print that have mothers as their target readers.
"Every mom will tell you that the best source of information for moms is word of mouth," Gordon said. "They get information from other moms. Mass media is trying to replicate that credibility through niche products."
Some newspapers have started web sites specifically targeting moms and offering blogs where they can ask for advice about topics ranging from pediatricians to parks. http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=501&num=9696; January 23, 2007
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