Marketing to moms today requires understanding different generations

Bonita Springs, Fla.— Marketing products for parents and expectant moms means understanding three different generations, said marketing specialist Maria Bailey, the keynote speaker at the 5th annual Kids Today conference held here last month.

Today's moms are a broad combination of Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y moms, she explained.

Bailey is founder of Blue Suit Mom Media, a firm specializing in marketing to women and moms. Bailey is also author of "Marketing to Moms: Getting Your Share of the Trillion Dollar Market," and "Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers."

Bailey said there are 73 million moms in the U.S., and they control 85% of household spending.

Mothers spend about $1.7 trillion each year, and much of that is on their kids, said Bailey. The average household will spend $100,000 on a child by age 18. For a family with a combined household income of $70,000, the parents will spend an average of $269,460 by a child's 18th birthday, and more than $15,000 a year for the first two years.

During Bill Clinton's re-election campaign, the media often mentioned the political power of the 30-something "soccer moms," she said. That, however, was nine years ago, and many of those women have finished having kids. Youth providers and retailers must still focus on this group, but infant goods must be catered to younger generations.

To illustrate the wide variety of moms in the marketplace today, Bailey asked the audience to think about the broad difference between Joan Lunden and Britney Spears. Lunden became a mom again at age 54 when a surrogate mother gave birth to twins in 2003, and added another set of twins this year. Pop star Spears, on the other end of the spectrum, is now pregnant with her first child at age 23.

Mothers 40 and older have financial independence, an elevated sense of style and are willing to pay more for things they value, Bailey said.

They are harried and busy, but want positive experiences for their kids, recreating some of their own favorite memories.

These moms like to challenge themselves and tackle new activities such as staying fit, learning about decorating and starting their own businesses, and tend to over schedule their kids with activities as well.

Gen X moms, ages 25 to 39, make up the majority of new moms today.

This generation was influenced by a high degree of divorce among their parents, and as children, they often split time between two households. Mom was working, so many were latchkey kids. As a result, Gen X moms have a strong sense of independence, even when making shopping decisions.

Unlike their own parents in the 1970s and 1980s, these women aren't pushing their kids to Ivy League schools and careers where they can make a lot of money; they just want their kids to be happy.

Bailey stressed that if retailers and manufacturers don't provide them with the answers they are seeking, they are smart enough, independent enough and determined enough to find the information elsewhere.

Gen X moms also like the latest and greatest products because that's what they are used to. They like immediate gratification, and they like to customize and personalize their belongings.

The youngest mothers, the emerging Gen Y consumers, are 24 and younger and are expected to have the second-largest baby boom in the country's history.

These women will have more children sooner and are more likely to stay at home. That doesn't mean they don't work, noted Bailey, as many are developing home-based careers such as online businesses and consulting work.

Gen Y moms want to use technology, and have grown up with upscale brands. Many of these moms spent their teen years getting pedicures, carrying Coach bags and meeting their friends at Starbucks — activities once considered saved for adults.

Word of mouth has more importance for Gen Y moms than Gen Xers, said Bailey, because they stay in constant contact with friends through wireless phones and instant messaging. Gen Y moms also are more likely to go shopping with their own mothers than Gen Xers, so store events geared to mom and grandma might have an appeal to this new generation.

Bailey discussed marketing to three generations of moms.