For a list of activities and programs at your local YMCA, contact YMCA

Links and resources for busy moms by momsonthego.com

(Avisha Nair) with questions or comments on this story.

On Journalism home

Marketing aimed specifically at busy parents and kids

All across America, marketing has reached a very different level. In today’s fast-paced world, we have children involved in everything from sports teams to student council to dance class. Even parents are subjected to hectic lifestyles that are a result of their jobs and their overscheduled kids. Marketing products and services to accommodate the busy child and parent is a major industry in the United States.

Both kids and parents are buying goods and services that are designed to aid busy lifestyles. And companies are refocusing their marketing and advertising efforts to attract members of this new generation to their products.

It is no secret that marketing is a highly visible and important activity in society. It affects the lives of individuals, the success of nonprofit organizations, and most importantly, the profits of businesses. Regulating marketing activities requires the same level of understanding of consumer behavior as does managing marketing programs.

In an e-mail interview conducted with Lex Higgins, marketing professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and former marketing consultant to Hewlett-Packard, Higgins said that in American society, if there is a need that exists among consumers, some company soon rushes to try to meet it.

“And right now retailers like Wal-Mart and Starbucks coffee put time and utility ahead of most other product and service attributes such as product quality and service,” he said.

Wal-mart with its 24- hour seven-day-a-week operating schedule, and Starbucks coffee with its time and place utility for coffee and pastries.

Higgins also said that that consumers are most likely to see advertisements that placate consumers initially by using copy in the ads that refers to “your busy lifestyle” or “now, a way to calm your hectic life.”

“But this is a way to promote current products and services without incurring the expense of developing new products specifically aimed at the need,” he said.

Food on the go

With children being extremely busy with school and after-school activities, their eating habits change. Eating patterns are changing, with the traditional three meals a day becoming a rushed five as consumers plan their meals around their lives, not their lives around meal times. Even parents are just as busy, and hence, the concept of snacking and food on the go has increased substantially. According to the American Dietetic Association, the snacking industry in the United States overall is a $40 billion a year market.

Companies like Applebee’s and Campbell are orienting themselves to providing convenience that would make them appealing to the overprogrammed segment of consumers. Campbells’ Soup At Hand is advertised by the company as a “great way to eat right when you’re on the run.” Their slogan for the product is “don’t skip…sip.”

In the case of Applebee’s, the company started Carside To Go this year. The customer just needs to call and place his order and the Applebee’s staff will bring an order right to the car once the customer pulls in to the parking lot. Once again, they market this service as “the perfect way to make sure you and your family get the tasty Applebee’s food you love, even when you are in a hurry.”

In fact, both companies use moms on the go in their commercials to advertise their products and services.

For Kelly Thompson, a mother of two and a nurse at Luther Hospital, Applebee’s is her family’s favorite restaurant. “We eat out a lot as a family, at least two to three times a week,” she said. Both her daughters, Jackie, 11, and Jordan, 15, are involved in activities after school. “Basketball takes up a lot of time but they are also involved in other things like the debate club, soccer, golf and church,” Thompson said.

Thompson works three 12 hour shifts a week at the hospital and every third weekend. Her husband, Flint, is a teacher. She cooks mostly hot dishes when she is home, but when she works, her husband and the girls often opt for fast food. “Their all time favorite fast food is frozen pizza, and their favorite fast food restaurant is Culvers,” she said.

Her family does enjoy her home-cooked meals, especially her homemade pizza and chili. She also uses her crockpot a lot. “I love the fact that it is such a useful appliance. I just put the stuff I want to cook along with the seasonings in it, and then I go about running my errands and by the time the kids and Flint get home, they can have a bowl of hot chili or stew,” Thompson said.

“Most days, everyone comes home at a different time and this way then they can eat a hot meal whenever they feel like,” Thompson said.

According to Chuck Tomkovick, a marketing professor at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, most of these goods and services that cater to a busy lifestyle are designed with the aim of providing instant gratification to the consumers.

“In a way, these products provide a distraction for the consumers,” he said.

Cell phones for kids?

It has become extremely difficult to find an adult in the United States that doesn’t have a cell phone. According to the World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2001, there are 86.1 million subscribers for cell phones in the United States, and this number is predicted to be over 1.3 billion worldwide users by the year 2005.

TracFone Wireless states that many parents are purchasing cell phones for their children as a means of staying in touch with them once their school day or their daily schedule of activities has ended. In 2000, just 5 percent of 13- to 17- year olds had cell phones. Today, 56 percent do, according to the Yankee Group, an international organization specializing in the analysis of trends in strategic planning, technology forecasting and market research. This confirms that children constitute a viable market segment for several businesses and retailers.

Jordan Thompson, a freshman at North High School, has been asking her parents for a cell phone. Her rationale is that “all the other kids have one.” And she is finally going to get one this Christmas.

“Now she doesn’t have to use mine or my husband’s cell phone, and it is more convenient for all of us,” Thompson’s mom said.

But for Karen Rothbauer, a mother of three boys and a study abroad coordinator at UW-Eau Claire, cell phones are something she is not especially fond of. She does admit that her kids haven’t really been “bugging” her about getting them a cell phone. Her oldest, Kyle, 15, has only mentioned it once.

“I don’t think I will get my boys a cell phone anytime soon. I want to encourage them to plan ahead, be a little more organized,” Rothbauer said. “You do not always have to be organized with these modern conveniences that we have today.”

Rothbauer admits that she is not really in tune with advertising that markets products and services for a busy lifestyle. “Coming from a small town like Cadott makes a lot of difference," she said. We are a small community and although I do hear about things occasionally through word of mouth, I don’t make that extra effort to be on the lookout for these products and services.”

Moms and minivans

According to Autodata, a company that researches technical publications, minivan sales in 2004 jumped from 7.2 percent from January through May compared with a year ago. They also report that most buyers considered a minivan as their next new vehicle.

Not many vehicles nowadays offer the seating capacity that’s typical of minivans. Entry and exit is seldom a problem, which makes minivans a sensible choice for busy moms.

“You will see ads referring to 'your busy lifestyle" or "your hectic life", many commercials already refer to it directly," Higgins said. If you can find a commercial promoting a new minivan, most all of which are targeted to women with children,” Higgins said.

Both Thompson and Rothbauer drive minivans. “Being a family of five and with my oldest son almost 6 feet tall, I just love my minivan. I am so used to it,” Rothbauer said.

“Having a minivan is just convenient,” Thompson said. “Convenient for taking the girls to basketball practice and there is always extra room to give another kid or two a ride home.”

Services

Associations like the YMCA have been offering programs for kids, community programs and childcare services for many years. One of the most important ways they cater for the busy lifestyle of parents especially is by providing childcare. The Eau Claire YMCA located at 700 Graham Ave., is one of the area’s largest provider of quality care for children ages 2 -12 years.

For Executive Director of the Eau Claire YMCA, Ken Van Es, overprogramming for kids is a “chicken and egg sort of thing.”

“Actually the YMCA is part of the solution and part of the problem, if it is a problem, to overprogrammed kids and parents,” Van Es said. “In one respect we help with schedules of parents and kids as our activities are of a relatively short time frame and less intensity.”

Van Es provides an example with the basketball leagues at the YMCA that include one practice per week and one game per week. The leagues usually play locally at the YMCA or at an area school so there isn’t much travel time.

“A travel team on the other hand most likely will include two or three practices a week plus three or four games in a tournament on a weekend, not to mention the travel time to and from the tournament,” Van Es said. “However, we do offer a lot of activities like swimming lessons, sports, fitness and others. If a parent signs their child up for a lot then their schedules can become too much.”

“We try to offer programs that the community is indicating that they want. On the other hand we market our programs through several different methods,” he said. “The question then becomes are we meeting community needs or creating community needs.”

“A lot of these products and services cost a lot more money, but that is what the American people want,” Tomkovick said. “The American family is desperate to try out new products and services.”

Along with organizations, many other resources have been created for busy mothers, fathers and kids. Magazines and web sites created exclusively for busy families are spreading everywhere. Web sites like momonthego.com specialize in simple, stress free and fun activities for busy moms. This web site provides quick and simple recipes for the busy mom, lists of games for the kids in the car or minivan to play while mom is driving them around, books to read for moms, several ways of relaxation for mom and dad and even a bulletin board where members can post problems and questions related to anything from their kids, homes and even shopping queries.

And just what does a regular mom think of this marketing phenomenon.

“I don’t really think of it as anything special,” Thompson said. “For me and my family, it is normal and a way of life. I think families everywhere are getting used to it.”

“Convenience is what we look for in buying products and other services today, especially since we all have busy lives,” Thompson said. “And if a product or service is convenient for a family, then it is a winner.”