Spring in December

Yes, we are already thinking about Spring and its not because we have the winter blues.


In the PR business, our world is ruled by timelines, deadlines and knowing how and when to pitch a story idea to an editor. Right now, magazines are working on their March, April or May issues. Yes, they work 3 to 5 months in advance!

Combine this with Spring, or as we have nicknamed it - the mom season, you might just hit the media jackpot.

You see, once the birds start chirping and the flowers start blooming, the media turn their focus to all things related to the 'birds and the bees'. Articles and news segments are dedicated to great products, services, and new inventions that appeal to moms. This is also a great time to promote mom entrepreneurs stories. And if your brand has an eco component then you could have double the reward because April is now eco-month, thanks to Earth Day on April 22.

We've achieved some of the best results for clients when we've done a single PR campaign in stages - target the magazines first and then 3 to 5 months later target the dailies (newspapers, TV, radio and blogs). What this does is ensure that your brand is seen across multiple platforms all around the same time.

When it comes to moms, this broad coverage gives them more opportunities to recognize your brand, develop faith and trust from all the 3rd-party endorsements, and then make the decision to act when they next come in contact with your product or service.

Another one bites the dust

Alas, St. Joseph Media (the publishers of many great Canadian magazines) have suspended the production Wish magazine. The December 2008 issue will be their last; same goes for Gardening Life.

I know many moms who looked forward to this great publication because it had a little bit of everything - fashion, beauty, home decor, recipes. It featured great tips, techniques, interviews and solutions for everyday living. You would think the format was perfect for today's busy lifestyle.

What happened? Well, the actual printing of a magazine is still expensive (and so is the shipping) and their readers are looking for info online more than ever before. Combine that with the fact their ad revenues are declining, you have a situation that most media are facing today. Sink or swim online.

The Wish 20-Minute Supper Club has grown to 55,000 members online so St. Joseph Media made the decision to concentrate their efforts by launching a stand-alone website and an annual 20-Minute Supper Club magazine.

Reality does bite sometimes. Its sad to see such a great magazine disappear as it means fewer traditional outlets to target for press coverage but it does demonstrate the growth of power going to online media outlets.

Introduction to Mom PR

It's Saturday morning and I'm stumbling around my house in the way many moms do. I've just put a load of laundry in, my youngest is napping, my eldest is watching Saturday morning cartoons, my husband is napping - he took the early shift by getting up at 6am while I had a lie-in, and we have both been picking through the Globe and Mail and will continue to do so for the next 4 days.

We love our weekend edition of the Globe (Canada's largest national daily newspaper) because it lasts the week; taking us 4 days to read it cover to cover. It's the perfect size and offers a great range of articles - current affairs, fashion, business, that fit into our time-crunched lifestyle.

Between the both of us, we read a lot of newspapers & magazines. Probably way more than the average Joe because we both work in/with the media. He is an ex-CBC'er, taught radio journalism at our local college and now works in the Public Affairs Bureau for the Province; I own a PR firm that specializes in the mom market and monitor a huge range of media from blogs to TV programs. We read most newspapers online or via our Blackberry but we do enjoy the tactile feel of a newspaper on a weekend.

I think we are a typical example of today's generation and that's why many of today's media outlets are struggling to survive. We are reading more newspapers online. I don't think the printed edition will completely disappear (for the sanity of our Saturday mornings let's hope not!) but I think media oulets will continue to focus more towards online content because that's where their current and future readers are.

The other impact on the media is advertising revenues, which are down dramatically and today's recession (or talk of recession) will ensure that this trend continues for a while.

So what does this mean and how does it impact you? Well, look at what happened in the last month alone

- the National Post has recently decreased the amount of printed editions in order to cut expenses. Suddenly we see the Financial Post (a business column that originated in the National Post) being included (or taking over) 1/3 of the Business sections in a lot of the Canwest chain newspapers. In my backyard this affected the Victoria Times Colonist and Vancouver Sun who both ran 2-3 pages of the Financial Post pages.

- Canwest Global cut 650 jobs across Canada. Most of the cuts were felt in small communities which continues to push this centralization of coverage to specific larger markets.

- CTV are cutting expense budgets which means no more travelling. That means if you are not located in the top Canadian cities - Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal - then getting some of the larger media outlets to attend and cover your event may require a budget for airfare, hotel and transporation costs. That is if they are allowed to accept those 'perks', which many of them aren't thus you may be better off pitching freelancers who can accept free things but there's no guarantee of coverage....but I digress.

The fewer reporters available to pitch and decreased amount of pages dedicated to local coverage means more opportunities and barriers when tying to get press coverage for your company. And you want press coverage because it increases sales when its part of an overall marketing plan.

Now combine that with today's online, technology-driven mom and you will have what this blog is going to be about.

This is the intersection between the media and moms.

(We) moms control 85% of every household dollar. We want value for our dollar, we research online, and best of all we chat with our networks and tell our friends what's 'rockin' our lives right now' - be it a product, a service or the latest Method product (thanks Oprah!).

Moms are synical of ads (on a personal note, my husband and I love the Berenstein Bears No More Commercials book), we read 4 magazines a month, look to the internet to network, shop, bank and book vacations. We are the most powerful consumer group in the world.

My goal is to provide you with useful information that you can apply to your business as well as understand how to tap into the influential Mom Market.

So, welcome and thanks for reading.