Any way you slice it, U.S. moms are a massive group of passionate and loyal consumers who are decision-makers, multi-taskers, media junkies and have a collective buying power of more than $2.5T.
Not all moms are alike. There are stay-at-home moms, work-from-home moms, working moms, new moms, moms of older children and late bloomer moms, just to name a few. Generally speaking, moms are women who are making purchasing decisions not just for themselves but for the entire household. They are the consummate multi-taskers; they are socially active and aware; they value their time with family and their time alone or with friends; and they are constantly on-the-go.
But there are a couple of things that nearly all moms have in common:
- They feel that being a parent is both rewarding and enjoyable. (Source: Pew Research 2016)
- They listen to radio – AM/FM radio is the #1 reach platform among moms 18-49. (Source: Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q3 2016)
AM/FM radio reaches 26.9MM moms weekly, 4.3MM (or 19%) more than TV. 17.8MM are working moms and 9.1MM are stay-at-home moms. Why do any of these numbers matter? Because moms are an incredibly influential group of consumers who control the purse strings, mention specific brand names at least 73 times per week, and are hard to reach because they are constantly on-the-go. There is no other medium that reaches mom closer to her point of purchase (71% of listening is out of the home for moms 18-49 and 77% of listening is out of the home for working moms).
So how can brands break through and ensure that moms LISTEN to their message? MediaPost recently published an article citing Women Supporting Women research that revealed the majority of women (60%) feel less than supported in their personal and professional life. Insights from this study reveal how supportive messaging can help humanize a brand/company while establishing an emotional connection with consumers. It further conveyed that moms identify themselves through a lens of family and children. They want to be the Superhero but can be overwhelmed by the variety of choices, so they turn to communities of moms to help them find their way.
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- 64% of moms ask other mothers for advice before they purchase a new product.
- 63% of moms consider other moms the most credible experts when they have questions.
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One of the many ways marketers can help alleviate the stress on moms is to help them lean in to groups of like-minded peers – “sisterhood” communities if you will – and radio can help them do this through content, community and personalities:
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- Advice coming out of the Edison Research “Mom of the Future” study suggests that messages to moms should appeal to their optimistic side and let them believe in the good that is to come instead of pointing out the everyday chaos that they are all too aware of. Brands that acknowledge the work efforts put in for their children’s future — the planning, the saving and the encouragement will resonate and provide tools and reminders to allow moms the ability to prioritize their own health and happiness — will be rewarded. Radio, across all of its platforms, is well suited to help brands tell their stories and deliver these messages in unique and creative ways. Imagine a weekly audio “how to” series promoted and teased in a contextual manner on-air and online, shared socially, available on demand via podcast and HD side channels and delivered in a simple to-do list with corresponding coupons and one-click ordering by the touch of a cell phone button. This is an example of how content can be weaved into the fabric of radio stations across the country and delivered to the 26.9MM moms it reaches each week.
- Radio stations are known for attracting and bringing together like-minded communities of listeners and delivering the content they want, the news they need, providing them with forums to channel what is on their mind and simply being the community’s sounding board. Moms are drawn to this – they share content within the community, seek opportunities to attend events, listen-in, call-in and log-in to join conversations and participate.
- Radio’s personalities (or influencers) have already established trust with their audiences. According to a Katz Radio Group survey of 2,200+ radio personalities – 32% are female with half of them being moms, and as an iHeartRadio study confirms, 6 out of 10 listeners say that radio hosts are “like a friend” whose opinions they trust. Further, RAB conducted a SurveyMonkey survey among a group of 150 “friends and family” moms from across the country to help shape and confirm insights for this article. Among the findings, 27% of the moms surveyed tune in to radio for the DJ/personality or specific program and nearly 25% indicated that they post or share content they heard on the radio on social media.
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Much of this sounds kind of serious and it is, but that doesn’t mean that mom wants brands to be “all business” when they talk to her. Understanding the moms you are targeting also means understanding why they listen to the radio and what is going to grab their attention. So we leave you with some nuggets and food for thought that came out of an informal online survey of 150 moms:
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- Nearly 76% of moms listen to the radio for entertainment.
- 60% indicated that listening to radio makes them happy.
- 57% of moms say listening to the radio relaxes them.
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- 56% of moms say they talk about what they hear on the radio with friends.
- Nearly 25% post or share radio content on social media.
- 62% of moms said the best commercials on the radio are funny.
- 43% of moms said the best commercials are the ones that provide them with information they didn’t already know.
- 39% of moms said the best commercials include music or a jingle.
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Moms really do know best!