Lip-Sticking

Huggies essay contest encourages moms to sign up for Dollar General text alerts

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Last week I wrote about some new research on how moms are using their mobile devices for shopping. Here's some other new insights that find that moms are 20% more likely to use social media across all devices than the general population.

BabyCenter, with comScore, revealed this new data that states 91% of moms now use social media regularly, a 20% increase since 2010. And, 22% of moms say that if friends or family don’t participate in social media, they are not as much a part of their lives. Mike Fogarty at BabyCenter, says “... before mom clicks to buy, she’s posted, pinned, tweeted, and shared... so much a part of a her life... (she checks) social platforms... before first cup of coffee... now fundamental to... moms’... lives...”

Here's another new promotion that we're involved in that is targeted to these moms. The Huggies Little Hands, Big Plans Contest invites participants to write an essay about the big plans they have for their child. Two lucky winners a month for five months will each reach $5,000 to help them make their dream come true. This contest is sponsored by Huggies' parent company, Kimberly Clark, Corp., in conjunction with DollarGeneral.com.

We are again working with Triad Retail Media who specialize in creating and managing online media programs for major retail e-commerce websites such as Dollar General as well as Walmart, Sam's Club, CVS and Toys R Us. They create custom digital ad campaigns for a variety of national brands to help them reach their customers and engage with shoppers while they’re doing researching and making final purchasing decisions.

The entry form for this contest asks participants to provide their mobile phone number and then invites them to sign up for DG Mobile Text alerts to receive text messages about Dollar General's events and coupons. This is one initiative Dollar General is using to grow their mobile phone message list in order to reach these key customers. Last week's survey stated that SMS was the only category that a majority (52%) of moms said they used to incorporate mobile into their shopping experience.

A panel of judges will be reviewing all the contest submissions and twice a month pick the top two winners based on the following criteria: Creativity/Originality (25%); Quality of Submission (25%); and Fit to Contest Theme (50%). There are already 60 entries from the first week of the contest. It will be interesting to see the number of entries and how many new mobile text alert subscribers Dollar General gains. Contest ends September 30, 2013.

This appears to be the year that retail e-commerce marketers are definitely focused on mobile marketing, especially mobile marketing to women!

Why Women's Entrepreneurship Style Is Getting Powerful In the Market

Guest post by Patrick Rosario 

According to American Express, the number of woman owned $1 million dollar businesses are growing. More women are taking the plunge and starting businesses of their own. This increase in not only female entrepreneurs, but high grossing female entrepreneurs has led to a shift in business leadership styles. Men and women alike have taken notice to the success of females in the market and with that have made an effort to shift a primarily male dominant industry to a business community that can thrive on the female style of management.

Here are some of the key components of the women’s entrepreneurship style that are taking the business world by storm.

MS Run the US Puts Out Call to Endurance Athletes: Calling Rochester Runners

From The Editor's Desk: If you're a runner and you love to run for both your health and a cause, consider this! 

Only 10 Coveted Spots Available in Distance-Running Relay Adventure to Benefit Multiple Sclerosis

The estimated 70,000 individuals who are distance runners or athletes involved with the MS cause, are invited to take part in an upcoming adventure relay race. The MS Run the US 2013 Relay, which is slated for April 16th through September 6th and will be divided into 22 segments, is currently seeking 10 Running Partners to take part in each leg of this coast-to-coast run. Each segment covers approximately 140 miles of running over the course of six days. All proceeds raised will support MS research. The never-before-done aspect of the relay will also raise awareness of multiple sclerosis.

Women in the 21st Century

by Yvonne DiVita

Found this infographic on Pinterest and had to share. It refers to women in the 21st century and is titled, Leadership Equality. I believe it supports my marketing to women message, my women are everything Pinterest board, and the fact that women are vital to the prosperity not only of the U.S., but of the whole world. Enjoy. 

Marketing to Women Online in 2013

by Yvonne DiVita

I started this blog in 2004 to support the idea that marketing to women online is a practice more businesses should be focused on. Since then, a lot has changed. The Internet has changed, for one. It's grown... Facebook and Twitter were not part of my original writings, and to dismiss them now would spell trouble across the board. People are knowledgable about marketing to women, recognizing the inherent differences in how women shop, how we think, and what our role is in the family. Interestingly, another factor plays into the marketing to women concept these days - the fact that many people are promoting gender neutral marketing - in other words, just market. Don't target women or men. 

I'm not one of them. I still firmly believe women are different than men, we shop differently than men, and we use the Internet differently. We're unique. 

Pinterest Just Makes Me Hungry

by Yvonne DiVita

There. I said it. Pinterest makes me hungry.

Are you using Pinterest yet? It's the darling of the social media world - key visual images shares hither and yon by you, me, and everybody on the planet. Reports are that Pinterest delivers better traffic numbers than Facebook Twitter. Other reports say it's dominated by women (what isn't?) and still other reports say it's quickly becoming the tool of the decade.

Ok...maybe no one has said Pinterest is the tool of the decade. Maybe I made that up. But, they are saying it's a business tool - it can help improve your business in varying ways - and the fact that it's so visual, so compelling (a picture is worth a thousand words, after all) makes it the spot to be online, regardless of your purpose.

The Death of Coupons

by Yvonne DiVita

RIP coupons. You do not live at my house, anymore. I shop at stores that do not raise their prices and then tempt me in with a cents off coupon. Even when it's doubled.

According to Forbes magazine, JC Penney made a big mistake by getting rid of coupons. Profits are down and Moms everywhere are sending the CMO nasty notes. Apparently, they love wasting time on coupons.

I have been a coupon Queen. I have spent hours and hours clipping coupons, comparing prices, saving what seemed like hundreds of dollars, mostly on groceries. And, I still use an occasional coupon for groceries.

Are you on Pinterest Yet? It's now the 3rd Largest Social Networking Site in the U.S.

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

There has been much written in the news about Pinterest lately. It's now the third most-visited social-networking site in the United States, according to a report recently released by Experian Marketing Services. Pinterest ranks behind only Facebook and Twitter in terms of total visitors which was based on U.S. visitors during March and did not even include mobile traffic.

Most of us probably never heard of Pinterest six months ago. For those not familiar with Pinterest it lets users "pin" photos and info from the Internet onto virtual boards. Once I started reading about it I first had to request an invite to join. Once I signed up it allowed me to easily follow all my Facebook friends, which is one of the reasons behind it's fast growth. I have to admit, I didn't have any photos pinned to my boards at first and I still only have a few. My most popular are "Recipes I Love" and "For the Love of Doggies". I still really haven't spent much time on this social network and not sure if I want to, but there are many people that are, especially women.

The Woman Who Made Furs Fabulous

Article by Chloe Spencer 

While I was doing research for my Huffington Post article I was writing on the fur industry and why you should buy faux fur, I came across a site called Fabulous-Furs. But the furs on this site were faux, and looked just as real as their counterparts.

I was amazed…I looked through the collections of full-length white mink coats, coyote vests, and fox shawls, which all looked so real, except that they were only a few hundred dollars each instead of tens of thousands of dollars each! All beautifully made with high quality fabrics, and the best part, never harmed an animal in the process.

In fact, animals were helped in the process. Fabulous-Furs donates to hundreds of non-profits for animal rights every year. It is also the finest faux fur clothing company in the World, with celebrity customers, TV appearances and products sold at Saks Fifth Avenue. You're probably thinking, wow that is fabulous! All thanks to a woman named Donna Salyers, who put the fabulous into furs.

Friday Musings - A little bit and then a little bit more

 by Yvonne DiVita

Interesting article on women in business, in India - do they know something we don't?

Women’s Leadership Programs Missing Key Elements; Could Mean Missed Opportunities for India Inc., New Catalyst Study Finds

Key findings of this report include:

• Fewer than 50 percent of companies held managers accountable for meeting diversity targets through performance goals or links to bonus pay or compensation.
• In the area of mentoring, where reporting companies had relatively high rates of implementation—71 percent with formal mentoring programs, including 68 percent with programs for high-potential employees—only one third reported tracking outcomes such as promotion and/or retention rates.
• Most India Inc. companies (75 percent) reported having flexible work programs, but many failed to track utilization of these programs.
• visit the link above for the complete article, and share some thoughts in our comment area