Pepperidge Farms, the makers of the “Fish” have a smart campaign out called “Fishfull Thinking.” It’s a site that gives tips to parents about how to raise a positive child.

Elements include:
1. Skill Quiz
2. Book Club
3. Guides to keeping kids active and optimistic
4. A parent survey
5. Q+A with experts
6. and more…

This is a wise campaign for the company. It allows parents (moms in particular) to see their brand as supportive to their parenting and not just a consumer transaction.

Moms will be loyal if you give her practical tips for doing the hardest job on the plant – raising happy, healthy kids.

Kudos to Pepperidge Farm for this campaign. Non-profits and companies to use this case study to do some authentic parent engagement planning.

In his Time column this week, Dr. Mehmet Oz reflects on the fact that, in most homes, women are the primary care doc, thanks to their “remarkable power” to keep their families well.

The article continues by offering tips aimed at helping women teach their family healthy habits – from inventing games and stories so health lessons are more likely to stick with kids to storing each family member’s health history in one place to better manage their healthcare.

All good advice. But I couldn’t help but think how all these great ideas add yet more “do’s” to a mom’s ever-growing to-do list.

It takes enormous creativity and organizing skills to be a great mom. So who wouldn’t appreciate a practical shortcut tool once in a while? This is a service that more nonprofits could provide. What if a nonprofit committed to children’s health offered an online bank of health-related bedtime stories or healthy snack recipes for moms on the go?

It may seem like a radical departure, yet corporations – including those that sell not-so-healthy products — do this all the time. But this is a space that nonprofits could own. They’d be doing moms across the country a huge favor, and also build brand loyalty among potential donors and activists.

What about when it’s time to remodel your home, paint the bathroom, or even build a new home or office.  What do you consider then?

Construction has never been an industry dominated by women, but women are bringing innovation, consciousness, and relevance to the field.  Green Economy Post recently made a list of who they consider the top ten women in green building.

We found another to add to the list:

Sarah Beatty founded Green Depot – “a leading supplier of environmentally friendly and sustainable building products, services, and home solutions” – in 2005.  The flagship store on Bowery in Manhattan hosts a myriad of products, for all elements of living, and empowers consumers with options.

Beatty got the idea for the store when pregnant and fixing her kitchen floor.  Blown away by the toxicity of the paint and products, and horrified by the difficulty of getting more sustainable and “green” products, she took matters into her own hands and started a distribution point.  The company has grown from one store to include ten stores and seven distribution centers.

Women seek an in-depth understanding of what they choose – whether it’s when they buy a product or take a bite of a pie.  How do they know what they are getting?

Two non-profits organizations are making detailed info available at the snap of a camera-phone.  Consumers simply take an iPhone to the grocery store with the GoodGuide app or the (soon to launch) Citizen’s Market app, and scan item barcodes.  From home they can search deep databases online.  Profiles for the product and company pop up with ratings and descriptions for them.  On Citizens Market, consumers can upload reviews, and companies can join the conversation, too.

GoodGuide helps consumers “find safe, healthy, and green products” with a rating system that accounts for ingredients, production, and the behavior of the company that makes or harvests the products.  They use a combination of science, widely sourced documents, and algorithms to rate products and companies.  Environmental, social, labor practices, and health performance are measured.  Ratings are available for food, personal care, and household products ranging from baby food to frozen food, from shampoo to sunscreen, and beyond.  And the company is always adding to their list.

GoodGuide also offers tips for feeding kids veggies, reducing your carbon footprint, and news about health issues.

Citizens Market offers insight and an open-source conversation on the issues that companies support.  They empower consumers to shop their values – and vote on issues with their dollars.  Environmental practices, a company’s stance on gay marriage, animal rights policies, and more can be reviewed on the site.

Women who seek a deep understanding of what they are buying, and are loyal to brands that have credibly cultivated relationships with them, will find these sites useful.

For marketers and companies themselves, these sites present opportunity and challenges.  Bad reviews will clearly have negative consequences, but joining and following the conversation here will help build those real relationships through awareness and action. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with women who could become loyal consumers.

Both sites are still in beta and are welcoming feedback and questions.

With chicken coops and children in tow, this movement is made up of women who stay at home, with a new spin on being a housewife.

They are “feeding their families clean, flavorful food; reducing their carbon footprints; producing sustainably instead of consuming rampantly.” Some seek an anti-consumer lifestyle, as advocated by Shannon Haye’s book, the Radical Homemaker with communities sprouting in support.

The limitations on consumption and the consciousness present in the lifestyle and purchasing decisions these women are making may echo in the back-to-the-land movement, the influx of green and organic products, or seem extreme to some.  Fundamentally, though, “Femivores” and even “Radical Homemakers” resonate with the wider pattern in women’s consumption: taking control.

Women’s conscious consumption is not a trend or fad.  Women generally spend more time than men deciding what to buy or consume.  Recognizing this and empowering it is vital to building relationships with women consumers.

(Photo by Katherine Wolkoff/Art + Commerce, Courtesy of New York Times)

Forget “Supermom.” Meet the “Real Mom.” That’s the message behind a recent white paper by Advertising Age and ad giant JWT.

According to authors Marissa Miley and Ann Make, today’s younger generation of Real Moms (Gen Xers and millennials) are similar to their have-it-all Super Mom predecessors insofar as they’re just as busy in their roles as “chief operating officer of the home.” The difference is, they’re more realistic about the push-and-pull dynamic of their multi-tasking lives and less beholden to perfection. Call it the New Pragmatism.

While the paper, which is based on a survey of 870 men and women, is ostensibly geared to consumer marketing, it has important insights for cause-driven communicators, too. Take, for example, these findings into What Real Moms Want:

Put family first: In today’s overscheduled world, Real Moms feel responsibility to create family time. Next time you want a mom to give money or take action for your cause, think about how you can turn your “ask” into an teaching moment for her children by creating kid-friendly content on your web site. That way she can do double duty: do good and pass along values while spending time with her kids.

The New York Times recently reported a recession-related lifestyle trend: Americans are buying less stuff—and doing more stuff together with their families. For nonprofits have an experiential activity they can offer as an entry point to their issue, this represents a big opportunity.

Be more than just mom: Real Moms want to be good caretakers. But they want to have an identity outside that, too. I have a 30something friend and new mom of twins who is hyperconscious about not becoming “one of those moms” who talks about her kids to the exclusion of all else. She also relies on Facebook to stay connected with friends.

For nonprofits, this is a reminder that the causes we support are one way we project our unique identity: they are an extension of our personal brand because they show the world what we care about (think Leonardo DiCaprio and the environment or Lance Armstrong and cancer). Social networking sites are ideal places to connect with Real Moms and encourage them to share their causes with others.

Permission to indulge/be imperfect. The new, pragmatic mom is open to brands that give her permission to be imperfect without feeling guilty. Frit-O Lay has cashed in on this phenom (which they dub “permissible indulgences”) with its 100-calorie-a-pack snacks.

I’m from a family of immigrants that derives intense pleasure from saving money by spending less. My mom practically levitated off the ground when she found a pair of pants discounted from $138 to $21 at an after-holiday sale a few weeks ago. Bargain hunting is our excuse to indulge our inner clothes horse.
The edge that nonprofits have on all this is that they can offer permission to indulge through giving back.My mom, for example, would never buy expensive chocolates for herself: too extravagant. But if I get them for her for Mother’s Day and part of the proceeds go to the Global Fund for Women, it’s all good.

MediaWeek: Mothers of young children are spending far more time with social media than just three years ago. And most claim that as their personal time becomes constrained, they end up sacrificing time with magazines and newspapers compared to before they had children.

Read what John Driscoll says about ‘Through-School Marketing’ and how it gets results.

How can  your cause/issue use school marketing to promote social change?

• 68% of African American mothers are more likely to read articles online, and 45% more likely to listen to music. 45% of Caucasian mothers are likely to frequent social networks, and 43%, message boards. Blogs were the top choice among 55% of Hispanic Moms, followed by social networks at 42%.
• The cell phone is the technology used most often by moms to communicate with their kids, and 80% say it is the direct line to their child and babysitter.
• 60% of moms use text messaging, and African-American moms and Hispanic moms text more than Caucasian moms.