Marketing to Women: Disney and Wal-Mart Get It

There’s been a recent rash of large businesses using moms to market their brands. I’m supportive of this, if it’s done correctly.

Wal-Mart: My Sparkplugging buddy Jessica Smith is one of the Money Saving Moms of Wal-Mart. The company started the Elevenmoms (which actually has 12 moms) as a way to create dialogue with not only their customers but also people who are looking for money saving tips. The moms don’t get paid for this (it’s more about the exposure it brings), but they create videos on everything from saving money on highlighting your hair (by doing it yourself) to cutting dryer sheets in half to save money.

Not only do they have the primary site, they’ve also added a YouTube channel with all the videos. (smart. spread your love all over the place). I actually was impressed with Wal-Mart’s explanation of how they came up with this campaign.

Disney: Walt Disney World (down the street from me) also has a panel of moms (and one dad…couldn’t they just call it “Disney Experts” or “Disney Parents??”) who give advice and answer questions from people planning a trip to Disney parks. There’s an amazing depth of topics they cover. I find the site a little less warm and fuzzy (I’ve always felt that about Disney’s website…and I used to work there!) than Wal-Mart’s. Maybe it’s because the videos all appear to be professional, versus the Wal-Mart moms using Flip cameras (love love LOVE mine). There’s just something missing the mark with Disney’s campaign. Can’t put my finger on it.

At any rate, I am impressed that both companies took the proper approach (not making mom a haus-frau slaving over a stove but rather a savvy, intelligent woman who knows her way around a computer) in using moms to market to other moms. These are great examples of target marketing done right.