"Relationship Mom" is outlet loyal,
not brand loyal.

In the latest Trone^® panel survey, fielded October 2009, six distinct mom segments emerged. One of which is Relationship Mom. Not surprisingly, she is traditional in her desire to have relationships with family and friends. But wouldn’t that same woman want a relationship with a brand? Oddly, the answer is no. She is much more loyal to a store than to a brand. In fact, she’s 50% more likely than all other moms combined to be retail loyal.

Other findings provide a rich profile of Relationship Mom. Here’s a snapshot of her.

Head: The logical way she makes decisions

Relationship Mom displays the highest loyalty to retail stores (39% v overall sample of 26%), but inversely, has the lowest loyalty to specific brands. For example, she indexes at 60 when it comes to brand loyalty in the children’s apparel category, a category known for branding. To provide a contrast, Fashionistas, the most style-conscious group, display a greater loyalty to product brands, 30-40% higher across all categories than their counterparts. Not only does Relationship Mom put the least stock in brand names, she is also less concerned about brand reputation (37% v. 51%).

 

Heart: Emotionally what rises to the top

When it comes to parenting, Relationship Mom scores the highest on each and every descriptor of her relationship with her children from provider (99%) to best friend (51%). Knowing this about her relationship with her children, we find that predictably, she puts tremendous stock in family opinions when it comes to raising her family (76% top 2 box importance).

 

Wallet: How she spends her money

If Relationship Mom received an extra $10,000, she would spend it on her children.

 

Feet: Where mom gets her information

Not only is she traditional in her retail loyalty, she is also traditional in her media consumption. Relationship Mom is the least involved in all online activities. Along with her cohorts the "Affectionates," Relationship Moms have the lowest measures of engagement with email, blogs, even research. Affectionates and Relationship Moms share a skepticism of the value of published materials such as blogs (2% top 2 box v 15%). Trone has found that a media mix of print and TV is still necessary when courting the dedication of Relationship Mom.

 

After helping Healthtex children apparel secure distribution in Walmart, we produced an emotional spot that reminded moms of the fleetingness of childhood. The spot featured both the retailer, Walmart, and the Healthtex brand. Moms responded. Decide for yourself whether you think they are Relationship Moms or not. Here’s the Healthtex TV spot and a sample of the responses.

Quotes:

"I just discovered your clothing line today, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for allowing me to dress my two year old like the innocent little girl that she is instead of a 17 year old. I’m going to be looking for this brand from now on! Thank you!"
—Natasha

"I am a mother of three. I was hoping you could tell me who sings the "wait, wait, wait, hold on" song in your commercial!! It is working! Great song, would love to find out more about the singer and your clothes!"
—Julie

"I actually started tearing up because the music and video clips made me think about how fast these babies grow up. I was laughing at myself for crying so easily, but then I realized that was a really good commercial! It touched my heart, especially having little ones the exact age as the babies in the commercial."
—J. Kennedy

If you are interested in connecting with any or all of the six segments of moms, email Nicole, our mom team lead.

Find out more about how we talk to mom»