One of the fascinating things about major holidays is that they bring forth a flood of press releases bearing odd factoids and unusual sounding studies. While Mother's Day has a hard time competing with Halloween (which produces spooky stats, trick-or-treat trivia, Halloween history, and pop culture tidbits about every kind of candy imaginable) and Valentine's Day (the sex study junkie and celebrity gossip addict's favorite time of year) when it comes to the sheer volume of press releases. However, when it comes to rousing guilt and angst in the reader, the Mother's Day press release is truly in a league of its own.
I just received a press release that could be a gold medal contender in this category.
Not only does it feature quotes from the requisite expert type -- in this case a psychologist, who provides reassuring and helpful advice about what moms really want for Mothers' Day ("a thoughtful, pampering, yet not too extravagant gift that involves spending time with you").
It delivers the perfect one-two marketing punch: alarming information (the amount of money spent on a typical Mother's Day gift has skyrocketed from $96.50 to $139.14 over the past five years) plus survey data that is treated like insider information designed to help us navigate the supposedly mystifying world of moms' minds.
I say supposedly mystifying because only a PR pro would be able to spin these survey findings as something newsworthy enough to justify a press release.
Moms want to spend time with their families on Mother's Day.
They would prefer that a gift be thoughtful rather than expensive.
And they hate "bad gifts."
That last fact piqued my interest but, alas, the PR firm neglected to spell out what these bad gifts might be. Anything with a "best before date" before Mother's Day? A self-improvement book of any type (unless mom has specifically requested the book in question by title and author). A re-gifted item that (oops!) originated with Mom?
I'm going to be collecting more of my favorite (as in kind of outrageous) mom pitches during the days ahead. I wonder if my family will fall for the one for the anti-aging cream that is being pitched as the perfect gift for moms because it's an alternative to cosmetic surgery. (They'd better not!) I'd much prefer something like this or a handmade card served with a cup of coffee.
Now over to you: Does the marketing spin at Mother's Day make you roll your eyes? What are some of the best and worst Mother's Day marketing pitches you've heard over the years?
Related:
Motherhood by the Numbers
Mother Wire
I just received a press release that could be a gold medal contender in this category.
Not only does it feature quotes from the requisite expert type -- in this case a psychologist, who provides reassuring and helpful advice about what moms really want for Mothers' Day ("a thoughtful, pampering, yet not too extravagant gift that involves spending time with you").
It delivers the perfect one-two marketing punch: alarming information (the amount of money spent on a typical Mother's Day gift has skyrocketed from $96.50 to $139.14 over the past five years) plus survey data that is treated like insider information designed to help us navigate the supposedly mystifying world of moms' minds.
I say supposedly mystifying because only a PR pro would be able to spin these survey findings as something newsworthy enough to justify a press release.
Moms want to spend time with their families on Mother's Day.
They would prefer that a gift be thoughtful rather than expensive.
And they hate "bad gifts."
That last fact piqued my interest but, alas, the PR firm neglected to spell out what these bad gifts might be. Anything with a "best before date" before Mother's Day? A self-improvement book of any type (unless mom has specifically requested the book in question by title and author). A re-gifted item that (oops!) originated with Mom?
I'm going to be collecting more of my favorite (as in kind of outrageous) mom pitches during the days ahead. I wonder if my family will fall for the one for the anti-aging cream that is being pitched as the perfect gift for moms because it's an alternative to cosmetic surgery. (They'd better not!) I'd much prefer something like this or a handmade card served with a cup of coffee.
Now over to you: Does the marketing spin at Mother's Day make you roll your eyes? What are some of the best and worst Mother's Day marketing pitches you've heard over the years?
Related:
Motherhood by the Numbers
Mother Wire
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