Mommy Marketing - The Honest Company

My very good friend, who is also pregnant with baby #2 was recently telling me how much she LOVED products from the Honest Company.  This is the friend (everyone has one) that is super stylish - in a "looks-great-all-the-time-but-not-trying-too-hard" kind of way.  Her effortless chicness and eye for design always have me paying attention, so when she casually mentioned her infatuation with a company that sells personal care products behind the beautiful face of Jessica Alba, my ears perked up.

nymag.com

Then the next thing I knew, while I was indulging in my weekly Target "shopping" trip (also known as the hour I get to myself to wander aimlessly and pick up completely non-essential but delightful items), I noticed these Honest Company products cropping up across many categories, and most noticeably on the coveted Target aisle "endcap".

glassdoor.com

Intrigued, I went online to the company website to learn more.  After being sucked into the vortex of their site that was both visually appealing and had fascinating content, I concluded there are brilliant marketers and business owners behind this brand.  I also came up with the following assessment of what I think they are doing right:

They are purpose driven and centered:

• You can see this in how they tell the story of why they exist

 "When I became a mom, I finally became the person I am, that I always should have been," she says. "It's the most satisfying job in the world. But, it can also be overwhelming and confusing. I created The Honest Company to help moms and to give all children a better, safer start.”

•  It is my opinion that truly great brands (those you are willing to get into facebook arguments to defend and cause you to spend 30% more than the category average because only.that.brand.will.due) connect with people on a deeper level than just product attributes.  Great brands are like great people.  Like the people you love to spend hours talking to and hanging out with - they have opinions and most importantly strongly held beliefs, that drive how they act and what they do.  And even more like your favorite people, they add value to others.  They don't just talk about themselves, or promote their own best interest, they give something to the relationship, something unique, that no other friend can deliver in the same way, whether that be stylish advice/inspiration to live a more beautiful life, or inspire you to be better by committing their lives to making the world a better place, etc.

Taking control and ownership of the “what’s in there” conversation:

• This is fascinating – I am a consumer that has never, until now, stopped to think about the chemicals inside my son’s diapers, and through this well designed infographic the Honest company has succeeded in planting within me a kernel of doubt about my past choices and suspicion in my trusted pampers (why don’t they tell me what’s in there?)

https://www.honest.com/whats-inside/diapers

Elevating the role of design within their categories

• In an industry dominated by traditional “licensed” characters or boring pastel designs (think mickey mouse and pooh bear) – this company introduced whimsical design and made it matter in a product you throw away (they started with disposable diapers and have quickly been expanding into other baby/personal-care products and household items)

Which would you rather show off?

Honest Assortment

• To me – this is what gets the non-hippy or super-earth-conscious parents in the purchase funnel, the design that seems cool and adds a bit of “badge value".  Then once the consumer has bought into the product and brand, Honest reinforces the narrative behind what's in the products and why you should trust them, and why should definitely not freely trust those other mainstream brands

 Merchandising/distribution push & channel strategy

• This is perhaps less “communications” focused, but as a marketing/brand nerd, I think their go-to-market strategy is brilliant and worth noting:
• First they started only online – this was very focused on what I would consider the “healthful foodie” equivalent of the new parent subset of consumers – likely investing a ton in digital infrastructure, but enabled them to get a loyal following base, without created a complicated supply chain (which I assume is what gives P&G/Kimberly Clark their strategic advantage)
• They have blossomed their online strategy to be one that is all about driving trial – offering things such as “free trials” on their bundles of products, monthly bundle membership to try the breadth of products, and a chance to save $20 for “inviting friends”.  (I also have a daily facebook ad pushed to me talking about free trials, etc).
• Once they started getting more awareness and  (I am assuming here) significantly penetrating the “healthful foodie version of new parents” subset, they are reaching for mass appeal through more traditional channels.  They appear to be very choosy about where they offer their products (using their channel to reflect their brand strategy and positioning) and have recently kicked off a VERY integrated approach with Target, which with their more ‘upscale’ guest and focus on new-moms and growing families, is a smart fit with the Honest brand.  And they did not just dip their toe into that channel with diapers, they have got Target to sign up for their products across categories (I just bought some Honest hand soap), and they also paired it with strong merchandising support ($$$$) to ensure a the brand performs at that retailer from start (features in weekly circulars, end-cap merchandising, promotional pricing are all things I’ve noticed recently)

This will be a fun brand to keep an eye on and watch and see  if  they are able to start creating mainstream awareness of the issues they champion (unacceptable mysterious diaper chemicals!) and if they start to change mainstream consumer values in the household and personal care categories.

In the meantime, I plan to purchase loads of those adorable diapers for baby #2 and dabble in the other products, because I can't help myself!  What do you think of the Honest Company brand and products?

The 4 P's of Parenting

My MBA alma mater, Carlson School of Management (CSOM), has a number of things that it's famous for - most of which, I can't remember.  However, being a marketing professional who loves a quick "short cut" to remember important information, I always remember that CSOM is the birthplace of the 4 P's.

In 1960 Edmund Jerome McCarthy, a professor at the mighty Gopher b-school, introduced the 4 P's as the 4 variables the company controls to satisfy a target market.  For business this is the:

Check out this stud, McCarthy

1. Product you offer
2. The Price you charge
3. The Place you distribute it
4. What you do to Promote it

Basically, if you kill it with these 4 "controllable variables", everyone will buy your stuff and you will be infinitely wealthy, or something like that.

So imagine me, a marketer, fully trained and ingrained in the above principles for driving success, having a new little venture - a baby.  Two and a half years ago when I welcomed Marcus into the world, my perspective on everything shifted, like the earth suddenly on a new axis.  All of my worlds collided; the professional, the personal (marriage, friends, hobbies) and the maternal. Basically, I was a hot, emotional, beautiful mama mess.

Now that I am clear headed again (for the most part), after the haze of the first 12 months of sleep deprivation, I've gotten a bit of my humor back. And I've been reflecting on what leads parents to survive and thrive in this new venture of "caretaker".  With that clearheaded (sometimes wine supplemented) reflection, I come up with a humble opinion on a new set of controllable variables.  I introduce to you the 4 P's of Parenthood:

1. Patience with yourself and your newest additions

Here's the thing no one tells you before you have a kid, no one actually knows how to raise a kid.  Each one is a unique little snowflake, what works brilliantly at calming down one child, makes another child lose their proverbial shit.  Given this enlightening piece of information, take a pause and cut yourself some slack.  I guarantee, patience with oneself is inversely related to level of "shit-hit-the-fan" stress at home.

2. Perspective on what is big and what is small in life

For example, BIG = bringing new life into this world, SMALL = not responding to every work email within 24 hours.  I remember before I had Marcus I was compelled to respond to every email that came into my work inbox, even solicitor spam.  Then I began a 36 hour epic labor journey on April 10th, to give birth to Marcus.  The miracle of birth not only introduced me to a beautiful new human, but a new found perspective on what was urgent.  For the first time in my professional career, I took 7 days to respond to work emails and announce to my coworkers that I wasn't responding because I had been busy having a baby.  For the first time, my coworkers' needs (to know my status, get their questions responded to, etc) took a backseat to my personal needs - to be in-the-moment during the most life altering moment of all.

3. Presence in the day to day moments that quickly flutter into the past

I remember when Todd and I took our premarital counseling classes through our church back in 2006, one of the priests talked about the behavioral and personality differences between men and women.  One analogy that he shared has stuck with me all this time.  The dresser.  This man of the cloth went on to explain that men are innately predisposed to being incredibly effective at compartmentalizing their lives, each fraction of their life being neatly folded (or scrunched up and crammed) into its respective drawer.  Meanwhile, women totally suck at this.  This explained why I could not help but snap at Todd's inability to be telepathically aware of what I craved for dinner, when I had a super shitty day at work.  

Well guess what I found to happen when I had my son?  Suddenly, I created my own dresser (perhaps a bit fancier, like this mirrored Pottery Barn style I am ogling for my bedroom). 

 Out of sheer necessity, I found that my life could not be lived with everything bleeding into each other like a complex watercolor painting.  The only thing that would allow me to give the most of myself (at work or at home) was instilling clear cut boundaries, my life became a little less Van Gogh and a little more Lichtenstein.

 

Through this new order, I was able to give myself permission to be present in each moment (or at least strive to be).  When I was at work, I was 100% committed (unless daycare called with pink eye or some other communicable disease scare).  And when I was at home, I did not let myself worry about complicated work dilemmas (at least not until I started the second shift - when Marcus went to bed). 

It may not work for all, but it was the only thing that worked for me.  Strive to fully feel each moment.

4. Potty Humor to laugh at the grossness of being a parent (dealt with out of selfless love) that bonds all parents together

I'm sorry, but kids are hilarious and being a parent is usually pretty disgusting.  I never could have imagined how close I would get to bodily fluids on a consistent daily basis.  So unless you are a nurse, and are used to this level "exposure", let yourself giggle.  When your son pees on your face, or your daughter blows out diaper lovingly while nestled in your arms, see past the excrement, to the underlying humor of it all.

Hopefully these 4 P's, which again are CONTROLLABLE (that's the point), will help grant you some peace and even squeeze a little daily joy into your role as a parent.

Please share any other "Ps of Parenting" that you've found success with as a parent.