Who doesn’t love a party–time to get together, to chat and to share ideas with like-minded people? But busy Moms don’t always get that chance. So what do they do? Turn to social media and host their own “GNO (Girls Night Out)” Twitter Party, gathering every Tuesday night for some honest, touching and entirely relatable online sharing.
As a healthcare marketer, having all of these women gathered in one place–a natural question comes to our mind, “Tell us about your role as a family health guardian?” or what we like to call WellGuardian. And as we expected, they were off and running.
First of all, and not surprisingly, it isn’t an easy role. When asked what character they best related to, they had several interesting examples. Some women said they would like to be Jeannie (from I Dream of Jeannie)–wishing they had “the power to blink and make her kids like veggies.” Others say they felt like the Little Engine that Could–“always running uphill.” And then there was the always-popular Roadrunner—an example that speaks for itself (beep beep). Bottom line, we’ve got a long way to go!
As the WellGuardian, she’s the family health engine, so how about that family? They can easily derail her best plans. Example: the lightning fast “cart grab” the kids manage to do when you look away for a second. Hey, how’d those cookies get in our cart? Or at the dinner table when the vegetables mysteriously find a way off the plate and into a neighboring napkin (or cup, or pocket or the dog’s mouth).
Surprisingly though, women had better ideas than just “orange coning” the family, instead they wanted to engage them in health-conscious activities. Women found that when they involved their kids in choices, they got with the program. It could be an elaborate plan or one simple change. One family adds fresh spinach to their smoothies—the greener the better!
So how does she feel brands and retailers are doing to help her in her healthy quest? Women said “How can they really be about health if they still sell junk food?” “And place it at checkout?” If she ran the industry, here are a few things she would consider. What if, instead of tempting them with unhealthy treats, the stores offered extra rewards for healthy purchases on her rewards card? Or how about offering a temptation free checkout lane? These women also suggested ways for healthy shopping to become a collaborative and fun event such as a Mom’s shopping night with the ever-important wine samples. Or perhaps a Family Wellness Night–so the whole family can be involved in making healthy shopping choices.
Other Mom’s suggested combo displays in the supermarket like creating a display with soup, cold meds and Clorox wipes promoted together. As one Mom said, “I’m not much on soup, but cold meds next to Clorox will surely hook, line and sinker me!” Hmm, what if retailers organized circulars around health goals as opposed to just grouping similar items?
As our Twitter Party wrapped up, we were reminded how much you can learn when you listen without an agenda, even in 140 characters.
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