Poll: How Were Your Back-To-School Sales This Year?

According to a recent Media Post article, stores are reporting “bustling back-to-school sales”.  How were your sales this back-to-school season?  Take our quick poll:

What’s On The Minds Of Moms As They Get Back-To-School Ready (Infographic)

We love this infographic from our friends at Zeno Group.  Do any of the stats surprise you?

Poll: What Will You Spend This Back-To-School Season?

Back-to-School Spots We Love

It is that time of year again and for parents (like many of us), it is truly “the most wonderful time of the year.”  Here are a few of our favorite back-to-school spots (old & new).  What do you think makes a back-to-school campaign work for moms and kids?

A Love Letter to OfficeMax…

Our post today comes directly from our founder/CEO Patti Minglin who had a marketing to women/mom moment while buying office supplies (oh, and we’d also like to thank her for picking up the extra Post-its!).

 

Like so many women I know, I run my own business.  Which means I spend a great deal of time at office supply stores making sure my office is well stocked with printer ink and Post-its.  Today, my regular office supply trip took me directly to OfficeMax.  Why?

Today, my primary reason for choosing OfficeMax was because they were offering great prices on selected school supplies*.  Yes, school supplies.  I need school supplies—I have 3 children who will all be happily in their classrooms this fall and, because I have 3 of them, I need a good deal on some dry erase markers and college-ruled paper.  After seeing their circular in my Sunday paper (yes, I still read a ‘real printed’ newspaper), I knew exactly where my supply stop this week would be.  While the prices drove me to the store, it was what happened inside that will keep me coming back:

• School supply lists (for all schools in 3 local districts) were located at the front entrance.
• The Sunday circular was placed inside all carts and baskets, just in case you forgot to bring your own (which, of course, I did).
• The products advertised in the circular were clearly marked in the aisles—making it easy (and quick) for me to get what I needed and move on with my day.
• The cashier did two things that stopped me in my tracks: 1)   Seeing my array of different supplies, she asked if I wanted everything to go on the same receipt; 2)   After ringing me up she said, “You get two reams of loose leaf paper for a penny.  Do you want college or wide-ruled?” Then, she grabbed my loose leaf selection from under the register and put it in my bag.  She didn’t ask me to go back and pick it out on my own or make me wait until the part-time college student employee could find what I needed…she anticipated my need and met it.

With a growing number of businesses being started or run by women (there are over 10 million businesses in the US owned by women), there is a lot of crossover purchasing between household and business products.  If you happen to be a brand that falls within this sweet little intersection, use it to your advantage.  Make it easy for women and moms to get things checked off their “to do” list when that list may contain both business and personal items.

I really am not surprised at this coming from OfficeMax.   Several years ago I spoke to the brand’s Senior Director/External Relations Bill Bonner where he attributed their marketing to women success to knowing “that women look for inspiration when they shop and appreciate thought and creativity in everything.  And we know women appreciate real value.  Not just cheap prices, but value.  Brands that want to be relevant to their customers have to understand a lot more than base demographics.”  Nice.

*To those thinking I was out of the running for “Mother of the Year”, please note I am purchasing at least some of my school supplies before the first day of school.

When Does the True “Back to School” Shopping Season Begin?

We are working on a story for the July issue of our e-newsletter regarding back-to-school shopping.  It appears the official BTS shopping season begins a little earlier each year…with some brands launching major campaigns the first of July.  In addition, school calendars have changed, with some schools beginning much earlier than others and some participating in “year round” school.

So, we want to know, when is the best time to launch your back-to-school shopping campaign?