SparkBlog by The Hartman Group

Fighting obesity one Piano Stair at a time

We saw this on DVICE today and couldn't help but smile:

Piano Stairs aim to get Stockholm butts moving

No prizes for guessing the inspiration behind this little idea. Advertising agency DDB and Volkswagen teamed up for a little experiment they called the Fun Theory, an ambitious attempt to try and change people's lazy behavior in the Swedish capital. The transformation of a subway staircase into a piano increased stair use by 66 per cent. (I pity the poor creative who had to sit in the metro station for two days on the trot and count the travellers.)

Obesity continues to be a global problem. Interestingly, consumers believe that food intake and lack of physical activity are equally responsible for obesity in society. In terms of their own lives, however, consumers are more likely to cite physical activity as the method they would initially pursue to lose weight rather than changing or reducing their food intake. (People love their food!) Exercise is imagined to be a much easier course of “weight loss” for consumers than is tinkering with their own complex eating patterns. But "imagined" is the key word there.

Ironically, the relative attractiveness of exercise over dieting appears only in principle, most consumers we speak with showed no love of it. In fact, some willingly declared how much they “hate it,” including those who do exercise from time to time. To most consumers “exercise” is some physical activity solely designed around fitness or weight loss; it is not necessarily associated with an enjoyable activity, especially not happy feet taking the stairs. There is a sense that, in the morality of body weight, exercise is a form of punishment, punishment for “letting oneself go.” Making exercise exciting is a frustrating mystery to many consumers. Yet, here they are climbing the stairs. Hats off to DBD and Volkswagen for getting people off their butts with a smile. We love it!

Coupon Clipping and the Theatrics of Thrift

A recent New York Times article, A Clip-and-Save Renaissance, pronounces that coupon clipping is chic again. Whole groups of people who once shunned clipping coupons, the affluent and the young, are getting out their scissors. According to the article, coupon redemption rose for the first time since the early 1990s with a 10% jump in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period a year earlier.

What's behind this trendy behavior?: Consumers are responding to the recession and the events around them with a repertoire of thrift-seeking behaviors we call the Theatrics of Thrift. What we are finding is that simply engaging in these thrift-seeking behaviors helps to alleviate our collective anxieties, the stress in our day-to-day lives:

“I don’t really understand the details behind much of what is going on, and I surely don’t feel like I have any of the answers to this mess, but I know what I can do is try to help my family save wherever possible…”

“…at the end of the day, all I can do is to try to do my part.”

“I mean, how would I feel about my role as a mother and the family shopper if I just continued in my same old routine while the world seems to be going to hell…”

Simply put (or not so simply put): We engage in the Theatrics of Thrift by altering our traditional (pre-recessionary) shopping behaviors and styles in certain patterned ways that serve as an antidote to the current collective anxiety regarding the economy and our institutions.

While traditional coupon behavior is surging, here are a few insights on keeping your eyes online:

• Online coupon behavior is much more diverse, unpredictable and uncontrollable
• 100% of the qualitative consumers reported online as an important source of coupon collecting and nearly 80% reported “mommies groups” as an important source
• Many online “mommies” groups often limit access to outsiders with complex vetting processes
• A surprising number of qualitative respondents (~1/3) reported regularly purchasing coupons on secondary markets such as eBay

Retailers and manufacturers alike need to become increasingly creative and flexible with their coupon strategies—especially as consumers abandon traditional media for online media.

(Watch for more on the Theaters of Thrift in the coming weeks.)

Marketing to Today's Mom...Happy Mother's Day

We all have one, but have to forgotten how to marketing to Mom?

Here are some truths and consequences of life in today’s households and what it means for business going forward:

 

TRUTH: Today’s moms feel alone

CONSEQUENCE #1: Parents increasingly seek community online
Interactive parenting-oriented sites are becoming more and more significant in the lives of younger moms and dads. Hartman Group research finds that information gathered during Googling sessions, on community-centered listservs, and on national parenting sites, plays a fundamental role in many households and in decision making about products, children’s nutrition, medical advice, special needs concerns, schools and everyday parenting topics.

CONSEQUENCE #2: Self-Help continues to self-improve
Our research shows that parents in general, and moms in particular, are reaching still more for self-help and self-improvement products and services. Guidance on “getting organized,” “staying motivated,” “generating energy,” “quick lifts,” stress relief and ongoing efforts to improve household management continue to grow in popularity. Similarly, personal care indulgence products and services for both moms and dads continue to grow in popularity. Health and relaxation spas, massage and other body work, and a range of manicure and tanning services provide a compelling and attractive treat that
combines new attention to health and wellness, self-improvement, and the promise of renewed zeal for the parenting and professional balancing act.

TRUTH: Today’s moms and dads feel embattled by everyday paradoxes that make them feel helpless

CONSEQUENCE #1: Households seek nostalgic relief from “this stupid modern life”
Many moms seek new experiences and products that provide the possibility of release and relief from the trappings of modernity: locally produced food, organic products that are grown and raised in “old-fashioned” farms, wellness-oriented lifestyles that feature being closer to nature, seemingly small brands that help consumers feel more connected, homeschooling so kids can stay closer to Mom, and dreams of life in smaller communities that harkens back to an idyllic past. The trend is nearly always described as a counter or an alternative to what is “modern” or contemporary. Hartman Group research regularly finds that consumers seek emotional relevance over functional needs when they describe interest in any product, service, place or idea that is identified as “simpler,” “more real” or “more authentic.”

CONSEQUENCE #2: Moms and dads continue to have an ambivalent relationship with science and evidence-based research
On the one hand, science is an authority that is granted nominal respect and authority, and from whose wisdom all contemporary life is seen to be derived. On the other hand, consumers by and large do not make rational, means-end scientifically supported decisions when planning and thinking about their own families. Moms and dads are motivated more often by fears, anxieties, hopes and aspirations. Further, modern technology both impresses and frightens too many contemporary parents, and provides an excuse for many to blame science for creating a confusing and morally ambiguous era. As a result, many parents opt to embrace what appear to be irrational leaps of faith in children’s nutrition, supplement use, traditional healing, alternative health, and new or alternative approaches to education. Inevitably, they describe what they are doing as taking control and empowering themselves in some way.

CONSEQUENCE #3: Family cuisine is also going global
More and more households embrace culturally pluralist attitudes, products, activities and cuisines that offer a link to a more globalized world, an important educational lesson to children about diversity, and a relationship with ethnic ancestry or traditional ways that offer a more meaningful balm in the face of what some see as an alienating time. So-called “ethnic foods” and “healthy ethnic foods” marketed with an image of “traditional”
and “timeless” appeal to many households.

TRUTH: Today’s moms and dads are more likely to have made a choice to have children, and to seek personal meaning through a life with children

CONSEQUENCE #1: Today’s parents feel they need to educate themselves to be parents
Today, sources of information can be contradictory and overwhelming, but moms and dads are more compelled to believe they have to learn what to do from others, and not expect it all to be natural and intuitive.

To begin to understand if today’s moms rely on similar or differing sources for advice (on parenting questions and/or problems, etc.) than their moms, we asked survey respondents to select their three choices from a list of 13 sources in response to the question, “Who do you suppose your mother consulted for advice when she was raising you?” The results from this question are depicted in the “then” column in the figure below. Respondents were also asked, “Who would you consult for advice?” The results from this question are depicted in the “now” column in the fi gure below. Results from these questions highlight that while moms still turn to moms, today’s moms are more likely to turn to their spouse/significant for advice before turning to their mom. Technology and the availability of more information sources also make information sources (parenting books, articles and Internet sites for parents) much more accessible. There appears to be a decline in reliance on older relatives and the neighborhood community as a trusted source for advice or to help solve problems

CONSEQUENCE #2: Health and wellness often begins with parenting
Our research finds that the combined event of prenatal care and childbirth is one of the most significant triggers responsible for shifting priorities toward a health and wellness lifestyle—with attention to nutrition, organic food products, natural personal care and fitness activity. Today’s moms and dads are more likely to be at least contending with the knowledge (and the pressure) that there are choices about how nutritious your household meals can be, and that there are better ways to eat and better places to buy food.

CONSEQUENCE #3: Today’s moms still feel they are the ones held accountable for what goes on with their children, in spite of impinging demands and challenges
Whatever choices she makes today—type of preschool, type of job, type of produce or milk purchased, piano teacher, soccer league or swimming lesson venue—it feels like an important choice. Regardless of all the other work she does in a day, today’s mom is still likely to feel that choices she makes for her child will have a direct bearing upon her own identity and sense of self worth. And, in spite of the multitude of influences and efforts, she will be blamed for what goes wrong with her children. As a result, moms today are much more concerned about making the best choices, and defending one’s choices to others who may judge her.

CONSEQUENCE #4: Today’s moms and dads are bothmore engaged with their children than in generations past
Expectations for hands-on parental involvement with their children’s lives are actually much higher today in spite of the higher number of kids in outside care, and consequent diminished amount of available parent time. Parents no longer feel comfortable absently letting toddlers roam or remain roped into a playpen, or letting 9-year-olds ride their bikes through the neighborhood unsupervised as with generations past. According to consumers, today’s moms and dads are expected to play blocks on the floor, undertake intensive crafts activities, attend or coach sporting events and music lessons, and find opportunities for “quality time” chats and projects. While parents in previous generations may have had more time to spend in the company of their children, the expectations of actual engaged, on-the-floor time with them was much lower. Increased time with professional care givers today has, in fact, only raised the expectation (and guilt) that when kids are with their parents, they need to be substantively interacting. And that goes for both moms and dads. Parents need convenient solutions to everyday needs that provide emotional comfort and connections to kids (without the guilt).

TRUTH: Today’s moms and dads privilege meaning in their lives
Just because the contemporary family household does not resemble collective nostalgic fantasy images, it does not mean that today’s moms and dads are miserable and struggling. Today’s parents seek emotional connections to all things and are consumed by dreams of finding something greater for their families. Many state that they are flourishing in the process, enjoying their children, building vital and thriving homes, and finding badly needed meaning through the faces, stories and lives of their growing babies.

CONSEQUENCE #1: Parents are more aspirational consumers
Hartman Group research notes the ongoing and ever-growing expectation of consumers of all stripes (and parents especially) to live better, healthier lives and this means filling each day with rich, authentic experiences that bind them more strongly to communities and to larger ideals and aspirations. If previous generations were able to take this sort of meaning for granted, today’s consumers have to look for it. But they are more and more discontent with products, retailers, services and programs that do not offer the possibility of greater meaning, connection and life experience. Today’s moms and dads seem even more dedicated to this objective for their children and more explicit in their demand that a higher quality life means higher quality experiences. And moms and dads want products, services and brands that share their aspirations and help them to be better people. Not those who undermine their best efforts.

CONSEQUENCE #2: A little recognition please
Both moms and dads hunger for better support, respect and recognition for the efforts they are making to raise the next generation. Employers with no concern about the families of their employees, surly clerks, impatient service providers, family-unfriendly settings, and marketing imagery that seeks to obstruct or defy the reality they live in does not reinforce this hard work. Besides living wages, adequate health care and flexible work schedules, parents need support from the people and institutions they encounter every day. Because parenting is now recognized as a choice, and because, as consumers note, economic conditions make it so much more challenging to make the choice, there is a growing American perception that those not involved in parenting can opt out of the responsibilities (and the rewards) of raising children. In fact, raising a child is not a private hobby like raising a puppy. The everyday challenges and results of a child’s upbringing are fully and completely public. We all suffer the consequences of children who are not raised and educated well, and we all benefit from those who grow up to become the people we all need to survive—the surgeons who mend our hearts, the pilots who fly us where we need to go, the leaders who solve the dire problems we face, the business leaders who design innovative products and solutions, and the hard-working community workers who make sure that our own old age is supported. As with the moms of yesteryear, today’s moms and dads need support, recognition and respect for the hard work they do and the investment they are making in everyone’s future.

How to Target Today’s Mom?:
Target the real task she undertakes, not the person we wish she was.

Slow movement moves to parenting

We've all heard of the Slow Food movement, but what about Slow Parenting? Just as we've talked for years about how consumers are resonating toward higher quality experiences with food, The New York Times interviewed author Carl Honore about the need to slow the pace of parenting for quality over quantity, giving us "Slow Parenting."

 

Image: Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting, Carl Honore

And just as Slow Food is about enjoying food for food's sake, Slow Parenting is about slowing the pace of home life from the now norm of hyper-parenting and over-scheduling our children.

How will the recession affect parenting? While we've said in The Continuing Economic Maelstrom & the US Consumer (our free white paper download), that consumers will not be making major lifestyle changes to give up the high-quality foods and food experiences (why would we expect consumers to begin eating differently just because of the economy? How would abandoning sushi in favor of pizza solve consumers’ financial problems?), Honore hopes it will be the recession that will force the hand of many parents to make some necessary changes at home.

As Honore recounts, "one father I know lost his job in banking. The result was his two highly-scheduled children got yanked from most of their extracurricular activities. For several weeks he felt like a failure but last Sunday he woke up and realized that the family had a completely free day stretching out before them (instead of the usual manic dash to take the kids to multiple activities) – and he actually felt good about it. “I exhaled and it was like I was letting out a breath that I’d been holding for years,” he told me."

It's Not Fun Until Someone Throws Up

This past weekend we had the privilege of attending Bumbershoot, Seattle's annual three day music and arts festival. Boasting a plethora of bands ranging in style from The Apples in Stereo to Wu-Tang Clan, the majority of Bumbershoot's focus is, of course, on the music. However, as the DIY craze reaches its peak, the "art" end of things has been growing rapidly, with Bumbershoot devoting large spaces to interactive installations and crafts from various corners of the country.

While we made an effort to attend multiple air conditioned exhibits, we stumbled upon our favorite happening quite by chance. On Saturday, as our spirits grew weary from dodging throngs of surprisingly enthusiastic Seattleites to hear the mellow sounds of The Shins, we decided to head to the main lawn for a quick nap. Upon arrival, however, we were confronted by the excited shrieks of spinning festival goers.

Under the watchful gaze of a large wooden clown head four hollering adults swung through the air as four pedaling adults powered the nouveau-carni monstrosity. What sort of alternative playground universe had we discovered? Cyclecide: The Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo.

Cameras flashed, children shrieked; interested parties lined up in droves. "Imagine," a friend said to us in awe, "a world in which this is what people did for fun." Exciting, creative, communal exercise for kids and adults? We were at once inspired and overjoyed.

Five minutes on the Dizzy Toy, however, and our long day of people watching was finally catching up to us. Was that the smell of corn dogs in the distance? We were called to investigate.

Supermarket Sweep

Talk about controlling the retail experience. Shoppers in Shenyang, China are enjoying new views at one grocery store, where consumers hop onto roller coaster-like carts and are led through the aisles, grabbing items as they go. The downside? If shoppers forget an item, they must ride all the way through the store again.

The wild ride could be channeled into either a stressful nightmare or a low-impact game show, depending on your outlook.

(via Boing Boing)

Soulful Green for the People

These days it’s no secret that it’s easier than ever to be green. Just last night our half-veggie-half-pepperoni pizza was delivered with a special note about composting and harnessing kinder, gentler energy sources. Once your local purveyor of fatty indulgence starts talking about sustainability, it’s time to listen up.

When trying to figure out what all the fuss is about, it's helpful to see what the kids are doing on the Internet. Perhaps you’d be interested in updating your Facebook profile to include your eco-friendly efforts while viewing Ben Affleck’s ethanol-rich "flex-fuel" PSAs and searching for sustainably grown food near you? Green sites are popping up all over the web, including the always trendy Treehugger, which not only implores its visitors to "get informed, interact and take action" in their communities, but to also make their daily lives as sustainable as possible, right down to the, ahem, more personal products they utilize.

From the glow of our monitors to the sparkle of the big screen, last week we were fortunate enough to attend a showing of The Real Dirt on Farmer John, a documentary exploring the lifetime struggles of Midwestern farmer John Peterson to heal and enrich his community. The fruits of  John's labor turned into Angelic Organics, a successful CSA bringing fresh, local vegetables to the people. In case you haven't heard, community-supported agriculture is en vogue, due in part to the efforts of many, many small farms like John's.

In a post-screening Q and A, John's longtime friend and director Taggart Siegel noted the fact that while his documentary has been around for a full two years, the climate (pun partially intended) simply wasn't right to receive the film until just now.

Talking to John, you can see that all of this green hullabaloo is simply not a trend to him. Rather, his idea of sustainable living is completely connected to his commitment to the farm. While his story may be inspiring, he is not, as one reviewer calls him, "Joe DiMaggio, Alice Waters and Spider-Man all rolled into one." At least, not deliberately. As far as we can see, John Peterson is a quirky farmer with his foot in two increasingly overlapping cultures.

While we're pretty sure we wouldn't take to farm life (both rural and urban) very well, we'd all do better to incorporate a little more green into our day to day habits, even if it means taking a minute to read the pizza box before chowing down.

Stairway to Cat Heaven

Sometimes the spirit of innovation moves us to create. Sometimes we'd rather purchase the darn things ourselves. Somewhere in the middle lies Ikea. For better or worse, Ikea is legendary for supplying a boxed version of the DIY spirit to its customers, from the simple construction of, say, coffee tables to the daunting undertaking of room-sized organizational sets. The minimalist instructions provided with each piece prove ripe for modifications. Who is to say that your run of the mill Laxvik shelving unit can't be reimagined as a fetching wall divider for a small studio apartment or even a large-scale wine rack for serious collectors?  Luckily, the folks over at Ikea Hacker have documented such occasions for innovation.

Looking to fashionably entertain your cats on the cheap? Ikea's minimalist Bjarnum/Jarpen wall shelves showcase your pets while adding a modern flare to any living space. That said, a paper box also does the trick.

(via Consumerist)

iPhone, Therefore iAm

Just in case you've been living in a hole since December, Apple is set to release the iPhone this evening. Mac enthusiasts and opportunity seekers young and old are waiting with bated breath, many having been camped out in front of Mac motherships across the country for the past week. Their reward? The ultra-anticipated status symbol of the year.

Craigslist posts abound with titles like, Will wait in line for you! iPhone $125 and, our favorite, Homeless crew will wait for iPhone $50 (apparently, they're also willing to sit in exchange for cigarettes). Ebay is pulling auctions for the yet-to-be purchased phones left and right. If fast-food restaurant openings have taught us anything, it's that folks will wait in line for pretty much everything, if only to turn a profit or boast the golden ticket of being first in a crowd of many, in this case ten million.

We're hoping beyond hope that when the clock strikes six, Steve Jobs himself will descend from the heavens, an iPhone in each hand (adhering to the two-per-person limit, of course) to personally bestow his latest technological gift upon the masses. Frankly, anything short of that would be a disappointment.

For more iDay coverage, check out a live map of the happy campers here.

Lipstick for the Lunchbox Set

For as long as we can remember, the toy isle at the drugstore has stocked brightly-colored makeup kits for girls. Plastic and poorly made, little thought was given to these products, tucked neatly between the dolls and the board games. This just in: times have changed.

With the growth of Bratz dolls and other fashion-focused products for children, young consumers have become more style conscious and, some worry, are maturing at lightening speeds. In an attempt to keep up with the increasing popularity of their edgier competitors (Bratz dolls captured forty percent of the fashion doll market last year) Mattel is partnering with Bonne Belle to create a makeup line targeted at young girls. Very young girls.

Set to launch in 2008, Barbie's new beauty products will be aimed at 6-9 year olds. The "girl savvy" cosmetics were initially inspired by Mattel's overwhelming success with last year's Barbie Loves MAC, a product line for adults featuring vivid colors reminiscent of America's favorite perma-teenager. As expected, the upcoming girl's line is already raising concern amongst those who fear that the makeup will promote prepubescent sexuality, furthering the push for age compression in the toy market.

Keep in mind that while Barbara Millicent "Barbie" Roberts' latest venture is selling cosmetics to pre-teens, she has shown her entrepreneurial flare in the past. In fact, Barbie has consistently updated her resume over the almost five decades she's been on the scene, taking on an average of one career per year. That said, we'd pick Paleontologist Barbie over Bonne Belle Barbie any day.

(via MediaPost)