Blogger Jennifer Van Grove of Mashable, a leading tech blog focused on Web 2.0 and social networking news, talked about Huggies and their move toward Social Media moms this morning. This campaign creates a great way for all Pack ‘n Play families to stay on top of the latest information, tips, advice and even a possibility of winning free diapers! Brand-sponsored social media campaigns are everywhere, and this campaign is very clever, as it is specifically targeted to a very specific market. From SeaWorld, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts to Cadbury, A&E and even Universal, it’s officially the hot trend to replace or supplement traditional marketing campaigns with social media.
Huggies, the maker of diapers, training pants and other products for babies and young kids, has decided to jump on the social media bandwagon, too, but by going straight to their target audience — moms — by way of the popular mommy social site, Circle of Moms. The mom-centric site is leveraging its partnerships with MindShare and AppsSavvy to fully integrate a Huggie’s branded experience within their site and Facebook app.
The Huggies and Circle of Moms deal will give birth to a Huggies Zone. The customized content will include an expert advice column, a mom-to-mom forum with relevant tips, age-specific diaper information, parenting polls and ways for parents to share their baby photos.
For their participation, moms are given Huggies rewards codes and the opportunity to win a one year’s supply of diapers. Of course, since the campaign will exist on the Circle of Moms site and within their Facebook app, both the startup and the brand are hoping that moms share their participation with other moms and create a massive word of mouth marketing and viral social media effect.
It remains to be seen how these moms will respond to the branded content, but we have to applaud Huggies for a creative social media marketing campaign that’s built around engaging with potential customers, as opposed to just marketing to them. If you’re a mom, use the comments section to let us know what you think of the campaign and whether or not you’d share the Huggies’ branded content with your friends.