A company called Mothers Lounge has launched an elaborate, personalized marketing program aimed at mothers-to-be. They have sent out hundreds of baby shower card with gift cards to expecting mothers, with a personalized note. The gift cards could be used to purchase products made by Mothers Lounge, which sells items such as pregnancy pillows, baby shoes, and car seat covers.
However, the mothers that were sent the cards were more confused and creeped out because the note was signed by a Jen. It had not specified more than just the personalized note. Women were left wondering who "Jen" was. A local law-enforcement official in Virginia who investigated the matter, Jayson Crawley found out where the cards were actually coming from. The Mothers Lounge.
It's not clear how the company acquired these mothers address but It's not the first time consumers are directly targeted by unknown companies. For example, consumer credit-reporting company Experian PLC, also a large data broker, worked with Diapers.com to “identify and segment new and expectant parents using Experian’s one of a kind New Parents Database” for a direct-mail campaign, according to a case study posted on Experian’s website. Other Companies have also been known to glean information from magazine subscription data. Publisher Meredith Corp., for example, has allowed brands to rent lists of subscribers to its magazines such as FitPregnancy, which ceased publishing its print edition in 2018. It used a third-party data processor to send out promotional material on behalf of the advertiser and approves which brands can use the data.
My final thought on this article is that the marketing strategy was a good one even though the mothers were creeped out. The company could in the future just send them the gift cards in on their behalf instead of a personalized letter from an unknown person. I think that people would have been more open to buying more if they knew the company had reached out insted of a card from an unknown person.
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