Blogging Moms Fear Christmas Toys. Toy Companies Fear Blogging Moms

Some of Santa's helper’s a.k.a. clients and other toy makers are nervous. With Christmas being on 39 shopping days away a lot of toy makers are afraid that moms are going to revolt this year and not buy toys, especially toys made in China. If the mommy blogs are an accurate reflection of other moms in the United States and around the world, toy makers have a reason to worry.

As a master communicator I craft many of the messages and campaigns that make children pine for that "I've gotta have it" toy. As a mother, just like many other cyber moms, I too am concerned about figuring out which of my kids "must have" toys are safe for them to have. Makayla chews on her Barbie's feet, both the girls play with tea sets and pretend food, and some of the recalled dolls are dolls we have in her toy box.

So yes, it is kind of scary. What's a mom to do? Moms are like the lioness of the wild kingdom; we won’t allow anything in our homes with that have the slightest chance of hurting our cubs. So what’s a toy maker with a safe product to do? How do they stay above the fray and maintain their products and organization's reputation? Well that is the easy part. I offer four pieces of advice:

1) Show and Tell. Moms want to shop and buy their kid's favorite toy, so show them how your products are safe and fun, tell them how your product is not like "all of the rest". If there have never been any safety concerns around your toys, that is something moms want to hear, tell them. Not only do they want to hear it, they want to share the news with their friends.

2) Empirical data. Prove it; if you have a safe product don't just tell 'em it’s safe. What scientific evidence do you have?

3) If you are a small manufacturer that has been around a while get testimonials and put them out there.

4) If your toys have been recalled, it is imperative that you are transparent. You need to fix the problem, show and tell how it has been fixed, get the data to prove it, and then get an "expert" to testify about it.

Authentic messages are the order of the day. Companies need to resist the urge to simply market to the kids this year. Moms are watching, and listening, and saying "You better go through me first", Let me tell you, don't mess with mom.

Terri-Nichelle