The Soccer Mom Myth [Hardcover]

Michele Miller (Author), Holly Buchanan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2008

The room was a marketer s dream, filled with educated, savvy women with money and the urge to spend it. Holly asked a pointed question: "How many of you in the room consider yourself a Soccer Mom?" The silence reached a crescendo and nary a hand rose.

Every time Holly asks that question, usually only one or two women raise their hands. The numbers never change. Normally, only one to two percent of the crowd identifies themselves as a Soccer Mom. If you listen to marketers and politicians, there are millions upon millions of Soccer Moms out there, yet we've found only about seven.

What's going on here? Why aren't more women identifying themselves as Soccer Moms? Come on, there's nothing wrong with being a Soccer Mom, right? Right?

If women don't consider themselves Soccer Moms, what does that say about the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of billions of dollars of advertising aimed at this group?

It's time for a wake-up call about who today's female consumer really is, how she really thinks, and why she really buys both online and offline. Prepare to kick the Soccer Mom myth to the sidelines, and learn how to market to women in a way that translates into more customers, AND bigger profit.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michele Miller is a partner in the Wizard of Ads marketing firm, with a client roster that includes businesses of all sizes across North America. She is the author of The Natural Advantages of Women (Wizard Academy Press), the audio book hailed for its concepts, principles, and scientific information explaining how the female brain is hardwired for personal greatness. Michele writes a monthly marketing column for Inc.com; her blog on marketing to women, WonderBranding, was named one of the Ten Best Blogs for 2005 by MarketingSherpa.com , and is included on the prestigious Best of the Web list compiled by Forbes.com.

A faculty member of the Wizard Academy (Austin, TX), Michele teaches her popular WonderBranding course and maintains a busy schedule as an international speaker on the topics of advertising and marketing to women.

Holly Buchanan is a Senior Persuasion Architect at Future Now Inc. The team at Future Now Inc. focuses on helping you understand your customers and why they do what they do. With almost 20 years of marketing experience (she started when she was 12), Holly has worked with hundreds of clients all over the world, in all advertising mediums, including her current focus- marketing to women online. Her recent clients include global brands like GE Healthcare, Leo Schachter Diamonds, and Volvo International.

Holly is a popular speaker and writer. She is the author of the blog Grokdotcom.com/women.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Wizard Academy Press (March 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932226567
• ISBN-13: 978-1932226560
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!, April 20, 2009

By 

Brian Leitch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Soccer Mom Myth (Hardcover)

The Soccer Mom Myth is a well-written, easy to read, fun, and very informative book. It's full of relevant and eye-opening information and includes many annecdotes and case studies that really illustrate the point that Holly and Michelle are trying to make. My business partner and I have started to incorporate many of their ideas and suggestions into our marketing and business plans for a new start-up. Thanks Holly and Michelle!
My only reason for not giving this book a full five stars is that I would have liked a references section listing the resources and research that they used in compiling their data.

Katy Papadopoulos and Brian Leitch

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not worth the hype, April 20, 2008

By 

Red Alreddy (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soccer Mom Myth (Hardcover)

despite the cover design, i bought this book. if you know little, this book may help provide some insight, otherwise there's nothing groundbreaking here. it's a pretty boring read, but at least there are no bad or wrong conclusions drawn.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight-based Marketing, April 2, 2008

By 

J. Sexton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Soccer Mom Myth (Hardcover)

Hit-you-between-the-eyes memorable. The personal anecdotes and business case studies that both Michele Miller and Holly Buchanan bring to this material will do more than cause chuckles, they'll create ah-has and take-aways for every major point in the book. Whether it's a personal story about shared tequila shots in the bathroom or a business story about Victory Lady Gyms, each anecdote displaces the "white bear"/stereotypes the reader couldn't help but think about with even more memorable - and more accurate - mental images.

But let me be up front, I'm a colleague of Holly Buchanan's at Future Now, so I'm not exactly unbiased. On the other hand, Michele and Holly had some things going against them when I opened the cover, as well. While I expected fabulous insights into marketing to women (and got them), I also expected to experience a been-there-done-that ennui when reading about my stock-in-trade of Persona-based marketing and business/consumer research. Boy was I wrong on that! The section on third-wave research techniques alone is worth the price of the book. And the chapters on Personas and Scenario-planning offer a unique understanding of both these tools. The material was not only first rate, but was a delight to read, even for a jaded SOB. Highly recommended.