NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Nov 15, 2011) - CafeMom (www.cafemom.com/), the number one site for moms with more than 9 million monthly unique visitors, today announced the results of its new Moms Matter survey, which revealed that moms are feeling anti-partisan, disenfranchised, and financially insecure. The results were released in conjunction with launch of a new section of the website, "Moms Matter 2012" (www.cafemom.com/momsmatter), designed to inform, inspire and empower moms as the presidential campaign unfolds.
The "Moms Matter" survey gauged moms' feelings on political issues ranging from the millionaire tax, to their perceptions of healthcare reform, to their perspective on the political parties and candidates. Global Marketing Research Services programmed and fielded the study with a nationally representative sample of 1,750 moms.
Key findings include:
Moms are very pessimistic about America's future
Fifty-five percent of moms believe that America's best days are behind us. Forty-one percent of moms say that the American Dream is "dying" and eight percent say it is dead altogether. Mothers are increasingly skeptical about our leaders' ability -- and willingness -- to listen and get things done anymore. They are looking for someone to lend voice to this disgruntled voting demographic.
Moms' money concerns keep them up at night even more than their kids' well-being
Moms are in dire need of financial relief -- six in 10 feel their financial situation is not secure. They worry about being able to cover the basics, like buying groceries and keeping a roof over their heads (36% and 55% listed these as top concerns, respectively). This perspective is influenced by moms' changing role -- as parents, breadwinners and financial planners -- and they're feeling the pinch.
The best political party is no political party
Over half of moms would join a group with no party labels before they would join the equivalent Republican or Democratic group. This anti-partisan mood extends to how they evaluate candidates -- a top quality moms look for is "the ability to get things done across party lines." Moms are also looking for empathy from candidates -- the message they would most want to convey to candidates is "show me you understand families like mine and what we are living through every day." Moms care more about "WHO" the candidates are than their party or where they stand on particular issues.
Moms are undecided on Republican candidates, but would prefer Hillary Clinton over President Obama
The 2012 presidential elections seem to be anyone's game right now. Forty-one percent of moms who are planning to vote in the Republican primary are undecided, and the front-runner among moms, Mitt Romney, has just 16 percent of the mom vote. However, if Hillary Clinton were a candidate in the next election, she would get the vote of an incredible 58 percent of moms, far ahead of the 42 percent who would vote for Obama.
Moms are aching to be taken seriously politically
Just 12 percent of moms believe Washington does "well" in paying attention to the average mom's concerns, while 64 percent feel it does "poorly." Additionally, just 28 percent of moms agree with the statement "I believe that my voice as a MOM will be heard" in the next presidential election. Meanwhile, moms are aching for their voice to be taken seriously politically -- nine in 10 said they would campaign to have moms' voices heard on key issues by signing petitions, writing to representatives, and signing up other moms to vote.
Aligned with these findings, CafeMom has launched the Moms Matter 2012 (www.cafemom.com/momsmatter) section of the website where moms can discuss and get informed about the 2012 elections. Moms Matter will feature video interviews with moms and candidates, an issues scorecard, candidate profiles, message boards and forums, and political mom bloggers. The goal of Moms Matter is to unite moms regardless of political affiliation, activate them to get informed and take action, and have their voices heard to impact the outcome of the 2012 election.
"We created Moms Matter 2012 to bring the issues important to moms to the forefront and help shape the focus of the Presidential election, and ultimately to improve the lives of moms and their families in this country," said Tracy Odell, EVP of content strategy at CafeMom. "Corporations have lobbyists to make sure their messages are heard, but who is looking out for the families in this country? We want to amplify moms' voices and make sure they are heard."
Moms Matter hits the campaign trail
As part of the Moms Matter initiative, Lindsay Ferrier, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, popular blogger, and stepmom and mom to four kids, will be traveling the country, reporting and capturing video not only on the upcoming presidential election, but also on real moms and families whose lives are being impacted by the issues the candidates are debating.
"At a time when Americans' distrust of the government is soaring, my goal is to make the political issues both personal and relatable," says Ferrier. "I want to prove to moms that the presidential election is one event they can't afford to miss."
On November 19, Ferrier will report from the Republican debate at the First Federated Church in Des Moines, Iowa on the issues relevant to mothers. Afterward, CafeMom will be gauging moms' response to the candidates, which will be moderated by political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz.
Survey Methodology:
In October 2011, CafeMom conducted a national online survey of 1,750 moms with a child under 18 years old in the household. Global Marketing Research Services programmed and fielded the study, and validated the weighting of the responses by age, race, region of residence, and income. The survey included approximately 75 questions regarding moms' personal circumstances, overall attitudes and feelings related to election issues, and demographics. The study has a margin of error +/- 2.3%.
For more findings, please visit www.cafemom.com/momsmatter.
About CafeMom:
Launched in late 2006, CafeMom is the number one site on the internet for moms and the premier strategic marketing partner to brands that want to reach moms in a rapidly changing digital environment. CafeMom reaches more than 9 million unique visitors per month on CafeMom.com and 23 million+ unique visitors per month on CafeMom Plus (comScore, Sept. 2011), a boutique network of sites that reach moms and parents. CafeMom is also the leader in developing custom programs for top brands that want to connect with and understand moms online. In May 2011, CafeMom extended its offering beyond community and content and into commerce by launching Mom.com, a local daily deals site targeted to moms and their families. CafeMom plans to launch Mamás Latinas, a new bilingual stand-alone site, to serve Hispanic moms in 2012. CafeMom lead investors are Highland Capital Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The company was founded by Andrew Shue and Michael Sanchez.