The Michelle Obama Effect- From Loud and Brash to Loving with Class: Targeting African-American Moms

by Eavesdropping on the Playground
www.blogher.com

The lines have been drawn in the sand and consumer brands and their pr teams better sit up and take notice. For years affluent African-American moms have been crying foul regarding campaigns that show them as loud, brash, cold, and bossy. Until now their grumbles have been relatively contained to the beauty salons, churches, and at Sunday family dinners.

Black moms have remained vexed and embarrassed by the portrayal of them as one of two models; either ebonic-speaking, booty shakin’, sex-pots, or, ignorant, obese, and domineering. Black moms have been troubled by this depiction in mainstream media but have remained relatively silent in communicating those frustrations publicly- until now.

This week the world held its breath as Americans elected Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. In President-Elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech he gave a short but moving tribute to his African-American wife, partner, biggest supporter, and mother of his children, Mrs. Michelle Obama. Black women across the country wept at such a public expression of love and respect for a woman whose physical image reflects their own. Some have never witnessed such an outpouring of affection over an entire lifetime.

Finally the world was seeing an educated, nurturing, accomplished mother who looks, talks, and shares the same goals, values, and aspirations as them. For the first time, on the world stage was a Black woman that seemed so familiar; someone who could fit in easily at a book club or at the local Mocha Mom or Jack and Jill group. The minute Michelle Obama came on the national scene the passive stance of Black mom consumers changed. Black moms are now chanting “No more!”, and they are putting their purses where their mouths are. This is indeed the Michelle Obama Effect.

So what is the Michelle Obama Effect and what does it mean to practitioners? It means change. It means African-American moms taking control of their image and rejecting brands that reduce them to stereotypes and caricatures. And most importantly, it means that practitioners are going to have to develop pr and marketing programs that represent African-American moms in very real and relevant ways. Otherwise practitioners will watch these traditionally brand loyal moms exercise the power of their purses by switching to competing brands.

By 2011 African-American families are expected to spend an estimated 1 trillion dollars a year. Black moms make 87% of the purchasing decisions for products for their homes. Unless brands are willing to forsake their stake in this trillion dollar market, practitioners should treat the Michelle Obama Effect as a genuine and extremely significant movement.

Submitted by Eavesdropping on the Playground (view blog) on Thu, 11/06/2008 - 17:13

Looking to save an extra buck at the gas pump? Be cool AND smart this autumn.

The Bite

If you feel a little warm in your car this fall, roll your windows down while driving around town, but kick on the AC if you are going more than 45 mph. We all know that air conditioners drag down our vehicle’s fuel efficiency. But once over 45 mph, your car windows provide wind resistance and actually decrease your engine’s efficiencies at higher speeds.

The Benefits

• Save money. Being smart about your cooling system can save 10-20% on fuel consumption, and with today’s gas prices, who isn’t looking for a break?
• For extra savings, use the recirculation feature in your ventilation system when the AC is on – it cools the already cool air in your car down, lowering the temps faster.
• Reduce nasty emissions that are harming the environment and decreasing our air quality.
• Keep your hairdo. We used to arrive at places looking like we were trying to recreate the 80s (before it was a retro move). Feel free to roll them up now when going faster, and keep your ‘do

Personally Speaking

Like most of you, we’re both kind of missing the days when we worried about fuel prices in the $2 range.

Wanna Try?

Well, just roll down your windows around town. Some additional tips for saving fuel as prices keep climbing:

• Keep all 4 windows down to reduce wind drag. With the back windows open, air can escape from the car easily.
• Use cruise control whenever possible to keep the car at a steady speed and avoid haphazard starts and stops.
• Remove extra weight from your trunk - which sort of wrecks our tendency to use the car to store stuff we are planning to take to Goodwill.
• For more tips on increasing your gas mileage, visit Green Car Club.

Posted from http://www.idealbite.com

What do you you want to see happen first when President Elect Barack Obama enters the White House?

Written By Monica Rowland
www.themoneymom.net


Women of America...and some men... :wink: ( Because we do have male readers on this blog)....
What do you you want to see happen first when President Elect Barack Obama enters the White House?

Personally, I want to see the current financial crisis impacted immediately. We need help for the 10 million Americans who are out of work right now. Unemployment insurance needs to be raised and extended. As a recruiter with 10 years experience under her belt...I have seen this happen before. It takes a while to find a new job, and finding a job is a full time job!

We also need help for the middle class families who are trying to pay their mortgages or rent. there needs to be more assistance programs that don't require you to fall under the poverty line which is ridiculously low in my opinion!

I remember once while living in Washington DC, I was in between contracts and out of work. My rent on my one bedroom apartment was a whopping $1100 per month ( for 500 sq feet) and my unemployment check just barley covered it. I needed to eat, go to the doctor, and continue to pay my other monthly expenses. As you can imagine, even after cutting out ALL luxuries...I still couldn't make ends meet. I sucked it up and went down to the welfare office.

After five hours of waiting, giving out ALL of my personal information, and a ten minute conversation with a case worker.... I found out that I was eligible for TEN dollars a month in food stamps, and NO medical coverage because I didn't have kids. I was dumbfounded! I told them to keep the 10 dollars for a family with kids who really needed it. For goodness sake! I was more resourceful than that!

My point is that not everybody who goes down to the welfare office is trying to get over, or misuse the system.

I was blessed. I had family that helped, and friends that cared. I have a college degree...and even though I had to start out taking a job that paid less than my worth....it was a start. But it was a lesson well learned.

• First, I would never find myself "out there" again with out a back up plan utilizing my talents to make some kind of money. ( And I don't mean anything like "Shaking my money maker either! LOL"
  
• Second, I came to the stark realization that in THE NATION'S CAPITAL there were NO real services for the middle to upper middle class. If you lost your job..too bad... you are expected to "figure it out"! Even though you are actually one of the people whose taxes are funding these programs. Too bad..you will not qualify. I do realize that some states have better services than this, but not much better. This is because it is all dependent on the "poverty level" Who came up with those numbers anyway?
  

Now...you may be saying to yourself right now, "Aww so what! You had more than I have ever seen!" But... guess what? We are all living paycheck to paycheck. I don't care what your economic status is.

One thing that Obama's campaign really drove home is that we are all Americans. This is the United States of America! Not the "I have money and you don't" States of America. We need to work together with our future President to make change, and I mean MAJOR change...especially fiscally.

Change has come to America !!!!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 04:09pm EST /
Posted from www.change.gov

Last night, President-Elect Barack Obama delivered the final speech of a presidential campaign that promised change in Washington:

Now the work begins to deliver on this promise by planning the agenda and priorities for the Obama Administration. As the President-Elect reminded the country:

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Change.gov provides resources to better understand the transition process and the decisions being made as part of it. It also offers an opportunity to be heard about the challenges our country faces and your ideas for tackling them. The Obama Administration will reflect an essential lesson from the success of the Obama campaign: that people united around a common purpose can achieve great things. President-Elect Obama reminded the country of our limitless potential when he claimed this victory:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.