Childs Play Communications

Contact: Julie Livingston

Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included PR Innovation of the Year (2009) and Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010). Clients have included Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, Toyota, Cold Stone Creamery, Cuisinart, EMI Music, Hewlett Packard, Cookie Jar Entertainment, MEGA Brands, Spin Master, Parents magazine and Sylvan Learning Center, among other leading brands. For additional information, please visit our Web site (www.childsplaypr.com), our blog (www.mommarkettrends.com), like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/ChildsPlayCommunications), or follow us on Twitter (@ChildsPlayComm).

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CONTACT:     Julie Livingston
                         Child’s Play Communications
                          212-488-2060 X 12
                          jl@childsplaypr.com
                       
CHILD’S PLAY COMMUNICATIONS AND BLOGANTHROPY.ORG
ANNOUNCE 2^nd ANNUAL BLOGANTHROPY AWARDS,
RECOGNIZING BLOGGERS WHO GIVE BACK
April 7, 2011, NEW YORK, NY – Child’s Play Communications and Bloganthropy.org have announced the launch of the Second Annual Bloganthropy Awards, to honor women who raise awareness for a good cause through social media. 
Nominations and event sponsorships are now being accepted.
Child’s Play Communications specializes in connecting companies with moms, through public relations, social media and word of mouth communications. Bloganthropy.org empowers bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities.
Katherine Stone, the blogger behind Postpartum Progress, received the first Bloganthropy Award, which was presented in August 2010 at an event hosted by Child’s Play.  Following the birth of her child, Stone’s own feelings of fear and isolation prompted her to create Postpartum Progress, now the most widely read blog in the United States on postpartum depression and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. She received an honorary plaque, a cash prize and a $1,000 donation to her cause. In addition to Stone, four finalists were acknowledged for their unique contributions to the blogosphere. They were: Kristine McCormick, Cora’s Story; Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz, Violence Unsilenced; Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whiteman, Passports With Purpose, and Megan Jordan, Velveteen Mind. All were featured on Bloganthropy.org.
“We are so impressed by bloggers who use social media to do good,” said Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “Through the Bloganthropy Awards, we can help recognize and reward them for those efforts.”
“It is remarkable what bloggers can accomplish in raising awareness for meaningful causes,” added Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder, Bloganthropy.org. “We look forward to once again acknowledging these talented women.”
The 2011 Bloganthropy Awards winner will be announced on Friday, June 24th in Asheville, North Carolina, at a special event held during the Type-A Parent Conference, attended by bloggers from across the country.   Bloganthropy founders Debbie Bookstaber and Candace Lindemann, along with the Bloganthropy Advisory Board, Child’s Play Communications president, Stephanie Azzarone, and the company’s Team Mom™ blogger-network Director, Marie Baker, will consider all qualified candidates and select the winner.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 6, 2011. To nominate a blogger for a Bloganthropy award, please visit: http://www.bloganthropy.org/awards/blogger-of-the-year-nomination-form/ 
2010 Bloganthropy Awards  sponsors included Procter & Gamble’s Good Health, for the Award itself, and industry leaders such as Baby Boom, The California Strawberry Commission, Cold Stone Creamery, Cuisinart, Giddy Up, Hershey’s, Kraft, K’NEX, Nickelodeon,  Summit Toy and Toyota for the presentation ceremony. 
To become a sponsor of the 2011 event, please contact Julie Livingston at (212) 488-2060 x 12 or jl@childsplaypr.com or visit: http://www.childsplaypr.com/services/bloganthropy_awards.cfm
About Bloganthropy.org
Bloganthropy.org aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. The annual Bloganthropy Awards recognize those who have made a difference by using social media to effectively promote a cause or charity.  
About Child’s Play Communications
Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s own network of mom bloggers. Recent company awards have included Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010) and PR Innovation of the Year (2009).  When it comes to marketing to moms, Child’s Play Communications is the agency to call. For more, visit www.childsplaypr.com.
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1 IN 4 U.S. SOCIAL-MEDIA MOMS REPORT PURCHASING KIDS’ PRODUCTS
BASED ON ONLINE RECOMMENDATIONS
–79% of All U.S. Moms with Kids Under 18 Are Now Active in Social Media–
New York, NY, December 13, 2010 - According to a new study commissioned by Child’s Play Communications from The NPD Group Inc., a leading market research company, 79% of all moms in the U.S. with children under the age of 18 are active in social media  Of these moms, about one in four (23%) said they have purchased a children’s product as a result of a recommendation from a social networking site or blog. 
“Social Media Moms: How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behaviors” probes into the behaviors and opinions of active social media moms, defined as moms who currently belong to a social networking site and/or write, read or comment on blogs.  Based on responses from a sample of more than 2,000 active social media moms, it is evident that online recommendations have even more impact among the most frequent social media users: 43% of active social media moms who use these sites on a daily basis have purchased a children’s product as the result of a recommendation from these sites.
According to Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications, “We specialize in connecting companies with moms and know from our experience how social media can influence their purchasing decisions. The NPD research validates that and provides new insight into the process. Clearly, moms nationwide are making purchasing decisions as a result of the information and advice other moms are providing through social media.”
 
Active social media moms who purchased a children’s product based on a social media recommendation said that, on average, they did so five times in the past year.  More than half (55%) of these moms said they made their purchase because of a recommendation from a personal review blog and 40% from a Facebook recommendation.
 
“Social media has become an enormous influence on purchasing, and savvy marketers have certainly begun to embrace this vehicle when messaging to moms,” said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst for The NPD Group. “But many marketers have yet to fully realize the potential of social media and the power of peer group recommendations, which means more opportunities are on the horizon.”
The NPD Group fielded an online survey to members of NPD’s online panel and to members of the Child’s Play Communications online panel. The two different sources provided data to create both a holistic view of U.S. moms and their interaction with social media, as well as a deep-dive into the behaviors and preferences of social media moms. 
The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.
Child’s Play Communications
Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, social media and word-of-mouth communications, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included PR Innovation of the Year (2009) and Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010). For more information, call (212) 488-2060 or visit www.childsplaypr.com.
Media Contact for The NPD Group:              Media Contact for Child’s Play Communications:
David Riley                                                     Marie Baker
david.riley@npd.com                                      mb@childsplaypr.com
                                                                        (212) 488-2060 x 14