CafeMom- Moms and Marketers

Word came out this week that CafeMom has raised a $12M round.  They’ve been on a very impressive run over the last year.  I’ve talked with CafeMom’s co-founders, Michael and Andrew, many times since they started their first property, ClubMom, in 1999 (both ClubMom and CafeMom are part of CMI Marketing).  What always struck me was how committed they were to their users- moms really have a lot of say in how CafeMom is run.  Of course Andrew and Michael have a genuine commitment to providing solutions that marketers want- that’s their business.  But the marketing has to work for the moms, and Andrew and Michael have always been clear about that.  As a result, they’ve struck a balance that is great for both moms and marketers.  

It’s also notable that CMI decided to launch a separate brand with CafeMom.  They had a good business in ClubMom, but there’s no way small adjustments to that property wouldn’t have given them the growth they’ve seen with CafeMom.  Instead, they listened to users, consulted with marketers, and launched a new property that met the needs of both.

In just over a year since CafeMom was launched, this approach has proven to be good business- Avenue A |Razorfish spent more with CafeMom in Q4 of 2007 than we did with ClubMom over the entire year (I’ve left out the real numbers, but the trend is pretty obvious).