Mother’s Day Marketing

Mother’s Day is less than 2 weeks away, but I'm sure you know that already... because you, me, and the rest of the planet have had our inboxes flooded with Mother's Day marketing emails. They began trickling in to my inbox as early as April 10th this year, reminding me of the impending occasion.

My thoughts towards all the Mother's Day marketing are conflicted. On the one hand, I've made my career in the marketing and communications field, so I can appreciate the strategic leveraging of current events and trends as an opportunity to market to your audience. On the other hand, though, the millions of reminders to celebrate and honour our mothers is a triggering reminder of her absence for those of us who no longer have our moms by our side.

Here's a snapshot of some of the subject lines currently in my trash folder:

• Mother's Day is just around the corner!
• Affordable Mother's Day gifts she'll love
• Make Mom Something Sweet For Mother’s Day! 
• The 24 Best Mother’s Day Gifts for Travelers in 2024
• It's time to celebrate mom
  
• Get ready for Mother's Day with our stunning collection
• Sweet rewards for Mom’s special day. 
• Mom's Perfect Cup 
• Show your mom how awesome she is with a handmade craft this Mother’s Day.

As Mother's Day approaches, I'm hyper-aware of the void left by my mother's absence. I wish I could still buy my mom something for her to open on Mother's Day, I used to love making hand-made gifts for Mom, and I wish Mom and I were planning an upcoming trip together.

I really appreciate the consideration of some companies like Canva who sent me an email offering to opt-out of Mother's Day promotional emails. The email I received had the subject line "Want to opt-out of Mother's Day emails?", and the body of the email contained "Mother's day is coming up and we know it can be a difficult day for some. That's why we're giving you the option to opt out of Mother's Day emails from us." The compassionate acknowledgment of grief in a world consumed by commercialism is very much appreciated. Clearly Canva's marketing lead has lost someone significant or is incredibly sensitive to others who have. I received the email on April 15th, 2022, just 3 weeks after my mom's passing, so you betcha, I took them up on that offer and unsubscribed from marketing emails (I still have the e-mail, because I was incredibly appreciative of it, and as a marketer, I saved it for my marketing box of tricks).

Those Mother's Day marketing emails are just poking at all the emotions I'm already feeling. It would be great to spend Mother's Day with Mom on May 12th this year, but what I really want is for Mom to be here every day of the calendar.