If you have a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew under the age of eleven; chances are you know and love Baby Einstein. In fact, I’m surprised that my daughter’s first word wasn’t “caterpillar”. Each time that cute little insect gently crawled across the screen, her eyes opened widely, her lips formed into a smile, and she let out an excited little giggle. The reason why parents love Baby Einstein is simple: If our babies love it, then we love it. The mystery is why are little ones so in awe of Baby Einstein?
BABY EINSTEIN?
For those of you who are not familiar with Baby Einstein, here’s a little background. The genius of Baby Einstein was created by, yes, a mother. Julie Aigner-Clark, a mother of two, created the first video, “Baby Einstein Language Nursery” in 1997. This video, aimed at stimulating babies and toddlers through simple colorful imagery and classical music featured Julie’s two young daughters. In 2001 the company was rapidly snatched up by The Walt Disney Company. Since Disney’s acquisition of the Baby Einstein brand, the product line has expanded to include not only videos and DVDs, but also toys, puppets, and other baby gear. The videos/DVDs themselves have not changed much from the simple concept dreamt up by the original creator.
BRANDING FOR BABIES?
So, just what is it that makes these videos/DVDs so appealing to babies and toddlers? Is it the classical music and simple imagery set to a white background? Or is it the fun primary colored puppets and the chubby faced babies and toddlers? Maybe the fascination lies in the crafty combination of all of these elements. Until children under the age of two start talking in full sentences and describing their interactions with digital media (Who knows, it might not be that far off. Have you seen the almost two-year-old who already knows her World geography?), we’ll probably never know why.
BRANDING FOR MOMS?
Like I mentioned earlier, parents love Baby Einstein and maybe that’s precisely the reason that our children love it. Let’s face it, Baby Einstein is a somewhat guilt-free way to entertain our little ones while we take a shower, wash the dishes, or take a quick peak at our e-mail. We entrust Baby Einstein with babysitting our little munchkins because it’s educational and fosters their development (It’s called Baby Einstein, right? So, it must be educational). No other digital entertainer will do. So maybe it’s just the flashing images on the TV screen that mesmerize our children. Maybe it has nothing at all to do with Baby Einstein. Maybe our babies would be just as happy watching The Simpsons. We wouldn’t feel quite as good about letting The Simpsons entertain our little Einsteins, would we?
As parents we’re always trying to do what’s best for our children, but sometimes we just need to get stuff done. We’d love to be able to do chores around the house without turning on the dreaded TV, but sometimes it’s the only option (Yes we hear you, American Academy of Pediatrics). So until we can channel Albert Einstein himself into our homes to babysit our children, Baby Einstein is our next best option. And for those parents whose children are quickly outgrowing Baby Einstein, there’s good news: Little Einsteins!
THE FINAL CONCLUSION:
Now back to the branding part of the discussion. I think we’re all on the same page that parents provide the introduction Baby Einstein into the lives of our babies, even if the reason why our babies fall head over heals for the brand is debatable. But how do parents find out about Baby Einstein in the first place? It isn’t that cute little caterpillar that caught our eye, that’s for sure. It’s all about word of mouth—parents talking to parents about their babies. Whether or not we admit it, it’s what we like to do best. So, it’s no surprise that this year Baby Einstein launched a brand new website focusing on parent-to-parent sharing, in essence social networking. (What is surprising is that it took so long to revamp their site with this focus.) The site includes a parent forum, a column hosted by child development experts, real life stories from parents, and tips on how to interact and discover with your child. The Baby Einstein print advertising campaign builds from the “real life parent and baby experiences” aspect of the website. For more information on the recently launched Baby Einstein website and ad campaign visit here.
We here at {e} house studio are no strangers to the power of social networking, hence our blog. Of course, we have a long way to go before we reach the Baby Einstein status. (Maybe appointing a colorful, fuzzy, little caterpillar as our mascot would help.) On a serious note, we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy producing it. And remember, comments and suggestions are always welcome.
