GM FYI Blog

By Christopher Barger,
Director, GM Global Communications Technology

Had someone told me, when I was in high school or college, that my job would someday involve being the only guy at a weekend gathering of more than 75 women, I would not have guessed back then that I would be working for a car company. And yet that’s where I found myself last weekend, representing GM at the 2007 Manic Mommies Escape Weekend. (I also think that if someone had told me back then that this would be my job, my 17-year-old self would have wanted to high-five the 39-year-old version of me.)

Erin and Kristin are the Manic Mommies, hosts of the very successful podcast about the many challenges of being a working mom and “trying to do it all,” as they put it. They have a great show, and they had a fantastic idea a couple of months back: invite their listeners to join them for a weekend in Newport, R.I., for an “Escape” weekend, one that would include both fun and learning opportunities, and a chance for moms to have a day or two to focus on themselves for a little while.

When we at General Motors heard about this idea, we were very intrigued. Kristin and Erin didn’t know just how it would work out either, but we thought the idea of an online community of real, everyday women gathering in real life with only a podcast as their common link was something we wanted to get involved with. Obviously, if we’re going to be involved in online communities and social media, we need to learn everything we can about how they interact and bond and work. It felt like a great opportunity, so we decided to sponsor the weekend and provide vehicles to serve as shuttles and to make available for ride-and-drives for the moms. We had 11 GM vehicles available: four Chevy Malibus (including a hybrid), two Saturn VUEs, two Saab 9-3s (one sedan and one combi-sport), and one each of the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook.

And sure, there was also a more self-interested element to our involvement: it was an opportunity for us to have 75 potential consumers drive our vehicles and let them make up their own minds about them. We believe that anyone who thinks they would never buy a domestic car would rethink that position if they actually got into one of today’s GM vehicles and drove them. We thought that providing such an opportunity in a relaxed, casual, fun setting – one on the moms’ turf and terms, not ours – was a good thing to try.

The weekend was unbelievable. When I walked in to the opening night reception, I felt like I’d stumbled into someone’s high school reunion. The camaraderie and kinship this community obviously has developed – without ever having met in person or knowing who the others even were – was and is remarkable. It says something to me about the power and depth of online communities – a lesson I know we’re recognizing at GM, and one I think the corporate world would do well to heed. And while being the only man in the room for the entire gathering made me the natural target of much good natured ribbing and banter, I can say unequivocally that I was made a welcome member of the group.

And so was GM! I lost track of how many times some of the moms came up to me and talked about how thrilled they were that GM was there, recognizing moms as both a market force deserving of attention and as a group worthy of our support. And I have to tell you, the cars made quite an impression. I heard at least a dozen people say something to the effect that they never would have considered a (fill in the blank for what they were driving), but after having been in one they were definitely going to put that vehicle at the top of their list.

And that’s what the whole thing was all about: supporting a great podcast, supporting moms who absolutely deserved a weekend away, and helping to change perceptions of our vehicles. I’d rate the whole thing a fantastic success; Erin and Kristin should be very proud of their community. I know we were proud to be there with them. It was great for us to begin building relationships with the Manic Mommies community, and to learn from the questions we were asked by the moms in attendance.

So Erin and Kristin… where’s the 2008 Manic Mommies Escape Weekend?