If your innovative product or service passes the “Alpha Mom” test, it’s gold. That’s why the nation’s biggest marketers, from Kraft to General Motors to Nintendo, are focusing on this remix of the modern mom. Her predecessors were the Soccer Mom and the Yoga Mom. But this new marketing phenomenon sees her identity not only as a mother, she is a woman in the know and hungry for information, products and services that will help her reach her goal of mommy excellence. 

Who is this Alpha Mom? She is educated, tech-savvy, kid-centric and a hands-on multi-tasker. She may or may not work outside the home, but at home, she views motherhood as a job that can be mastered with diligent research. She’s online 87 minutes every day, according to Internet market research specialists. She also keeps up with the newest products and trends and passes them on to her peer friends via e-mail, online forums, blogs or word of mouth.   

She also helps new product developers create and design the best innovations for her children. Guess who Nintendo approached to help them create and test their new Wii system? I saw an interesting article in Business Week, in which the reporter interviewed two members of Nintendo’s development team, Shigeru Miyamoto and veteran designer Ken’ichiro Ashida, about developing the Wii and getting inspiration from Alpha Moms:

“It was 2003. We got game designers and engineers together to discuss the future of video games. We talked about what specs and features a console should have. But we knew we would get nowhere if we didn’t get moms’ approval. So we thought about what might convince moms to buy this for their kids. When that happened, we talked about basic concepts and goals, not about the technical specifications of the console. This was the Wii’s first major step. Our goal was to come up with a machine that moms would want—easy to use, quick to start up, not a huge energy drain, and quiet while it was running. Rather than just picking new technology, we thought seriously about what a game console should be. [CEO Satoru] Iwata wanted a console that would play every Nintendo game ever made. Moms would hate it if they had to have several consoles lying around.”  — Shigeru Miyamoto

You can read the entire interview here.  What Nintendo and other companies have learned that should be crystal clear: An Alpha Mom typically has money and spends a good deal more than other Internet users. More importantly, the impact of her purchases or what she touts can spread on the Internet far beyond her e-mail list or blog.