TwitterMoms Launches the World's First Social Seal of Approval Program

ROSS, Calif., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- TwitterMoms.com today introduced a Web 2.0 twist on the old "Seal of Approval" concept, getting household products out of labs and into the homes of opinionated moms who evaluate products in real-life situations following a standardized evaluation process. The first product to be awarded the TwitterMoms Seal of Approval is the Quickie Microfiber Twist Mop, followed by Procter & Gamble's Ultra Concentrated Dawn dishwashing liquid. Other products are in the testing queue.

The TwitterMoms Seal of Approval is the first to leverage a community of opinionated, influential moms to conduct a standardized product review process. The seal also boasts several other innovations. It's the first seal to integrate a QR code, which allows anyone with a smartphone to quickly view a mobile web site with detailed ratings and feedback from the TwitterMoms review process. The results -- and test procedures -- are posted to the web, allowing a mom to drill down as deeply as she needs to make an informed buying decision, even at the point of sale.

"Moms trust moms above all else," said Megan Calhoun, founder of TwitterMoms.com. "Traditional seal programs rely on lab technicians, sterile environments, and black boxes for their analysis. Our moms put products through their paces in their homes, and color their commentary and evaluations with their own real-life experiences — something that just can't be replicated in a lab." 

For Quickie, (the nation's leading cleaning tools manufacturer) the TwitterMoms evaluation process provided valuable feedback early in the product development cycle which allowed the company to include enhancements suggested by some of the participating evaluators. The Quickie Microfiber Twist Mop hits stores in October. Both the packaging and in-store displays will feature the TwitterMoms Seal of Approval and QR code. After subjecting the product to a series of tests, 96% of the moms who tried the Quickie Microfiber Twist Mop would recommend it to their peers. Results are available online at http://quickie.twittermoms.com/.

"We were really impressed with the TwitterMoms organization from beginning to end," said Augie DeLuca, CMO of Quickie Manufacturing. "This product review enabled us to get into our consumers' heads and their homes quickly. The evaluators put a lot of careful thought into their feedback, which we incorporated to make an even better product. The process allowed us to connect directly with our consumers, which became an invaluable experience for us."

The second product to earn the TwitterMoms Seal of Approval is Ultra Concentrated Dawn dishwashing liquid. The TwitterMoms team developed a blind study in which a panel of evaluators put a small amount of the liquid through a series of stress-tests designed to measure the product's grease-cutting properties and value characteristics. Moms praised the product's grease-cutting properties -- 100% found the results met or exceeded their expectations in tackling tough grease. After completing the series of tests, 93% of the participants said they'd recommend the product to others.

"We were excited to give this new take on the traditional seal program a try," said Susan Baba, external relations manager for the Dawn brand at P&G. "We were even more excited to see how Ultra Concentrated Dawn met or exceed value and performance expectations in a blind study."    

Products carrying the TwitterMoms Seal of Approval have been subjected to a structured evaluation process, designed by members of the TwitterMoms team. A minimum of 25 independent moms were selected for their geographic and demographic diversity then complete the structured evaluation process in their own households and submit their qualitative and quantitative feedback for review and analysis. To be awarded the Seal of Approval, a product must meet or exceed expectations in all areas of the evaluation 85% of the time and the same percentage of evaluators must be willing to recommend the product to others.  

The TwitterMoms evaluation panel is comprised of experienced moms who are active in social media from across the United States. 60% live in the suburbs, 18% are rural dwellers, and 22% live in cities. Nearly 75% of the panelists have two or more children. 26% have babies in their household, 23% have preschool-age children, 33% have kids that are in grades K-8; 11% have kids in high school. Household income ranges skew slightly higher than the US average: 25% of the evaluators report HHI of more than $100K, 36% report HHI of $60-$100k, and 28% report incomes in the $30-$60k range. 62% keep large pets in their home. 

For more information about the TwitterMoms Seal of Approval or to submit a product for consideration, please visit http://seal.twittermoms.com.

About TwitterMoms

TwitterMoms.com was founded in 2008 by Megan Calhoun as a community site for moms who absolutely love Twitter, and has grown into a hub for nearly 30,000 of the most influential moms in social media. Across its network of member blogs and content partners, TwitterMoms reaches nearly seven million unique visitors each month in the U.S. alone, according to Quantcast, making it one of the largest mom-oriented networks in the United States. Its mission is to create high-integrity opportunities for moms to grow and enhance their personal brands through social media. The average TwitterMom has 1,300 Twitter followers and is active on more than five social networking sites, including Facebook. More than half of the members are active bloggers. As a fan and community site, it is not affiliated in any way with Twitter, Inc.

About Quickie Manufacturing Corporation

Quickie Manufacturing Corporation is dedicated to creating and distributing revolutionary cleaning products with the goal of creating an efficient and fast cleaning experience for consumers. Quickie Manufacturing Corporation distributes residential and commercial cleaning tools, including several varieties of brooms, mops, buckets, lint rollers, brushes, dust pans, rubber gloves, squeegees, dusters and sponges. Learn more at: http://www.facebook.com/quickieclean and http://www.twitter.com/cleaningquickie.  

About Procter & Gamble  

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.

SOURCE TwitterMoms