Those of you who are following me on Twitter, or are fans of momAgenda on Facebook, already know I am fit to be tied over yet another momAgenda copycat. This is wrong on so many levels, and it affects all of you too.
Let me start by saying that the weekly momAgenda layout, the grid with space for mom and 4 kids (plus dinner), is an original idea. There were mom planners before momAgenda, but none of them had that key feature which is what makes us different. Our weekly layout, by the way, is copyrighted, but unfortunately a copyright does not prevent people from copying!
I don't have an issue when competition arises. I have met many of our competitors, mostly at trade shows, and am friendly with most of them (I say "most" because some of them don't want to be friends with me--go figure!). Nina from Whomi is a great gal. And Molly from GoMom has generously given us a ton of support. Competition is healthy and elevates the whole category; it makes retailers notice that products that help moms are necessary and here to stay.
But when a large company decides to make a planner for moms, and shamelessly creates a DIRECT KNOCKOFF of our original idea, it really gets me mad. Because, first of all, why can't they come up with their own original ideas? And second, if they can't come up with their own original ideas, why not sell our product, the original momAgenda, rather than copying it?
So here is our wall of shame... big companies who have copied the momAgenda weekly layout:
- Mead Westvaco
- Franklin Covey
- Filofax
- Dishonorable mention to Target, for carrying Mead's shameless knockoff.
I can't finish this post without mentioning a large retailer who proved that some big companies support real mom brands. Staples decided they wanted to carry products for moms, and guess who they called. Us! Right now, the following momAgenda products can be found on the shelves at Staples: the new myPlan (your tween/teen daughters will love it), the Weekly Family Planner pad, and the Spiral Refill. Kudos to Staples for carrying a Real Mom Brand rather than a cheap and cheesy imitation!
Until retailers start recognizing the MANY real moms that are out there building brands and making fabulous products, they are going to continue to try to sell us subpar imitations, many of them designed my men who don't get our lifestyle. Nothing against men, I really like most of them, but lets face it not too many of them are moms.
So please join me in supporting Real Mom Brands... if we vote with our wallets, the big retailers will have no choice but to pay attention.
What are your thoughts on this topic? And, do you have a Real Mom Brand you would like our readers to know about?