It's a fine line to walk: being a mom and being a marketer. I have to balance my instinctive nature to protect my own children from the thousands of impressions that bombard them daily while working on campaigns to engage youth in our client’s product or services that basically are intended to do the same thing. I find myself in a bit of a conundrum at times.
I’ve been asked by other moms how I feel about marketing to the influential youth population. Do I feel I'm contributing to the negative implications affecting today’s youth as a result of video games and the Internet? Today's youth seems to be less active alongside a higher rate of childhood obesity but what am I doing to change that?

I think about this often and have agonized over it at times, but at the end of the day I remind myself that our lifestyles have evolved greatly from when I was a teen. I think of how I asked my dad everyday for my own phone line, while here I am watching my 2-year-old master the functionality of my iPhone and he can hardly speak!

That tells me something as a parent.

I would sit patiently dialing each number on my rotary phone and because I was in such a hurry to tell my best friend something I would dial a wrong digit and have to start all over again. I can now type as little as 10 characters on my phone and have a night out with the girls planned in seconds flat!

So, my point is that today’s youth move at a fast pace even if they are sitting still. Their minds are going and their fingers are typing and that’s not going to change. What has to change is how parents interact with, motivate and guide their kids. When a new potential client comes knocking, as the CEO I ask myself: will this help our business grow? If the answer is yes, as a mom I ask myself: can I get behind this and feel comfortable without compromising my values as a parent?

It's tricky when you own a company whose focus is youth marketing. Not only do we have to be on the cutting edge at all times, but we also have to bear the responsibility for the campaigns we launch and how they will inevitably affect those that are engaged by them. We "target from the inside out" to engage the audience in ways they understand and genuinely find ways for them to subscribe to a product, service or lifestyle they genuinely enjoy. I can feel good about that!

So, I'm left in the same place I started: balancing what I want for my children as a parent and striving to reach the influential youth market and "children" of other parents. In the end, I am able to do this by believing in the clients we represent and partnering with clients that hold the same values I hold.

- Kristine, CEO