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ERICA EHM

​VILLAGE
BUILDER​​

Any child of the 80s will remember that Rush’s “The Enemy Within” was the first music video played on MuchMusic, Canada’s 24-hour music channel modelled after MTV. Not only did MuchMusic begin to change the landscape of cable television by offering one of the first specialty channels featuring music videos and music industry features around the clock, but it launched Erica Ehm’s career in the mainstream Canadian media.

 

Ehm, born, Erica Miechowsky, graduated from Carleton University with a degree in communications before pursuing a career in the music industry, a life-long passion. She was a contributor for a local music show in Montreal when she landed her life-changing gig as the first female video jockey on MuchMusic in 1984. It was a big year for Erica and television. MuchMusic was a pioneer in specialty TV channels which were first granted broadcasting approval that same year and Erica was the envy of Canadian generation Xers for her coveted hosting role on the new channel. She spent ten years interviewing music giants from Sting to Dwight Yoakam to Kurt Cobain. In 1994, Erica left MuchMusic to focus on song-writing. She has since won three Juno awards and multiple song-writing awards, has written three children’s musicals and the theme song for a children’s animated series.

 

After having her two children in 2000 and 2003, Ehm struggled to find the balance between raising a family and being a career woman.  Ehm said that she “…had a really difficult time adjusting to motherhood.” In an alumni profile for the University of Ottawa's Tabaret, Ehm describes herself as a “Type-A person and when you have children, you have to give up control and let your children overtake your life.” It inspired her to use her communications background to create the Yummy Mummy Club, an online magazine and community for moms. She had been the voice of a generation in the 80s and re-invented her voice, now, as a modern mom. In an article for the Vancouver Province, Ehm defines a yummy mummy as,

 

"...a woman who is a mother who is inspired. She is someone who has hobbies, interests outside of her family. She is stimulated. She takes care of herself. ...she's happy in her own skin."

 

Ehm says, “…if you look, and you look at what I’m doing today, it’s the same. … Even when I was in high school, I wrote a monthly column called “Erica’s Teen Scene Column.” Now, fast-forward thirty years, and I write “Erica’s Yummy Mummy Column” in Post City Magazines. It’s the same thing; I’m a social commentator. I kind of stand back, look at my peers, and amalgamate the information and the emotion of my generation—and come up, hopefully, with a fresh perspective on who we are and why we do what we do.”

 

The Yummy Mummy Club is more than a social commentary or parenting blog though. Ehm has provided a space for moms to come together to share their experiences and seek the support of other women. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. Ehm has built a digital village with more than 80,000 members. The site is created by moms for moms. Her contributors cover topics from being a Canadian expat mom, a mom of multiples, a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a pinterest mom or a fashionista mom. There really is something for everyone to find advice or at least to feel a little less alone in their struggles. Her village isn’t just a home for curating content, but actively creates it. New material is uploaded from contributors on a daily basis sharing tips, stories, and understanding.

 

Ehm is determined to help each mother realize that even after giving birth (or however her family came to be), she is still a woman, a wife, a sister, a daughter or a friend. As amazing as motherhood is, there is still more to each woman’s identity than "Mom". Ehm has taken her "woman first, mother second" mission to Huffington Post Canada site as a regular contributor and to several television shows with recurring segments. The website also earned her a nomination for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur award in 2009. The site has won a number of awards including Best Blog at the 2014 Canadian Online Publishers Awards and a 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards in the General Interest category.

 

Now Ehm has taken her expertise in building online community and delivers keynote addresses across the country discussing content marketing, social media strategy and specifically marketing to moms. In 2012, she spoke at Social Media Camp in Victoria, BC on “A Guide to the Social Media Cocktail Party.”

 

Whether interviewing rock stars, writing songs or building a virtual village, Ehm has always been a pioneer. She says, “I have a very strong point of view about what I believe in. Right or wrong. And that’s what sustained me in my career; I’ve remained the person I always have been.” 

 

 

 

References

 

Aargaard, K (January 2009) Tall Poppy Interview: Erica Ehm. Torontoist. Retreived from http://torontoist.com/2009/01/tall_poppy_interview_erica_ehm/

 

Blumenthal, M (2014, June 10) Don't call me a mommy blogger! Cision. Retreieved from http://www.cision.com/ca-en/influencer-marketing/erica-ehm-1/

 

Ehm, Erica (2015, July 30) Bucket list must: Me and Mom in Tuscany. YMC Blogs. Retrieved from http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/blogs/erica-ehm-exposed

 

Foster, M. (February 2015) Erica Ehm: Digital mom strategist. Tabaret, University of Ottawa Retrieved from http://tabaret.uottawa.ca/en/2015-02/erica-ehm-digital-mom-strategist

 

Quinn, G. (2014, June 5)  Decline in working women could stagnate economic growth. Financial Post. Retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/executive/executive-women/decline-in-working-women-could-stagnate-economic-growth

 

Singh, H.  (2015, March 10)  Brands not engaging moms. Stratefy Online. Retreived from http://strategyonline.ca/2015/03/10/brands-not-engaging-moms-on-social/

 

Spaner, D. (2006, December 7) Erica Ehm: A woman of her times. The Vancouver Province. Rretrieved from:

http://www.canada.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=4601a636-e92d-462f-8967-73e2835bdb4e

Profile Photo Credit: YummyMummyClub.ca

Photo Credit:  Much Music

Video Credit:  Much Music

Photo Credit:  Andrew Seale

Photo Credit:  Torontoist

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