From Brady Bunch to Modern Family – the EVOLUTION of the Family and its Affect on Marketers

Allison McClamroch & Missy Maher, Chicago

It’s no surprise that family dynamics are changing.  According to the US Census, only 4% of today’s families fall into their definition of “traditional” – SAH mom, working dad with kids under 18. 

That said, we’ve noticed that marketers who target families tend to speak in generalities.  How many times have we heard  “We’d like to target moms, 25 – 54.”  And while there is nothing wrong with targeting moms – after all, the 83 MM moms in the U.S. alone are a hugely influential audience, with more than $2 trillion in spending power – we also know that not all moms are alike, and that mom herself is facing an ever-changing landscape of balancing work and family that has added a whole new level of complexity for brands seeking to reach her.  It also got us thinking – what about other members of the “modern family” of today?  Dads, multicultural audiences, GLBT parents, grandparents.  How are they influencing purchase decisions within the family, and what should brands be doing to better reach them?

All of this and more led us to conduct a study, in partnership with StrategyOne, titled “Marketing to the Modern Family.”  We took a close look at the influences on families today – from the economy to demographic shifts, technology to health & wellness – and tapped a diverse expert panel to help us.  The experts included single and GLBT parents, working moms, multicultural heads of household and grandparents with a range of knowledge in technology, finance, pop culture and health & wellness.  We fielded the study in August to 2,400+ members of the “Modern Family,” with an oversample for GLBT and multicultural populations. 

Here’s what we found:  the essence of parenting hasn’t changed, but all of these factors have caused a shift.  And Parenthood today looks very different as a result. 

Here’s a few findings…

• The Motherload Gets Heavier:
  • 41% of moms say they are the sole decision maker for their family purchases
  • Plus, they are taking on more than they did in the past
    • Managing family finances (70% to 86%)
    • Earning money (61% to 75%)
    • Buying technology oriented items (57% to 78%)
    • Buying a car (57% to 84%
• Universal Parent – The Era of Gender Surrender:   Economic pressures and blended family models have redefined individual roles within the family and skill sets have replaced gender
  • 62% of moms and 54% of dads feel that parenting roles will be redefined away from the traditional “mom and dad” roles of the past
  • 33% of dads say they take on role of traditional mom
• Democratization of the Family
  • 68% of parents say that children have influence on family purchasing decisions
  • 67% of grandmothers with involvement in taking care of their grandchildren say they have influence on family purchases
  • More than a third of mothers and fathers say that it’s likely their children will live at home after college
• Dad Demands to be Involved: 
  • Dads report their responsibility for taking care of kids has more than doubled since their childhood
  • Past…dads were in charge of financial security (93%), purchasing consumer goods (76%) and discipline of children (84%)
  • Present…all this and more
    • Taking care of children (44% to 84%)
    • Buying groceries (32% to 70%)
    • Cooking (22% to 67%)
    • Cleaning (18% to 70%) and doing laundry (11% to 64%)
• Traditional Becomes Traditionall: 
  • About 20% of moms and dads say their children will not identify with the same ethnic group as they do
  • 66 percent of gay dads are more likely to buy products that have ads reflecting their sexual orientation
  • There is a growing number of women who choose to have a baby alone

This led us to our 5 & 5:  Five insights and 5 recommendations on how brands can get started.

1. Find your Action Consumer:  Not all moms are the same – what subset of this power demo is right for your brand?
2. Go outside your bullseye – use the 80/20 rule when it comes to brand messaging (80% of your budget can be spent on core target, but 20% could be used to market against new audiences)
3. Don’t Stereotype – think universal parent and view the whole family as your palette
4. Rethink channel planning – use transmedia storytelling to resonate with all family stakeholders
5. Test and Learn – think about how 1-5% of your overall marketing spend can be used to optimize the future

We welcome your thoughts and feedback.  In the meantime, if you have questions, please feel free to contact us at modernfamily@edelman.com.