“Our audience is parents, that’s who we want to reach.” But what does ‘parents’ mean in 2023? Is it truly just mums and dads you’re trying to reach, or the person in the house that makes the purchase decision? Is the weekly shop still a thing? Or are households doing their online shop together, collectively adding things to the basket. What appeals to dads, aunties, grandparents, guardians? There’s no doubt that a family household will make different decisions and have their own requirements compared to single people or younger flat sharers. But the point we’re making is that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to ‘parents’.
Our audience is more and more aware of this. Long gone is the notion of 2.4 children. Families can be two people or ten. They can have one adult or four, multi-generational living is still very much present in the UK. They may not even have a ‘parent’ in the household. Spending habits are varied. A family with small children will have a different shopping list to one with teens. Trying to appeal to everyone in equal measure is impossible, but there’s no harm however in picking a niche and showing it off. People love to see difference.
According to research from Meta, 94% of brands are still showing women in stereotypical roles. How differently would you think of a brand that showed Dad, or a Grandad serving up dinner in an advert than a mum? It’s nothing revolutionary, a Statista survey from 2021 showed 32% of men are cooking from scratch at least a few times a week. If your ambition is to be seen as stand-out, discard stereotypes. Equally, disabled people make up 15% of the global population, but most feel they still don’t see any positive representation of themselves in branded work.
Perhaps you’re not making a big-budget TV advert, just running some organic or paid for content on social media. Then there’s even more opportunity to be diverse and inclusive, and think about the story you want to tell, that fits for your brand. What truth are you tapping into, and making families sigh together collectively in recognition of. Do you want to make them laugh, feel joy…and well ultimately buy your product?
Building up a feeling a warmth amongst your audience is so important, and it’s easier to do than ever before with social media at our fingertips. Think about the image you want to portray. Should your brand be keeping things real? Showing messy, authentic snaps of home life, or does polished perfection really sell? How many times should your brand be mentioned, is it an advertisement or a piece of content? We see a lot of influencers creating raw, creative brilliant content for brands, and in equal measure, we can tell those ads that have been curated and written by the brand from start to finish. Give credit to your influencers, they know their audience.
When we receive a brief from a brand wanting to target families, we really delve into who it is you want to reach and why. Years ago, there was a full selection of parenting glossy magazines to snap up in WH Smith, and now they’ve nearly all but disappeared. There are still print magazines we can secure coverage in, but ultimately, we know families are online. It’s not just Instagram, there’s a whole new cohort of parents on TikTok and chatting in forums.
We speak to mums, dads, aunts, carers, and grandparents to get their opinions before we start work. In a world where we’re blasted with #ad on our feeds who are the brands that capture our attention? We’ve worked with everyone from footballers , to podcast hosts and TikTok stars to tell stories for our brands. Whether it’s creating the perfect family friendly event, curating content that works for social media or the national press, we can make sure your brand gets noticed for the right reasons, by the right people.
