Marketing to the Recession Era Parent: My Adweek OpEd
All things being equal, parental duties were beginning to be noticeably shared in the U.S. by mid-2008. Men and women were requesting more flexible work schedules and deliberately mapping out who does what chore at home – and seeming to take it in stride. It was tough enough with two working parents, but then came the recession. Now, there are a lot more laid off men, specifically, taking on the bulk of child and home care. So, how does this affect parental “consuming” and what does it mean for marketers?
It was from that question that Carolyn Hadlock of Young and Larramore and I began to develop the Op-Ed piece that published today in Adweek/Mediaweek, “Reaching Recession Dads.” We had been noticing heavy coverage of the changing male consumer and family roles, and realized there must be significant insight within for brands that may be newly reaching the male parent, as opposed to the mom. Interestingly, just yesterday, The Christian Science Monitor published a feature that focused on a few recession-driven, re-shaped American families and the surrounding, compelling cultural research. Here’s a quote indicating the significance of this moment in time:
Researchers say it will be months, if not years, before they have any solid data on what these men are doing – whether they are going to school, staying home with children, or simply giving up. All they can say for sure is that the changes are huge.
“We’ve never seen a gender imbalance like the one we’re seeing now,” says Heather Boushey, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress.
So, why, you ask, am I writing about such things (as I have been already) in my “on women” blog? Because, this cultural shift in gender expectations is not driving women and men further apart, but drawing them closer together as consumers. These guys are beginning to be more allowed by society, and thus feel more comfortable, using their more feminine sensibilities in nurturing and caregiving. Men have been transitioning into stay-at-home or more involved fatherhood for some time. That doesn’t mean they are becoming less manly, but that the definition of a man is taking on some of the best of what had previously been thought of as “woman” territory.
As Carolyn and I put it in our piece:
With so many more men joining the at-home ranks, marketers can’t afford to continue gender-based efforts focused solely on moms. A telling, and humorous, case of lost gender identity is represented by the online “RebelDad.” This particular stay-at-home father and blogger recently took a diaper brand to task for sending him its Mother’s Day e-mail, with the friendly and personalized greeting: “Happy Mother’s Day, Brian!”
Whoops. Instead, if you’ve learned how to reach women more effectively, in their role as moms and otherwise, you will long since have been clued in on how to reach today’s man – especially in his parent role. Be transparent – and guided/inspired by the consumers you serve – no gender about it.
In a recession, you just can’t beat two for the price of one.
