According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are an estimated 43.5 million women between the ages of 15 and 50 who have children. Collectively, these women are mothers to 95.8 million children.
Moms control approximately $2 trillion in purchasing power in the U.S., so reaching this segment of the population is important to many marketers. Recent research suggests the best place to reach them is online, with more than 70 percent of women with children spending time across digital devices in their daily lives.
We know moms are connected, influential, and among the most digitally savvy demographics. So connecting with moms, in the places where they spend their time and are most receptive, is essential for marketers. Yet marketers are often disconnected to the moms that they seek to portray and influence. In a study released by Saatchi and Saatchi this year, half of the moms interviewed stated that marketers don’t understand them.
According to recent studies:
- Both moms of younger children (under 6) and those with older children (6-16) are more likely to have gaming consoles, tablets and fitness bands when compared to the general U.S. population.
- Moms with children under 6 are 22% more likely than moms of kids 6-16 to subscribe to an online streaming service (and 27% more likely than the overall U.S. population).
- Moms with young children tend to be more likely to use a branded mobile app, engage with brands on blogs and participate in Facebook commentary, compared to the moms with older children.
- Across product categories, moms with children under 6 generally tend to show more willingness to engage with a brand than those with children 6-16.
Marketers, on the other hand, have undervalued the power of dads when it comes to household purchasing overall, leaning on former notions that fathers don’t carry much household influence. That said, big brands are coming to understand the evolving power dads hold. Brands like Dove, Pantene and Huggies have leveraged marketing to men amidst categories (personal care and child care, respectively) that have long been mom focused in nature. Moreover, recent Super Bowl ads featured several key marketers with dad-focused themes as part of their key messaging.
According to recent studies:
- Dads spend more of their daily device time on tablets than the general population, particularly dads with children under age 6
- Dads are more likely to own emerging technologies, such as gaming consoles, fitness bands, smart TVs, and smart watches. For example, they are 52% more likely to own a smart TV.
- Dads are more likely to engage with brand online, particularly on social media platforms
- Dads are highly receptive to digital brand engagement
The MaCorr Team
www.MaCorr.com