• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Marketing to Moms Through Dads?

January 26, 2012 by Liz Hawks Leave a Comment

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the national marketing-to-moms conference. Sitting through presentations, workshops and general discussions with my marketing industry peers over meals and breaks during the two-day experience, I took mental note of a key theme permeating the conversation: Dads.

Do you notice your significant other being targeted by some of the same advertisers who typically target you? Does he notice?

A lot of the chatter about dads at this particular conference was that dads are more involved today than their fathers were. Yes, that’s true (well, for many of us and luckily I can count myself in that group). And that today’s Gen X and Gen Y dads are more present with their kids than their parents were, and are more likely to have some role in sharing household chores (yes and yes in my case, whew!). And thank goodness for that, too!

What bothered me wasn’t that people are interested in marketing to dads. Of course dads aren’t drones who take orders without input. In fact, research shows that while moms are responsible for approximately 85% of household purchase decisions, there are certain product categories for which moms seek input from dads, and sometimes even kids, and make the purchase based on consensus. (Though, mind you, moms still are ultimately in control of making those purchases, even if they get input and even if they have lots of hands on help from dads at home.)

No, what bothered me was that people claimed to be seeing a lot more marketing targeted to dads instead of moms. But in all of their examples, I realized this claim was based on a dangerous assumption. They were assuming that if an advertiser puts a dad in an ad, that ad must be targeted to dads – not moms. Huh? Have you ever seen this ad:

The whole story in it revolves around a dad. But do you think it’s intended to promote Google Chrome to dads? To moms? To both? Would you and your significant other have the same reaction to this spot?

I could think of several examples of TV spots featuring dads that resonated with me as a mom because the male actor mirrored my husband. Or the situation mirrored our lifestyle. Not necessarily because I saw a mom in the frame who reminded me of me (particularly if it’s a commercial wherein the actress looks to be enjoying herself while cleaning the house…)

My message is this: Marketers do too much assuming. Don’t assume that we moms are so literal. That we have to see a mom doing “mom things” to ‘get’ it… for the ad to break through to us, to resonate. If your ad mirrors our lifestyles, our beliefs, our perceptions of all the relationships and moments that make up motherhood, then we’re in your bullseye.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite TV ad of late? Do you think it was created specifically for moms?

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Liz Hawks

Have you ever stopped to think about why you buy the things you do for yourself and your family? Do you notice ads that speak directly to you as a mom? As a marketing communications consultant to big brands, Liz Hawks works to help the people behind the products resonate better with you, the keeper of the purse strings. A mom of three, and SVP and partner at FleishmanHillard, the no. 1 global communications agency, Liz founded and chairs the firms marketing-to-moms practice group, called FH Moms. The group specializes in bridging the gaps between marketers and moms, who are responsible for 85% of all household purchase decisions. Between client calls and little league games, Liz is a regular speaker at national marketing conferences and is frequently interviewed by industry magazines.

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search

ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Things Happy Moms Do Differently

"Today's feminism isn't about women doing it all. It's about … [Read More...] about 10 Things Happy Moms Do Differently

Must Have

winter

Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

"It's beginning to look  a lot like Christmas..." The … [Read More...] about Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

Did you know?

Functions of Flour in Baking

What Are the Functions of Flour in Baking?

Tell If You Are Pregnant While Breastfeeding

How to Tell If You Are Pregnant While Breastfeeding

How Early to Take a Pregnancy Test

How Early to Take a Pregnancy Test

How to Even Out a Spray Tan That Left White Spots

How to Even Out a Spray Tan That Left White Spots

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

Soothe Red and Irritated Skin After a Brazilian Wax

How to Soothe Red and Irritated Skin After a Brazilian Wax

Painful Intercourse During Pregnancy

Painful Intercourse During Pregnancy

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2021 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.