The traditional family remains dominant but things are changing!

Although the traditional family structure is still dominant in the UK, with 70% (5.4 million) of families falling into the ‘Traditional Family’ category, lots of things are changing. Families are becoming more diverse, meaning that the traditional model of marketing to the nuclear family may need to be revisited. For example, single parents are the second largest family typology in Britain, with women accounting for 64% of all Single Parent Families (SPF’s). Furthermore, with civil partnerships being introduced in the UK in December 2005, the number of civil partner couple families has increased from 13,000 in 2006 to 59,000 in 2011.

The changing family structure, the increase of same sex couples and the need to rethink how we approach marketing comms is evident throughout the marketing world. For example, McDonald’s France released a TV spot that was targeting gay men with the core message being “Come as You Are”. Brands in the USA have also embraced same sex families. The nearly-century old brand, Honey Maid, gave its latest marketing push a healthy dose of diversity with its Dad & Papa ad. Although the advert below was banned after receiving only 200 complaints, in 2008 Heinz showed the UK’s ignorant a taste of reality, depicting a same sex couple kissing. They knew then that the ‘traditional’ family is no longer as black and white as it used to be and that marketing comms will need to take note of this!

But not only is the family structure changing, affecting the way that brands need to market their ‘family products’, families are also changing their spending habits and  media consumption. In 2013 research showed that regardless of the family typology, parents prioritise children’s needs before their own. 13% of parents are spending more on treats for their children than they had previously. Research also shows that 11% of parents are more likely to spend money on food/drink at home for a “special” occasion and 10% of parents also said that they’re now more likely to spend money on family days out. This is just a very brief look at how things are changing. Ultimately this post highlights that changes are happening and that there’s a lot of scope for the communications industries to capitalise on said changes.