Why brands should start talking to dads more than ever before

No matter which era we were raised in, being a parent requires us to give our utmost attention to many new things that revolve around our children.
As a part of this new experience, new parents are mandated to learn many things along the way when raising a child. Among these things, knowing what product and brand to purchase for the child can be a whole new territory to step into.
Again, no matter which era, the task of buying child-related products usually becomes the task of the mums here in Thailand. Hence Thailand has always been a predominantly mum-focused market when it comes to products for children.
During the previous decades, marketers and advertisers in this category have been pushing out messages towards mums.
This is still perfectly fine for Thailand, as it is an accepted norm that mums are the primary caretakers of the children, and it has been so for many generations.
But in the 21st century, are mums still the only target worth talking to?
The latest global study from IPG Mediabrands shows that there are many more reasons to talk to the dads as well.
The study was conducted separately on more than 5,000 mums and 5,000 dads around the world. What made this study so special was the fact that it was one of the few, if not the only, one conducted only with dads and mums who belong to the so-called millennial generation, aged 25-34 years. This study gave a glimpse of how to understand millennials, who will be the largest demographic group in the world by 2020.
According to the study, millennial dads will be the marketer’s pot of gold for the next decade. This is because of their beliefs, perceptions, and personal values, which differ from millennial mums and non-parent millennials.
There are three major factors making dads the new catch.
First, dads are more optimistic than mums.
In this recession-prone era, providing for family is still the milestone every parent must conquer.
But in this case, millennial dads say they are less worried about the world economic situation: 67 per cent of them still have high confidence about their personal economic situation, whereas only 58 per cent of millennial mums are confident.
To make this finding even more interesting, when asking the same question about confidence in the economic situation to male millennials who are not fathers, millennial dads score almost 10 per cent higher when it comes to this issue.
This is a great indication that dads are more relaxed and have higher potential to make purchases in tough times than their peers and mum counterparts, giving all the more reason for marketers to start talking to these hopeful dads.
Second, it is easier to get in touch with millennial dads than mums.
Being the perfect millennials, 82 per cent of dads own a smartphone, while only 77 per cent of mums do. This is the first hint that dads are a bit savvier that mums when it comes to getting updates and staying in touch with the world.
Millennial dads are also keen multi-screen users, as 62 per cent own more than three devices to use daily.
This is higher than both millennial mums and non-dads.
This tech-savvy multi-screen behaviour of millennial dads is an invitation to advertisers, as they have more channels and media to utilise.
Digital media and multi-screen planning should be part of the strategy to reach this group effectively.
Third, millennial dads are more receptive to brands.
As it is Thailand’s norm for mums to be the decider on children’s products, mums are stuck in the same buying pattern.
They will do lots of research by listening to people with experience and peer influence to conclude which product to buy.
However, for dads, it is a whole different but positive situation. Some 45 per cent of millennial dads believe that brands play an important role in their lives, 58 per cent said they would support the brand they found to be good, and 65 per cent would actively recommend those positive brands to their peers.
This says that dads accept brands easier.
Hence it is a good idea to talk directly to dads about products, as this would make it easier to gain their trust when it comes to product benefits and messages.
In the end, these data are not saying that brands should stop talking to mums, as Thailand is still a mum-dominated market. They are saying that it would be very beneficial to talk to dads as well.
Dads are now a perfect untapped resource for Thai marketers and advertisers. They are now open for business with you – why not come in?

Maas Virajoti is group head, strategy and innovation, IPG Mediabrands Thailand.