Today’s Advertising Age also included a graphic showing general economic health by family type, age, race, and education. Click here to see it. (By the way, notice the tabs at the top of graphic, which is how you’ll navigate between views.)
Implications: I’m thinking about the overwhelming number of companies who describe their target as “the typical family,” and in doing so, assume that means a family that is married with children. For one thing, families that meet that description are in the minority these days (according to this graphic, and supported by Audience DNA research projects I’ve done in dozens of major cities). For another thing, many of those families—with the higher expenses that often come with raising a family, such as healthcare, food and housing—are feeling the pinch of the current economy event more than most.
Don’t get me wrong: That doesn’t mean the traditional Married w/Children household isn’t a lucrative target. But it might mean that more of these families are focused on value and cost savings than they were a few years ago. And it means that the 2011 picture of a traditional family might not look very traditional anymore.
[Thanks, Jim Hopes, for sharing the link to this story and graphic!]
Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.
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