No matter that they account for a whopping 38% of women in their childbearing years in the U.S., are 19 million strong (and growing) and wield significant spending power.
As retailers and consumer products companies lavish attention on mothers, not only in the run up to the big holiday, but year round, women without kids are often left out of their advertising narratives.
But in ignoring this demographic, marketers are leaving money on the table, revealed “Shades of Otherhood,” a new study conducted by public relations firm DeVries Global that was inspired by “Otherhood: Modern Women Finding a New Kind of Happiness,” a book by author/entrepreneur Melanie Notkin.
The study surveyed 1,000 20- to 44-year old non-moms from diverse backgrounds who are single, married, straight, gay living with a partner, divorced, widowed, etc., as well as 1,000 moms.
The Purse Power Of The Otherhood
Among the salient findings of the study, women of the “otherhood” are “thriving career-wise,” and 75% of them had some college education or above, compared to 67% of women with kids, according to a report on the research.
Indeed, “otherhood is a sign of social progress … and empowerment,” said Hannah Seligson, a contributor to The New York Times who has become a voice for Millenials and collaborated on the study, during a recent panel discussion in New York on the topic.
And the otherhood has ample earning power.
The others outspend moms on beauty, personal care and household products, the survey showed.
They spend nearly twice as much a month on beauty and hair-related products, ringing up to nearly $1,200 per year. (They are more likely than moms to shop in a drugstore versus a big box retailer like Walmart or Target TGT +1.39%.)
What’s more, women without kids spend an average 35% more per person monthly on groceries than moms.
Just like women with children, members of the otherhood enjoy shopping and cooking, yet food-related advertisers, from grocery chains to suppliers, often depict a traditional family around the table, the survey said.
These non-moms “are not just ordering from Seamless every night,” Seligson said. “They’re cooking and building a home.”
Carrie Bradshaw: A Reductive Cliché
When it comes to apparel and accessories, the others spend on par with mothers, contrary to the cliché of the single, frivolous career woman burnished by the Carrie Bradshaw character in “Sex and the City,” who squandered a $40,000 down payment for an apartment on shoes, panel members noted.
Indeed, by and large, the others are financially responsible shoppers, the survey found.
“She’s not the spinster old maid and she’s not Carrie Bradshaw,” Notkin said.
Panel members debunked the oft-trotted-out notion of the career woman who chose work over marriage and family.
“I have never said no to a man who proposed to me, with whom I was madly in love, for a conference call I had to take,” Notkin said.
And the clichéd depiction in popular culture of the cold careerist who’s clueless around children persists.
By contrast, the survey found that children play an active role in 80% of the lives of the others, such as nieces, nephews and friends’ children.
Although the majority of the non-moms surveyed said they wanted children, most said they could picture a happy life without them.
The non-moms surveyed include women who have chosen a life without kids and those who’ve faced “circumstantial infertility,” said Notkin, who falls into the latter group and spoke with a compelling candor about it.
“I have grieved deeply for my childlessness,” she said. And when marketers “assume we are mothers, many of us tend to feel less than. It tends to affect our psyches.”
Tips For Marketing To The Others
Marketers would be wise to woo the others with inclusive advertising messages that cast them as equal to – not less than — mothers, panel members said.
That means “celebrating the values of being a woman” that go beyond motherhood, said community psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor, during the discussion.
While this sounds deceptively simple, the belief that meaningful womanhood must involve motherhood is commonplace. And it’s one that’s often baked into consumer marketing and advertising messages.
To that end, in reaching out to the others, marketers should first assess their internalized assumptions about this group. The fact of the matter is, “We all buy toilet paper and paper towels,” said Rebecca Eisenberg, deputy editor of content curator Upworthy, during the discussion.
Some takeaways for marketers:
•Depict the others as a hero to her nieces and nephews. “They are a big part of her life,” the report says.
•“Create fresh images and stories that show her life with greater authenticity and nuance.”
•“Think of the otherhood as tastemakers. After all, they are the demographic that has the time to check out the new restaurants, hotels, spas, bars and stores.”
• “Look for categories where the otherhood has unmet needs. There is a real opportunity to meet her needs in the food and beverage industry and in the travel industry.”
•As members of the otherhood are more inclined to use emerging social media platforms like Vine and Foursquare, “brands will have to go beyond Facebook to reach them and it will be worth their effort,” the report said.
And as a general proposition, recognize that you “don’t have to give life to enjoy life,” Dr. Taylor said.
Barbara Thau
Amid The Mother's Day Marketing Blitz, A Look At An Ignored Demographic Gold Mine: The 'Others'
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