Website promotion 'overlooking fathers, still targeting mums' 

Thursday, 03 February 2011 by Craig Nicholson

Men, particularly fathers, are becoming much more involved with decision making in the household, yet they are not being catered for by website promotion and managed emarketing, according to a new report.

eMarketer underlined the trend of dads in the US feeling marginalised by traditional online advertising, claiming that it instead targets mothers even though they only have a shared role in buying, or rely on the male figure to agree with - or veto - any decisions.

The organisation felt this was particularly ironic, given a recent research paper in October from Yahoo!. In it, it was suggested that dads are spending more time at home and playing a bigger role in family life on a day-to-day basis.

Half or more dads polled by Yahoo! said they had taken an increased role in decision-making, particularly in regards to categories such as baby products, toys and household products

Nonetheless, managed emarketing and website promotion techniques have not kept pace with new habits. The Yahoo! study found that 66 per cent of fathers felt ignored by clothing ads, even though 57 per cent claim to be the primary decision-maker in the category.

Furthermore, child and baby care products are alienating 57 per cent of fathers, while a massive 80 per cent call the shots when it comes to buying.

eMarketer therefore emphasised the need for website promotion activities to not overlook the buying power that fathers have.

Yahoo! said: "By incorporating information dads can use to make an informed purchase and acknowledging that they have a stake in purchase decisions, savvy marketers can take advantage of this prime opportunity to build brand loyalty with an emerging audience."

People looking to capture an audience of fathers may want to target the UK first. That's because it was discovered to be the leading spender online when compared to its European rivals, according to a new study from Kelkoo and the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Living Streams "Improving clients' profitability through better use of the internet".