Close your eyes and picture a cleaning commercial; Windex, Dirt Devil, Bounty, etc, it doesn’t matter. Now picture a cooking commercial. Who comes to mind advertising the product? It’s a woman, isn’t it? A middle aged, stay-at-home mother in an earth tone cardigan and perfect hair, most likely. Before you feel guilty for jumping to conclusions, know that it’s not your fault. Nearly every cleaning or cooking ad we see is centered around women. Now, I know what you’re thinking–this is just business. Women do a majority of the housework so they are who you should be marketing to. But as they have with most things, millennials are here to shake up the stereotypes in the marketing industry. Here is why you should be using dads for your cooking and spring cleaning influencer campaigns.
Why Men?
Before you roll your eyes at the idea, don’t worry; I’m not just suggesting this to make some sort of social commentary on gender roles. Sure it’s edgy and very in-style to use a “non-typical”, but this one actually makes sense! Every year we see the statistics on stay-at-home dads rising. The U.S. Census reported last year that nearly 2 million fathers are now remaining at home with the kids – 16% of the stay-at-home population, a percentage that continues to grow throughout the years. This means more men, specifically dads, are at home throughout the day taking care of the children, cooking, and housework. Of course, statistics show that women are still doing a majority of the housework, but the percentage of men taking on the chores can no longer be ignored by marketers. In fact, 43% of men reported doing food preparation and cleanup around the house in 2015 and fathers report to put in about nine hours a week on household chores, which may seem small, especially to any women reading, but this number has more than doubled since 1965.
In 2018 we are starting to see roles in the household vary more drastically between families. No one has a “normal” family dynamic, and that’s something brands need to be aware of. Men and women are equal in the home, which we see especially in millennial marriages. Reaching these men could open up whole new target for your brand. And even if women are still doing most of the housework, seeing a husband promote the latest toilet cleaner could be a refreshing new sight, much appreciated by both men and women!
Why Influencer Marketing?
As this idea of a traditional family dynamic shifts, so does the idea of traditional advertising. And you already know what we are going to say next…influencer marketing is the way to go. We talked in our last blog about how active moms are on social media. But shocking to many marketers, myself included, dads are just as active! Like moms, dads are following accounts that they are passionate about and they can relate to, and 69% take action from content they see. This means they are actually engaging with influencers online. Instagram usage by adults has grown by 2x since 2012. Not only are moms and dads following their passions and interests, but they’re using the platform to discover and interact with brands they care about. Millennial dads have also reported that they turn to the internet in their time of need as a parent.
If fathers are feeling clueless about what to buy, they could find trust and recommendations from influencers they follow, namely their fellow dads. This could be the perfect opportunity to leverage great dad influencers to show off why your cleaning brand is the best. Or to show some great simple recipes for family dinners! Don’t get distracted by the tens of thousands of mom bloggers on social media–dad bloggers are out there too! Adventurous dads, hip dads, gay dads, stay-at-home dads, and millennial dads all have influence throughout social media, and their engagement is through the roof! Josh Davis, Alan Lawrence, Aubrey McCoy, Devon & Rob, and David Clark are just a few of the great men on the platform with voices that can influence other fathers and help boost sales.
So we know now that fathers are taking on household work, they are active on social media, and there are plenty of great dad influencers to engage with. But there is perhaps a bigger reason why more dads needs to be represented online. Many millennial fathers talk about how they rely on the internet for information on parenting and household duties. However, they reported to feel underrepresented in this area online. Dads don’t see content relative to them since most brands in the household/childcare industry focus solely on mothers. This could be the perfect opportunity for brands to create that content fathers need to see through influencers. Creating relatable content for fathers, and young fathers especially, is important for any of these brands trying to reach a new and bigger audience. You need them, and it sounds like they need you too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to stop reaching to mothers, but broaden your horizon. Why not reach both?
Conclusion
When we think of cleaning we think of women and mothers. But more and more men every year are helping to take on the role as the “housewife”…or rather “househusband.” There are so many reasons why using fathers in influencer marketing is the way to go. Men are taking on this role and they are paying attention to online content to gain knowledge in this area. The market is there for you and most men are ready to embrace seeing themselves in this role in media. You have the chance to stand out here! Sounds like a win/win to me. Socially and logistically, using father influencers for cleaning and cooking products just makes sense.
About MATTR
MATTR is the only full-service influencer marketing provider with detailed audience insights from PersonaMesh™. We go beyond demographics into psychographics such as values and interests so that your influencer campaigns align with your campaign targets.