Research Outline

Parental Behavior Trends

Goals

To provide 4-6 best practices on how to market to millennial parents.

Early Findings

Not Just the Moms

  • Millennial dads are actively playing a role in parenting their kids with the moms, especially when it comes to YouTube where dads are watching more parenting-related content as opposed to moms.
  • This means that marketers should not assume that they are talking to moms but should target either both or be gender-neutral.

Digital Presence is a Must

Selling Values Not the Product

  • Millennials support brands that "that demonstrate one or more of their values."
  • This means that brands can win millennial parents' trust, especially millennial moms', by building off of social values that millennials care about while fulfilling the parents' needs. Examples of such values include sustainability, ethical sourcing, etc.

Synchronizing Mobile and In-Store Marketing

  • Millennials use their phones while shopping to look up information, coupons, and promotions.
  • For a brand to successfully market to millennial parents, its mobile and in-store marketing should combine seamlessly.
  • An example of this is Target's Cartwheel app, where "you download Cartwheel onto your phone, add coupons to your cart while you shop in-store, and then scan a barcode at checkout that processes all your savings at once."