eMarketer April 2016_Hawks Interview

ANALYZING
US FATHERS
TODAYWhat’s Overhyped, What’s
Overlooked
APRIL 2016
Mark Dolliver
Contributors: Maria Minsker, Jennifer Pearson
Read this on
eMarketer for iPad

ANALYZING US FATHERS TODAY: WHAT’S OVERHYPED, WHAT’S OVERLOOKED ©2016 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
CONTENTS
2 Analyzing US Fathers Today: What’s Overhyped,
What’s Overlooked
3 Fatherhood, Land of Contrasts
3 Sizing Some Father Subgroups
5 How Fathers Feel About Their Role
7 Gauging How Much Fathers Do on the Domestic Front
9 How Fathers Shop When They Do Shop
11 Conclusions
12 eMarketer Interviews
12 Related eMarketer Report
12 Related Links
12 Editorial and Production Contributors
ANALYZING US FATHERS TODAY: WHAT’S OVERHYPED,
WHAT’S OVERLOOKED
As patterns of motherhood in the US have shifted, so have patterns of fatherhood—with hyperinvolved “new dads”
getting much attention even as fathers who do not live with their kids at all have become common. Some aspects
of father behavior get disproportionate attention, while others are neglected.
■■ While 1.9 million single fathers are raising their kids,
the number is small compared with the 24.9 million
married fathers. And while the number of stay-at-home
fathers in two-parent households has risen, it is also
small compared with the number who do not live with
their kids.
■■ Fatherhood is “extremely important” to the identity
of 57% of fathers and “very important” to another
37%. However, many fathers feel they do not spend
enough time with their kids, which helps explain why
work/family balance is problematic for them.
■■ Most fathers believe they are doing a good job of
parenting. Digital technology has been helpful to them
in this role, though they worry about the amount of
time their kids spend online.
■■ Many fathers believe they do an equal share of the
childcare and housework. But amid a consensus that
today’s fathers do more on the domestic front than
fathers did in the past, a majority of mothers rebut the
notion that fathers are equal partners in domestic tasks.
■■ Though not doing as much of the household shopping
as mothers do, fathers take an active role on that front.
Smartphones help power their shopping.There are
indications that fathers are less likely than mothers to
be avid bargain hunters.
■■ Despite some signs of advertisers shifting away from
the old “idiot dad” stereotype, fathers still feel that
advertising ignores them and the role they now play
at home.
WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT?This report quantifies different
kinds of US fathers—married and working, stay-at-home,
nonresident and so on. It examines how they feel about
fatherhood and probes the gap between how much they
believe they do at home and how much mothers think
they do. It also assesses their behavior as shoppers,
including their reaction to advertising.
Mothers Fathers
% of respondents in each group
Primary Decision-Maker for Family-Related Purchases
According to US Millennial Mother vs. Father Internet
Users, Oct 2015
My
spouse
is
3%
We try to share the decision-making evenly
27%
I am,
deﬁnitely
70%
My
spouse is
22%
We try to
share the
decision-
making
evenly
53%
I am,
deﬁnitely
25%
Note: n=139 fathers; n=529 mothers; ages 20-35 with at least 1 child under
age 10
Source: Crowdtap, "Meet the (Millennial) Parents," Jan 26, 2016
203976 www.eMarketer.com
KEY STAT: Fathers tend to believe they are full partners in
purchasing for the household. Mothers beg to differ.

FATHERHOOD, LAND
OF CONTRASTS
Change is afoot in fatherhood as millennials become
the prime parenting generation, even if the change
is not as extensive as today’s “new dad” likes
to imagine.
Underlying shifts in attitude, the hard fact of mothers’
influx into the workforce has altered the daily reality of
family life. When a father buys the groceries, it is probably
more because he does not want to go without dinner
that night than because he has embraced new abstract
concepts of gender and fatherhood in the 21st century.
Meanwhile, there is a wider range in the kinds of fathers
that are common these days. In the “Leave It to Beaver”
era, fathers were mostly present in the household but
much less domestically involved than mothers. Now we
have many fathers who are highly engaged in childcare
and household tasks, but also many who do not live in the
same household with their offspring.
Despite such complications, marketers have good
cause to figure fathers out. Mothers are a less attractive
market than in the past because so many are now low-
income singles. Conversely, fathers are a more attractive
market than in the past because they are more involved
in household purchasing. (One indication of marketers
realizing this: Amazon recently renamed its Amazon Mom
program—discounts on diapers and whatnot—as Amazon
Family.)Thus, it’s worth looking beyond the “new dad”
chatter for a more nuanced picture of today’s fathers.
SIZING SOME FATHER
SUBGROUPS
The population of US fathers continues to disperse
from the old norm of a married man who supports
his kids and full-time-housewife spouse. However,
anecdotal attention to the rise of single fathers and
stay-at-home married fathers can give an inflated
impression of how largely they figure in the total
father population.
The number of single fathers raising their kids is
nontrivial, at 1.9 million, according to US Census Bureau
data for 2015. But that is still just 16% of all single-parent
households. And it is an even smaller segment when
compared with the 24.9 million fathers in married-parent
households.The proportion of kids in father-only
households (3.7% of total children) is tiny compared with
the proportion in mother-only households (23.1%).
Unmarried mothers loom large in the national
consciousness, but less attention goes to the inevitable
corollary: unmarried fathers.There are plenty of them.
According to a June 2015 report by the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 36% of fathers
who had a first child in 2000–2009 were not married to
the mother.Two-thirds of these fathers were in what
the CDC calls “a nonmarital cohabiting union” with
the mother. (Households with kids raised by same-sex
couples have not been numerous enough for long enough
to have generated such data.)
Data on the age at which men typically become fathers
is spotty, since the father’s age is often absent from
children’s birth certificates. But a January 2016 CDC
bulletin put the average age of first-time motherhood at
26.3 as of 2014. Research over the years has shown men
are typically older than women when becoming first-time
parents, so the average age of first-time fatherhood is
now likely to be in the late 20s.

ABSENT FATHERSVS.VERY
PRESENT FATHERS
While single fathers raising kids attract attention in the
media and pop culture, many more fathers do not live
with their children at all. Adding up kids who live in
mother-only households and those who live with neither
parent, 19.9 million—27% of all kids—do not have a
father in residence, according to 2015 Census figures.
millions and % of total households with children
Household Living Arrangements of US Children, 2015
With both parents
51.0 (69.2%)
With mother only
17.0 (23.1%)
With father only
2.8 (3.7%)
With neither
parent
2.9 (3.9%)
Note: among households with children under 18; excludes children in
institutional and non-institutional group quarters and those who are the
reference person for the survey; numbers may not add up to 100% due to
rounding
Source: US Census Bureau, "Current Population Survey: 2015 Annual Social
and Economic Supplement (ASEC)"; eMarketer calculations, Nov 6, 2015
At the other end of the spectrum are stay-at-home fathers
in two-parent households. Amid broad agreement that
the number of such fathers has risen, different definitions
yield widely divergent sizes for this population. Using a
narrow definition—including a stipulation that the father
be married and out of the labor force for at least a year—a
June 2015 Census bulletin pegged the figure at 211,000
as of 2014. Defining the cohort more broadly, a 2014 Pew
Research Center report (interpreting federal data) put the
number at 2 million as of 2012.
Sizing the population of fathers who have chosen this
role is more than a matter of just counting heads. Pew’s
report said, “Roughly a quarter of these stay-at-home
fathers (23%) report that they are home mainly because
they cannot find a job.” Another 35% were in the
stay-at-home role “due to illness or disability.” Here again,
though, different reports offer different perspectives. In
a July 2015Yahoo report (based on polling by Ipsos in
May), 70% of stay-at-home fathers said they “are doing it
by choice.”
While the recession no doubt pushed up the number
of stay-at-home fathers, a shift in attitudes was already
at work. “We’ve had recessions before that didn’t have
this result,” said Chris Routly, president of the National
At-Home Dad Network. He sees “a change in culture that
fathers can do this and are expected to be able to do it a
lot more, are accepted doing it.”
Resistance to fathers taking on this role sometimes
comes from right at home, according to David Iudica,
senior director of strategic insights and research atYahoo.
DescribingYahoo’s findings for its report, he said, “The
stigma was not coming necessarily from other dads.
It was actually coming from their spouses, so there’s
definitely a tension there.”
In any event, fathers who leave the workforce long term
to raise their kids remain the exception. An April 2015
bulletin from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said
93.7% of married fathers (and 92.8% of total fathers)
were in the workforce the previous year.
Meanwhile, fathers in the fully traditional mold—in a first
marriage, supporting a stay-at-home mother and kid(s)—
are dwindling toward niche status. A December 2015 blog
item by Pew, analyzing Census data, said 14% of kids
lived in such a household in 2014, vs. 50% in 1960.
1960 2014
% of population
Household Living Arrangements of US Children,
1960 & 2014
Note: children under 18; numbers may not total 100% due to rounding;
*includes cohabiting parents
Source: Pew Research Center as cited in company blog, Dec 30, 2015
Single
parent*
9%
Single
parent
26%
Neither
parent
4%
Neither parent
5%
Cohabitating
parents
7%
Parents in first
marriage, with
other work
arrangement
24%
Parents in first
marriage, with
other work
arrangement
32%
Remarried
parents
14%
Remarried
parents
15%
Parents
in first
marriage,
with stay-
at-home
mother
and
working
father
50%
Parents in first
marriage, with
stay-at-home
mother and
working father
14%

HOW FATHERS FEEL ABOUT
THEIR ROLE
Being a parent is at the core of most fathers’ lives.
Feeling is mixed, though, on how this responsibility
affects them, especially as they cope with factors as
varied as work/family balance and kids’ digital usage.
In September–October 2015 polling by Pew, 57% of
fathers said being a parent is “extremely important to
their overall identity”; another 37% termed it “very
important.” And they want to be good at it. In an April
2015 survey for BabyCenter and Google, nine in 10
millennial fathers said it is important to them to be a
“perfect dad.”
This does not mean they find the role a constant joy.
Millennial fathers, whose kids tend to be quite young,
seem to have the toughest time. In the BabyCenter/Google
survey, one-third said they feel “overwhelmed.”Things
were darker still in a 2014 DDB Life Style Study.The good
news: 82% of millennial fathers agreed that “raising a
child brings me a lot of happiness.” But 41% said “I do
find parenthood a real burden” and 42% said that “If I
had to stay home with my kids day after day I would lose
my mind.”
Pew’s survey got remarkably positive responses on the
question of whether fathers find the role “enjoyable”:
46% said they do so “all of the time” and 45% “most of
the time.” Still, 63% find parenthood “stressful” some of
the time, in addition to those feeling this way all (9%) or
most (15%) of the time.
Stressed though they may be, new fathers are not
wasting away. A study led by researchers at Northwestern
University found resident fathers gaining an average of
4.4 pounds after first having a kid, according to a July
2015 release from the university.The phrase “dad bod”
has entered the fatherhood lexicon amid debate about
whether to lose it or flaunt it.
SPENDINGTIME
While time fathers spend with their kids is not always
enjoyable, it is nonetheless a point of pride. InYahoo’s
report, 74% said they spend more time with their kids
than their fathers spent with them. In Crowdtap polling in
October 2015 among millennial fathers, 45% said they are
“more involved, open and hands-on with their kids” than
fathers of earlier generations.
Under the circumstances, fathers take umbrage at the
notion they are merely filling in for the mother when
spending time with their children.This is something
Liz Hawks, senior vice president and partner at
FleishmanHillard, has observed from her perspective as
head of the firm’s marketing-to-mothers practice. Noting a
lot of negative buzz around the word “babysitting” in this
context, she described fathers’ feeling about it: “When
you’re a father, you’re not babysitting when you’re with
your kids. It’s called ‘fathering.’”
Even while spending more time with their kids, 48% of
fathers in Pew’s polling said they do not spend enough. In
Yahoo’s survey, 44% said the same. Work is an obvious
culprit.Though typically discussed as a problem vexing
mothers, work/family balance is an issue for fathers, too.
Yahoo found 61% of fathers saying it is difficult to balance
the two.
That said, fathers are less likely than mothers to
report being adversely affected by these conflicts. In a
February–March 2015 Harris Poll for CareerBuilder among
working parents, 13% of fathers vs. 25% of mothers said
the job “has negatively affected their relationships with
their children.”
Surveys elicit ambiguous indications about willingness
to downshift careers in exchange for more family time.
In a 2015 report by the Working Mother Research Institute
(based on 2014 polling), 59% of working fathers said
they “would choose to work part time if I could still
have a meaningful and productive career.” In the
BabyCenter/Google survey of millennial fathers, though,
just 47% said they would “sacrifice a promotion at work if
it meant spending less time with the family.”

THE DIGITAL ELEMENT
One thing today’s fathers (unlike past fathers) must cope
with is their kids’ digital usage.They worry about the
sheer amount of time kids devote to digital devices. In a
YouGov/Huffington Post survey in July 2015, 60% said
they feel their kids spend too much at it.
Mothers Fathers
US Mother vs. Father Internet Users Who Feel Their
Children Spend Too Much Time Using Digital Devices*,
July 2015
Note: parents of children under 18; *includes computer, mobile phone, TV
and video game console
Source:YouGov and Hufﬁngton Post survey, July 21, 2015
Yes
48%No
40%
Not
sure
12%
Yes
60%
No
28%
Not
sure
12%
Of course, fathers indulge in ample screen time of their
own. While some of that time serves their parental role,
most does not, judging byYahoo’s findings. On average,
fathers reported 28% of their online time as “specifically
related to their role as a parent.”
It does not brighten the digital-parent mood that children
are notorious for damaging parents’ devices. In November
2015 polling for Logitech by Wakefield Research, more
than four in 10 fathers had such tales to tell.
Number of Times that US Mother vs. Father Internet
Users Have Had Their Mobile Device Damaged by
Their Children, Nov 2015
Mothers
41% 7% 51%
Fathers
36% 9% 55%
Total
39% 8% 53%
1-3 times 3+ times Never
Note: n=480 parents of children ages 2-7; numbers may not total 100% due
to rounding
Source: Logitech survey conducted by Wakeﬁeld Research, Feb 9, 2016
More happily, 51% of fathers in theYahoo survey said
the internet has helped them be more involved with
their kids. Sometimes a father is using digital video to
share shows that were favorites of his when growing up.
In a multicountry survey for Netflix in April–May 2015,
85% said they have introduced or plan to introduce their
children to cartoons they watched as kids.This fits in
with what Iudica describes as a broader role for fathers:
“They’re considered the chief entertainment officer of
the family.”
At times, this can mean deploying digital resources to
keep kids occupied. And while some feel guilty about
this, a majority do not. When an August 2015 Harris Poll
for Galxyz asked parents how guilty they feel about using
a mobile device as a “babysitter,” 10% of fathers said
“very” and 27% “somewhat.” A majority said “not very
guilty” (34%) or “not at all guilty” (28%).
PROUD (OFTHEMSELVES) PAPAS
Despite the challenges, most fathers believe they do a
fine job as parents.Thirty-nine percent in Pew’s polling
rated their performance “very good” and 48% termed
it “good.”
In the BabyCenter/Google survey, 64% of millennial
fathers characterized the “perfect dad” as someone who
“prioritizes family over self.” And, lo and behold, a nearly
identical proportion—63%—said this is how they describe
themselves.This is particularly striking since the onset
of fatherhood for millennial men often caps an extended
adolescence. Mike Rothman, co-founder of online content
site Fatherly, said, “Parenthood becomes a really helpful
marker in part because it’s the first time where you truly
can’t just think of yourself,” which makes it “the ultimate
sign that you’ve grown up.”
Even living apart from their children does not necessarily
dissuade fathers from giving themselves high marks as
parents. In a 2013 study by the CDC among nonresident
fathers, 21.3% said they were doing “a very good job”
and 32.3% “a good job.”

GAUGING HOW MUCH FATHERS
DO ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT
Doing more at home than their own fathers typically
did, many fathers think they are equal partners there.
Many mothers think otherwise.
In observing its key market of parents,Toys “R” Us has
seen fathers taking a more active role with their kids.
“There’s a stronger emphasis on co-parenting and sharing
daily parenting duties, which range from changing diapers
and baby-wearing to packing lunches and playtime,” said
Rich Lennox, CMO forToys “R” Us, US.
And before fatherhood descends on them with its full
weight, many men aim to do just as much as the mother
does in such matters.There is a difference, though,
between doing more than their fathers did and doing as
much as the mother of their children does, even with the
best of intentions. A 2015 report by the Boston College
Center for Work & Family described research in which
couples nearing first-time parenthood were queried on
their thoughts about caring for the kid. Ninety-five percent
of men and women alike “agreed that mothers and
fathers should equally share the child care responsibility.”
Once parenthood commenced, though, mothers spent
about 50% more time than fathers on childcare.
Such outcomes do not prevent fathers from imagining
they are equal (or more-than-equal) partners at home—a
view not shared by their mates.This was glaringly evident
in Pew’s September–October 2015 polling among parents
who work full time. Fathers said they were doing much
more childcare and housework than mothers believed to
be the case.
Division of Household Labor According to US Mothers
vs. Fathers, by Type, Oct 2015
Managing children's schedules/activities
Mothers
63% 4% 32%
Fathers
47% 8% 45%
Taking care of children when they're sick
Mothers
53% 5% 40%
Fathers
41% 6% 53%
Household chores and responsibilities
Mothers
43% 4% 53%
Fathers
21% 14% 64%
Mother does more Father does more Share equally
Note: n=531 who work full-time and are married/living with a partner who
also works full-time; numbers may not add up 100% due to omission of
"other" and "don't know/refused" responses
Source: Pew Research Center, "Raising Kids and Running a Household: How
Working Parents Share the Load" conducted by Princeton Survey Research
Associates, Nov 4, 2015
The same phenomenon was captured last year in
an Ipsos survey fielded for Facebook. As reported in
Adweek, 56% of fathers said they take care of their kids
“as much as, if not more than, their partners”; just 27%
of mothers agreed.
Fathers are less apt to make such grand assertions
when asked about specific tasks rather than about
parenting more broadly. In the BabyCenter/Google polling
of millennial fathers, 40% did not even claim partial
responsibility for their kids’ “morning routine”; 35% were
similarly detached from “bathtime routine.”
Reviewing research on division of domestic labor as
treated in academic journals and elsewhere, a November
2015 “Upshot” analysis inThe NewYorkTimes (headlined
“Men Do More at Home, But Not as Much asThey
Think”) supported mothers’ view of who does what.
The article noted that time-use diaries showed mothers
doing considerably more childcare and housework than
fathers. Summarizing research by one sociologist who
has compared parents now and in the middle of the last
century, it said, “Fathers have greatly increased their
time, but still do not do as much as mothers.”

If a father spends less time out and about with his
kids than the mother does—say, at a playground—it is
sometimes due less to his own inclination than to that
of another constituency: mothers of other children.
Routly has experienced such pushback from mothers
when caring for his kids. “I ended up in a situation in my
community where I go to a playground, and there was a
pretty clear line between the moms who were happy that
I was there and wanted to welcome me and the moms
who thought I had no place in their sphere,” he said.
DIVIDING UP SHOPPING DUTIES
Paralleling their view of themselves as full partners
in childcare, many fathers believe they are at least
equal partners in shopping for the household. In the
BabyCenter/Google survey of millennial fathers, majorities
said they have a primary or equal role in deciding on
purchases in categories as varied as consumer electronic
and groceries.
% of respondents
Primary Decision-Maker for Product Purchases
According to US Millennial Father Internet Users,
by Category, April 2015
Consumer electronics
59% 32% 9%
Financial services
49% 37% 13%
Food/beverages/groceries
18% 55% 27%
Personal care
17% 55% 28%
Household cleansers and laundry detergent
15% 37% 48%
Baby/child's personal care/OTC
13% 49% 39%
Baby/child's products and gear
11% 50% 39%
Baby/child's apparel, accessories, shoes
9% 40% 51%
Me Equal My partner
Note: ages 18-34 who are expectant fathers or have a child under age 5;
numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding
Source: BabyCenter and Google, "Millennial Dads: Equal Partners in
Parenting," June 12, 2015
As with childcare, divergence between fathers’ and
mothers’ perceptions is sharp. While more than
three-quarters of fathers in Crowdtap’s polling of
millennials said they are chief or equal decision-makers for
family-related purchases, just three in 10 mothers agreed.
Mothers Fathers
Primary Decision-Maker for Family-Related Purchases
According to US Millennial Mother vs. Father Internet
Users, Oct 2015
My
spouse
is
3%
We try to share the decision-making evenly
27%
I am,
deﬁnitely
70%
My
spouse is
22%
We try to
share the
decision-
making
evenly
53%
I am,
deﬁnitely
25%
Note: n=139 fathers; n=529 mothers; ages 20-35 with at least 1 child under
age 10
Source: Crowdtap, "Meet the (Millennial) Parents," Jan 26, 2016
One telltale sign that mothers’ perceptions are the more
accurate emerges when one looks at categories in
which millennial parents report making online purchases,
as Crowdtap did.Ten percent of fathers said they buy
toys online, vs. 76% of mothers; 8% of fathers buy
“household items (cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc.),” vs.
38% of mothers; and 4% of fathers vs. 23% of mothers
buy “big household items (i.e., furniture).”Though
excluding offline purchases, such numbers give reason to
doubt that fathers are equal partners in overall buying for
the household.

HOW FATHERS SHOP WHEN THEY
DO SHOP
While there is debate about just how much household
shopping fathers handle, there is little doubt they do
more than fathers of past generations.
Young men these days typically accumulate years as
shoppers before becoming fathers. Median age of first
marriage for men stood at 29.2 in 2015, according to
Census data.Thus, the days are gone when a young man
would go from a household in which his mother did the
shopping to one in which his wife did.
“Male grocery shoppers, especially dads, are shopping
more and having more impact on grocery shopping
behaviors than ever before as a result of a shift in
generational and economic factors,” said Acosta Sales &
Marketing in its fall 2015 “The Why Behind the Buy” report.
A Packaged Facts report released in July 2015 also
depicts fathers as a force in grocery shopping, noting that
“being a parent is a key driver in their likelihood to grocery
shop.” Millennial fathers are more likely than shoppers in
general to buy groceries four or more times per week,
and it is more than a matter of dashing in to grab a few
items: “Notably, these dads aren’t just making the quick
shopping trips as they overindex in shopping for more
than an hour.”
Accustomed to using digitals tools elsewhere in their
lives, millennial fathers naturally employ them for
shopping. In Crowdtap’s polling, 48% said they shop
online at least weekly. As for grocery shopping, 48%
of fathers in Acosta’s polling said they are “comfortable
using digital/online tools.”
Smartphones are a big part of this. A June 2015 Retale
survey found about half of its millennial fathers used
smartphones to check product reviews, compare prices
and so on.
Shopping Activities Conducted via Smartphone
According to US Millennial Mothers vs. Fathers,
June 2015
Fathers
Checking product reviews
Comparing prices
Finding nearby store locations
Checking store hours
Searching for coupons or deals
Researching products
Accessing saved coupons
Creating shopping lists
53%
52%
50%
49%
49%
47%
44%
42%
Mothers
Searching for coupons or deals
Accessing saved coupons
Comparing prices
Checking store hours
Creating shopping lists
Finding nearby store locations
Researching products
Checking product reviews
66%
62%
62%
57%
54%
54%
48%
42%
Note: ages 18-34
Source: Retale as cited in press release, June 16, 2015
Fathers also use social media to interact with brands.Toys
“R” Us’ Lennox said his company’s social media following
“is nearly equal between females and males.”
FATHERSAS BARGAIN HUNTERS,OR NOT
As the Retale chart shows, fathers are less likely than
mothers to use their smartphones for finding coupons
and deals.This dovetails with research showing fathers
less keen on seeking bargains in general. Elsewhere
in Retale’s polling, fathers were barely half as likely as
mothers (22% vs. 40%) to say they “never shop without
a deal.” Packaged Facts found millennial fathers spending
more per item than mothers, and drew this conclusion:
“The implication is that millennial dads are likely seeking
out quality over a good deal.”
A June 2015Y&R report on fathers in North America also
pursued this theme. Among its conclusions: “Dads are
considerably less frugal than moms, with a third (33%) of
dads trying to buy products on sale, vs. 52% of moms.”
It said 59% of fathers (vs. 37% of mothers) are reluctant
to use coupons because they think it “makes them
look cheap.”
None of this means fathers spend willy-nilly. When
Crowdtap asked millennial fathers to identify traits
that show a brand “gets” them, “value for the money”
garnered the most mentions (cited by 65%). And
when fathers make an impulse purchase, it is less
likely to be a splurge than a case of grabbing a deal. In
a May 2015 iModerate survey, “price” was the factor
atop the list (cited by 51%) when fathers explained their
“spur-of-the-moment purchases.”

HOW FATHERS FEELABOUTTHEADS
THEY SEE
One thing fathers want from brands is respect, and they
do not always feel they get it.
Huggies discovered this in 2012 when it provoked ire with
a commercial depicting fathers as incompetent diaperers.
It then offered a mea culpa and revised the commercial
to show fathers in a better light.The incident drew
much media attention at the time and may have made
advertisers more circumspect since then in how they
show fathers.
“I almost think that the industry has matured,” said
Rothman. He points to the 2015 Super Bowl as “kind
of a watershed moment for dad-vertising,” where a
number of commercials “portrayed dads in a much more
nuanced light.” National At-Home Dad Network’s Routly
has also seen improvement: “One of the last remaining
OK stereotypes was the bumbling-father thing, and it’s
starting to go away.”
While it is nice not to be depicted as fools, fathers often
feel they instead are ignored by advertisers. InYahoo’s
survey, 60% endorsed the statement, “It is about time
that advertisers recognized that fathers shop too.” Half of
the fathers agreed that “advertising aimed specifically at
me is very rare.”
Attitudes Toward Digital Advertising Among US
Father vs. Mother Internet Users, May 2015
It is about time that advertisers recognized that fathers shop too
60%
55%
I (would) welcome advertising targeted specifically at me
53%
48%
Advertising aimed specifically at me is very rare
50%
21%
I am more likely to click on an ad aimed specifically at me
46%
43%
I pay closer attention to advertising targeted specifically at me
45%
44%
I am more likely to purchase a product from a brand whose ad is
targeted specifically at me
41%
37%
Fathers Mothers
Source:Yahoo, "The New Face of Fatherhood" conducted by Ipsos, July 8,
2015
Fathers (and mothers) would appreciate advertising that
gives a more balanced picture of modern parenthood. In
polling byYouGov for a March 2016 BabyCenter report,
two-thirds of parents agreed that “a brand that realistically
reflects parenting today is an important factor in their
purchasing decisions.”
If brands evolve away from the “idiot dad” school of
advertising, it is partly out of awareness that mothers
as well as fathers look askance at it. FleishmanHillard’s
Hawks said the caricature of fathers can be “a turnoff”
for mothers, who are apt to feel, “Who is that character?
That doesn’t look like my lifestyle and my partner.” It is not
just a matter of avoiding negative stereotypes. Routly said
“moms actually love to see engaged and involved dads”
in ads.
Beyond respect, another thing brands can provide is useful
information—not just about products, but about questions
that arise in parenting. Lennox said his company’s Babies
“R” Us brand initiates such contact with fathers-to-be
even before their kids are born: “After all, they aren’t
feeling and experiencing pregnancy firsthand.”The goal
is “to help expectant and new dads feel as confident and
educated as possible in the process of preparing for their
baby’s arrival.”

AsYahoo’s Iudica noted, though, a marketer must be
careful to avoid “speaking down to them” when providing
fathers with information. “They don’t necessarily want
advice, but they do appreciate a bit of wisdom,” he said. So
the key is to make it “really organic to a story” that offers a
parenting perspective, rather than a “heavy-handed, ‘this is
what you need to do’” approach.
One reason for a brand to be solicitous to fathers is that
their shopping choices can be up for grabs when they
turn into parents. In the BabyCenter/Google polling, more
than four in 10 millennial fathers reported changing brands
in the food/beverage and household cleanser sectors
since having kids.
% of respondents
US Millennial Father Internet Users Who Have
Changed Brands Since Becoming a Father, by Product
Category, April 2015
Food/beverages/groceries 44%
Household cleansers 42%
Personal care 36%
Financial services 27%
Consumer electronics 24%
Note: ages 18-34 who are expectant fathers or have a child under age 5
Source: BabyCenter and Google, "Millennial Dads: Equal Partners in
Parenting," June 12, 2015
Then again, fathers also exhibit attachment to brands
they have used for decades.This was evident in June
2015YouGov BrandIndex polling in which fathers picked
their favorite brands. Half of their top choices—including
Band-Aid, Cheerios and M&M’s—were brands whose
status as favorites likely dates back to the fathers’
own childhoods.
In any case, if they get their messaging right, brands
could find a receptive audience in fathers—precisely
because, unlike mothers, they have been largely ignored.
As Rothman put it, fathers “tend to be maybe a bit more
malleable because they haven’t been saturated with
marketing messages.”
Hawks offers a caveat, suggesting that fathers are less
valuable than mothers to a brand because they are less
inclined to proselytize about it to fellow fathers. “They
don’t communicate with each other the same way moms
do, particularly about brands and products and services,”
she said.
CONCLUSIONS
Single and stay-at-home fathers have become more
numerous. But they are still far outnumbered by married
working fathers—and by fathers who do not live with their
children. Likewise, these untraditional fathers are much
less common than single and stay-at-home mothers.
Work/family balance is tricky for fathers, who pride
themselves on being involved with their children. While
spending more time with their kids than fathers used
to do, many feel they are not spending enough. In the
digital era, managing kids’ device usage is another source
of anxiety.
It is an article of faith among many fathers that they
are full partners in childcare and housework. However,
many mothers do not see the division of domestic labor
as equal. Fathers do more than their own fathers did—no
surprise, since many mothers work full time. But this
does not mean they do as much at home as mothers do,
or that they do as much of the shopping.
Still, fathers who often buy groceries are not a
novelty. Smartphones help them accomplish their
shopping.Though not spendthrifts, fathers seem less
vigilant than mothers about finding bargains.
Fathers would like to see more advertising that
acknowledges their role in parenting.They do not want
to be ignored, let alone treated as incompetent in caring
for kids and doing household tasks.

EMARKETER INTERVIEWS
DadsWant to See More AdsThat DepictThem
with Dignity
David Iudica
Senior Director, Strategic Insights and Research
Yahoo
Interview conducted on March 11, 2016
Fathers Just Looking to Be Included, Not Praised,
in Ads
Rich Lennox
CMO
Toys “R” Us, US
Liz Hawks
Senior Vice President, Partner
FleishmanHillard
Mike Rothman
Co-Founder
Fatherly
Chris Routly
President
National At-Home Dad Network
RELATED EMARKETER REPORT
US Mothers 2016: Examining the Distinctive Elements
ofTheir Digital Usage
RELATED LINKS
Acosta Sales & Marketing
BabyCenter
Boston College Center forWork & Family
CareerBuilder
Crowdtap
DDB
Galxyz
Google
Harris Poll
Huffington Post
iModerate
Ipsos
Logitech
Netflix
Northwestern University
Packaged Facts
Pew Research Center
Retale
US Census Bureau
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wakefield Research
Working Mother Research Institute
Yahoo
YouGov
Y&R
EDITORIAL AND
PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTORS
Cliff Annicelli Managing Editor, Reports
Michael Balletti Copy Editor
Kate Berman Chart Editor
Joanne DiCamillo Senior Production Artist
Dana Hill Director of Production
Stephanie Meyer Senior Production Artist
Kris Oser Deputy Editorial Director
Heather Price Senior Copy Editor
John Rambow Executive Editor, Reports
Allie Smith Director of Charts

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