Wedded bliss: how marketers can target lovers
This month, Kantar Media’s Anna Gunn uses the latest TGI findings to explore how marketers can target newlyweds and those planning a wedding…
In the wake of popular reality television programmes like Don’t Tell the Bride and Four Weddings, the UK wedding industry has rarely been more prominent, selling us the fantasy of the perfect wedding.
Looking at two groups on either side of the marriage divide: newlyweds and those who expect to get married in the next 12 months, Kantar Media TGI investigates the differences between these groups and how marketers can best target them.
Latest TGI insights reveal that 567,000 people in Britain have got married in the last 12 months, whereas the number of those who expect to be married in the coming 12 months is far higher at 1,455,000. The disparity in the two figures suggests it is likely there will be more than a few disappointed would-be brides and grooms in the next few months.
There has also been a notable decline in the number of people getting married. In 2009, 784,000 people got married. Interestingly, the number of people who expect to get married in the next year is 253,000 more than the figure recorded in 2009.
Are British people more in love with the idea of getting married rather than actually tying the knot? Or perhaps people are staying engaged for longer as they try and save money.
Newlyweds are clearly into their fashion, being twice as likely as the average adult to wear designer clothes (25% of newlyweds do so). 131,000 newlyweds also admit that they spend a lot on clothes, which equates to 23% of them.
Their image consciousness does not stop at just their clothes, as 29% of people who have got married in the last 12 months like to go to trendy places to eat and drink, which is considerably higher than the rest of the population (only 16% of British people do).
Furthermore, 28% of newlyweds like owning good quality things, presenting a lucrative and image conscious audience for marketers to target. Clearly these people have not abandoned their hedonistic lifestyles just because they have got married, though a general absence of children on the scene probably helps.
Disparity is revealed when looking at newlyweds versus those who expect to get married in the next 12 months with regard to their attitudes to new products. 20% of expectant newlyweds buy new products before most of their friends, compared to only 12% of newlyweds.
Perhaps then this is one area where the newlyweds are more sanguine about the onus on keeping up with their peers, the marriage potentially giving them a greater sense of self-confidence and security.
When it comes to grocery shopping, both newlyweds and those anticipating marriage in the next year are twice as likely as the average adult to be ‘Conscious Connoisseurs’. This is music to many a marketer’s ears as this is a group of passionate shoppers who enjoy researching products before purchasing them as well as being persuasive within their peer groups.
Interestingly, both newlyweds and those expecting to get married are ‘Influencers’ – albeit in different ways – able to sway their friends in decisions about adoption of particular products and services. 17% of newlyweds discuss television and audio equipment with friends and 21% of those who expect to get married highly influence their peers on the subject of computers and computer software.
Interestingly, attitudes to purchasing cars based on the way the car looks splits opinion in both groups. On the one hand 24% of people who expect to get married in the next 12 months would choose a car mainly based on its looks. On the other hand, however, only 16% of newlyweds would do so.
When looking at the average spend on cars, Kantar Media TGI reveals that those who expect to be married in the next 12 months would be willing to spend more than newlyweds. Again, this might be attributed to a greater sense of self-confidence in those recently married.
It may also be connected to a sense of saving money and being practical in anticipation of starting a family.
Those who expect to get married in the next 12 months are almost 60% more likely to be amongst the heaviest fifth of internet users than the average adult. Similarly, newlyweds are 36% more likely to be amongst the heaviest internet users.
Both groups are also more likely to be heavily engaged with cinema – in fact, 26% of those who expect to be married are amongst the heaviest fifth of cinema goers, compared to 19% of newlyweds.
Newlyweds are 51% more likely than the average adult to access the internet through a tablet whereas those who expect to get married are only 34% more likely to do so – perhaps the newlyweds are reaping the rewards of an expensive gift list.
Both groups are especially likely, according to TGI Clickstream*, to visit beauty sites. This is demonstrated through TGI Clickstream’s insights that reveal newlyweds spend almost 29 minutes minutes on average on boots.com in a four week period and 24 minutes on the body shop.co.uk.
Both groups pose lucrative prospects, but marketers should be mindful that, whilst superficially similar, there are key differences between the recently-marrieds and expect to-get-marrieds that must be understood for efficient targeting.
*TGI Clickstream combines the full range of offline consumer insight from Kantar Media’s TGI study with metered internet usage (sites visited, time spent, number of visits etc.) from almost 5,000 respondents (rising to 10,000 by 2015), providing a complete understanding of consumers’ lives.