Is the nuclear family still around?

Some critics complain that media is too fragmented to reach a traditional mass audience.

If an advertiser in the 1950s wanted to target the majority of consumers in the United States that audience would likely consist of the nuclear family which included father, mother, son, daughter, and dog. Today, that’s a different story. AdvertisingAge recently came out with an article that touches on how the traditional American household is no longer dominant.

In the 1960s, married couples with children households used to make up 44.3% of all households. Today, that number has declined to 20.2%. An interesting note is that the actual number, 23.6 million, has stayed pretty stable throughout the last 50 years. Two household categories that have seen growth are married couples with no kids and single homes. Both have surpassed the married couples with children household.

Reasons for this shift in household formations can be attributed to both economics and society. One example is that women have been able to work in career fields in which they can support themselves and their families. Therefore, marriage has become less of a financial necessity for women.

Some critics complain that media is too fragmented to reach a traditional mass audience. While that is true, there really isn’t a traditional mass audience anymore. The American household has become as fragmented as the media trying to engage it. Therefore, it is more important than ever for advertisers to really pay attention to its key audience and their motives.

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