Fullscreen, a leader in social-first entertainment experiences, recently announced findings from its new Industry Insights report: “The Next Gen Family.”
Focused on Millennial parents (36 million Americans in the 25- to 37-year-old age range with at least one child at home), the survey extracted deep insights for brands on this “Parennial” demographic, the first generation of parents to grow up with social media and emerging technology as part of their communication and content consumption patterns. As this cohort—making up more than half (55%) of all Millennials—enters the next phase of their life and overwhelmingly uses technology to help them parent (as 96% admit), they are approaching parenting, families and children in completely different ways than prior generations that have ROI implications for brands.
More than a Parent
One of the key findings from the report, part of a larger study covering multiple generations, is the articulation of the audience being “more than only a parent.” The results illuminate a pattern of Parennials embracing multiple aspects of their personalities, even though the amount of free time they have to foster those different aspects dwindles.
To date, it has been challenging for brands to gain a deep understanding of Parennials’ multiple identity markers and their new approaches and attitudes toward parenting and other aspects of their lives. Specifically, how they balance a well-rounded social media presence and “real” life with regard to technology, brands, advice, influencers and other impactful determinants.
The study shows that they’re using technology to balance their parental duties and personal time, with 47% using tech as a break for entertaining themselves and 74% agreeing that they co-view content with their children at least half of the time their offspring are watching content.
Technology Adoption, Shopping Behavior, Social Media Usage and more Parennial Insights
The “Next Gen Family” study also includes insights on early technology adoption leanings; shopping behavior; social media usage; online security and safety of kids; moms vs. dads distinctions; and how these insights are valuable to social, brand and influencer strategies. Some of these top-line data points include:
- Parennials are 2.5x more likely to own emerging tech products compared to non-parents, with dads driving the purchase and introduction to the home and both parents embracing it
- More than half of Parennials (56%) agree they are shopping every time they check their social media feeds
- Parennials spend nearly 14 more hours on social media than they did two years ago
Implications for Brands
The study surfaced important implications for brands trying to reach this important demographic:
- Think of Parennials as being part of family units, but also as well-rounded individuals
- Cater platform strategies accordingly
- Leverage social media stars/influencers thoughtfully, as parents are leaning on them as resources
- Create content with intention
“People in the Parennial demographic are critically important to the success of many brands. Their purchasing power, influence among family and friends, and the multiple consumer personas they exhibit are all areas that brands can capitalize on,” said Maureen Polo, GM, Fullscreen Brand Group. “The key is having a deep understanding of what drives them, where they spend their time and what their greatest concerns are. We’re excited to have gathered this timely and proprietary data and look forward to engaging with brands to help them better understand Parennials and grow the brands’ businesses.”
Survey Methodology
The research, in partnership with Talk Shoppe, builds on findings from a 2019 Fullscreen study of more than 1,500 13- to 37-year-olds that looked at several generations and considered the changes over the last two years regarding the economy, technology and the societal atmosphere. Additional research was conducted using Fullscreen’s proprietary data tool TBH (To Be Honest) a proprietary panel of social-first Millennials that allows advertisers and marketers to conduct custom research and campaign testing to more effectively build their next campaign.
