Amid the proliferation of direct-to-consumer services and free-ad supported streaming television (FAST) channels, a report from connected-TV programmer Future Today found that consumers trust brands appearing in family-friendly content.
The study, conducted by The Insights Family, found that 91% of parents believe that brands that advertise in kids and family content — including Future Today’s HappyKids FAST Channel — compared to brand advertising in other types of programming.
Family programming encourages co-viewing, with parents watching with their kids.
According to the study, 96% of parents engage with ads on HappyKids with parents and kids discussing the ads that they see. The discussions enable brands to build deeper connections with the parents and lead to better outcomes.
Moms tend to co-view more than dads and have shown significant interest in watching reality TV. Dads are more likely to co-view nature, history, and educational documentaries.
“Ads on HappyKids are effective at capturing parental attention and driving engagement,” Jennifer D’Alessandro, head of ad sales and marketing at Future Today, added. “Families are talking about brands they see while consuming content, which leads to high purchase power within the family unit.”
Families were most comfortable discussing ads in the retail, food and restaurants, and travel categories.
Parents who watch HappyKids shop both in-person and online, with half preferring to shop online and a third preferring both forms of shopping.
More than a third of families dine out one to two times each week and 26% dine out two to four times weekly. Fast-food restaurants are the most popular choice as 78% of families dined at these establishments in the last month.
Parents who watch HappyKids plan to take a family vacation in the next six months. Of those, 61% plan to visit a theme park as they have mass appeal to all ages within families.
More than half (62%) of families watch content on streaming services daily with consumption shifting from cable TV. According to the study, 60% of users called streaming services their primary source of content consumption versus 4% who said that about cable TV.
“Advertising in family-focused content is good for brands, consumers and the advertising ecosystem,” Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today, said. “Parents, particularly moms, watch HappyKids with their children and are more engaged with the commercials when viewing in that co-viewed environment. This means if advertisers want to reach the primary driver of purchasing decisions within a home, they can’t ignore family-themed content.”
The study was based on online interviews with 302 parents in Q1 of children age 3 to 12 who watch kids and family content on Happykids.
