Won't somebody please think of the children!

Unicef and Ipsos Mori published a report recently highlighting the difficulties faced by UK parents in finding time to spend with their children and how, after long hours at work, they try to compensate by buying the latest toys and branded products.

Research is a profession notorious for its time demands and I’m sure many parents reading this would be able to identify with the report’s findings. The anguish – and the guilt-driven purchases that result – are part and parcel of the ‘My Time’ trend.

As consumers are less able to allocate time to their friends and family, they will make compensatory purchases elsewhere. But what opportunities does this open up to marketeers? As phenomena such as widespread smartphone ownership and social media adoption change the ways we can interact, can brands do more to:

• Facilitate getting together in different ways – can we create new spaces and occasions for parents and children to interact?
• Ensure that compensatory activity like gift buying is as meaningful and valued by both parties as possible
• Find ways to ‘buy back time’ for parents – witness recent examples inviting consumers to find better ways to shop for groceries, hire a car or find car insurance

Time pressures and the distancing effect this can create within families aren’t going away. For brands, that may be no bad thing.