Family-Supportive Marketing Services

Are you uncomfortable with what you see and hear in advertising and the media (online, television, radio, print)?

Families provide the foundation on which businesses, organizations and communities are built. Strong families are good for business. Unfortunately, with so many media channels available to us today, we are bombarded with messages that aren't supportive of families. What we see and hear through the media, whether in advertising or programs, influences our attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. Is it possible that over time, these messages contributed to the breakdown of families? We're not suggesting that it's the only thing, but it is one aspect that businesses have the potential to influence.

Whether traditional, blended, adoptive or single-parent, families account for the majority of wages and salaries in the U.S. When families break apart, the financial situation of all involved changes and it's not uncommon for women and some men to experience at least a short period of poverty. Every business and organization is affected in some way by the breakdown of a family.

At Stepping-Stone Marketing Consulting, we can help improve comfort through what we call Family-Supportive Marketing. 

What is Family-Supportive Marketing?

Most companies participate in some form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), formally or informally. This may include encouraging employees to volunteer in the community, providing corporate contributions to charitable organizations, sponsoring community events, or initiating environmentally-friendly processes. Family-Supportive Marketing is one more socially responsible step companies can take with minimal, if any, additional expense, which may also potentially benefit both the community and the company.

Family-Supportive Marketing is a step that businesses take to ensure that their marketing, promotion and communications convey messages and images that are positive towards families. This includes:

• Ensuring that promotional messages for the company, products and services are supportive of families and don’t contain messages that may directly or indirectly go against families
• Ensuring that graphics and images used in advertising and promotion put families in a positive light
• Adding a new selection criteria for deciding where to advertise and promote (in print, television, radio and online venues) that considers the content of the medium and how it may impact families
• Redirecting advertising and promotion towards those venues that are supportive of families and that portray families in a positive light

At Stepping-Stone Marketing Consulting, we provide consulting services to help companies assess their current marketing activities and to realign them, if necessary, to be more intentionally supportive of families.

We have created two forums for sharing information about Family-Supportive Marketing. Visit the Family-Supportive Marketing Blog to enter into dialogue about the importance of families to businesses. Visit our Facebook page, Family Central World, to join and converse with other people, businesses and nonprofits who are committed to families.

To learn more about Family-Supportive Marketing, call us at (740) 548-7145 or send an email to Stepping-Stone Marketing Consulting, LLC.