Increasing family democracy and the implications for advertising

Democracy in families is growing fast. Consequently there is a strong movement from individual to joint decisions, which has serious implications for advertising. In the first study described in this paper we try to understand the intricacies of the family decision-making process. A quantitative study was carried out among roughly 300 families, involving several members of individual families. Four choice processes were studied, relating to: savings account, shampoo, car, soft drink. The data show that there is a lot of disagreement in the decision process, especially as regards the weights assigned to the relevant choice criteria. Different influence and conflict-resolution strategies are used in the family. In a second study, group discussions were held with members of the advertising world concerning the implications of these findings. The project is an example of fruitful co-operation between the academic and commercial communication world.