SYDNEY: Brands should reconsider how they are representing single Australian women within their marketing strategies, as new research suggests they do not fully understand what motivates this group.

9Honey, Nine’s women’s network, and Amplifi, commissioned a survey of more than 500 women aged 25-49 who had been single for more than three months. This revealed that finding a partner, for example, was well down their list of priorities.

“The women we spoke to all agreed they enjoyed the freedom of being single,” said Mel Mullins, Director of Strategy and Experience at 9Powered.

“In fact they considered mental wellbeing, financial freedom, time with family, health, professional satisfaction, travel, fitness, further education and looking your best as far more important factors in their life over a long term relationship.”

Brands in those sectors should probably rethink their entire approach to a 2.3m-strong demographic. The survey panel scored brands at just 5.82 out of 10 when it came to visual representation within marketing content, and at 5.84 out of 10 for brands’ understanding their needs.

Crucially, 79% agreed that being single doesn’t define them and 86% felt self-sufficient financially.

Travel was rated the number one item for spending disposable income on; single women were more likely than their married counterparts to travel overseas in the next 12 months.

They showed little interest in online dating services – only 19% were currently using one – even though most regarded them as an accepted form of dating.

“If we want to better represent single women and engage them more effectively it is clear that we need to rise above the social stereotypes,” added Louise Veyret, Head of Knowledge & Research Services, Dentsu Aegis Network.

“As single becomes the new norm, the research clearly highlighted the need for brands to better market without stigma.”

Sourced from Nine; additional content by WARC staff