5 Facts for Marketers about Caregivers and Caretakers

by Michele Deutschman

More than 27.4 million adults say they are a primary caregiver or caretaker, according to Kantar Media's 2013 OTC/DTC Study. Almost half say they've been in this role for 5 years or more and 27% said 10 or more. Caregivers are key decision makers in healthcare management, especially as more baby boomers age.

Caregivers often influence and sometimes make healthcare decisions for patients. That's why more marketers have added them to their target lists. Here are 5 facts from the study to help inform your next campaign.

1. Caregivers are 64% more likely to read parent/child magazines and almost half read women's magazines.
2. This group of adults spends a lot of time at home during the day and their TV programming preferences reflect that. They are 38% more likely to watch day animation/cartoons and 40% more likely to watch daytime drama/soaps.
3. Caregivers are 31% more likely to take part in gardening.  Almost half (45%) of these adults read books regularly.
4. They are 56% more likely to value drug company websites as healthcare information sources.  They're also more likely value advertisements as healthcare info sources; 44% said that due to a healthcare advertisement, they purchased a non-prescription product.
5. They’re 26% more likely to rate their own health as fair or poor and 70% say they are very or somewhat stressed.

Using data from this study can help agencies and marketers understand ailment sufferers, treatment and how to best reach them. For more information about accessing full study results, contact us here.

Kantar Media’s MARS OTC/DTC Study helps agencies, marketers and media make better healthcare media and marketing decisions. It ties multimedia consumption to medical ailments, pharma brands, attitudes and opinions about healthcare and many other data points. A large sample of about 20,000 respondents provides stable and reliable information across categories and brands. Gain insights into category and product usage for 500+ OTC and Rx remedies, detailed information for 70 health conditions, including treatment options and much more.