JWTIntelligence introduces The Single Age, a new report exploring the shifting habits and expectations of a growing global and multi-generational cohort of single consumers; the cultural groundswell reframing single people as they really are—confident, fulfilled and empowered; and the implications for brands and marketers.
A rising chorus of cultural creators, TV characters and icons is redefining the single experience as something that’s not only okay—but aspirational. Singles—especially women—are empowered, have made a proactive choice and definitely should not be patronized.
Ageless Single case study Joe Staton says that if brands were to address him as a single person, “they would be immediately off my consideration list. I would find it quite patronizing, I think. I don’t think it would resonate with me. Although I am very happy being single, my typology is not singledom; I’m who I am.”
Traditional tropes of singlehood in the media are changing, shedding the portrait of immature, pitiable desperation and trading it for one of independent freedom. According to findings from a survey of 3,000 respondents across the US, UK and China commissioned by SONAR™, Wunderman Thompson’s proprietary research tool, 82% of American singles think that it’s becoming more acceptable to be single in today’s society and 77% think society places too much emphasis on being in a relationship.
In the video below, produced as part of The Innovation Group’s deep dive into The Single Age, single interviewees discuss their opinions of how marketers and brands can better address and design offerings for the modern single.
