• Adweek, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 12:30 PM

Single Americans spent $2.2 trillion in 2008, which represents 35% of all consumer spending and is a 30% increase over 2003, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Why then, asks Andrew Adam Newman, are so few marketers paying attention to them?

"Other than dating services, I don't see it happening," says branding expert Rob Frankel. "Singles are underserved by various brands and I'm not that surprised because there's an incredible dearth of marketing intelligence out."

Ads that do feature single people often reinforce stereotypes, Newman writes, such as they're partiers or always on the prowl. Case in point: Axe. Even most travel ads remain couple-centric despite the fact that solo travelers make up anywhere from 20% to 40% of a given tour departure, according to the United States Tour Operators Association.

One problem may be that one pitch by no means fits all singles, points out Nicky Grist, executive director of the Alternatives to Marriage Project, an advocacy group for single people. "Unmarried people are not really an identity group or a voting bloc [in the way that communities like] African Americans or the LGBT community are," Grist says.

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