Using targeted marketing to increase foster carers: making smarter use of limited marketing dollars

Finding enough foster carers for children in Australia who are not safe with their birth parents

is a major challenge. Communicating more effectively with those who would consider

fostering is one practical way of trying to attract more carers. Based on an empirical study

with 499 Australians it can be concluded that people with the highest likelihood of making the

first step towards fostering in the next 12 months differ significantly in a number of sociodemographic

characteristics and demonstrate a preference for different media channels. These

findings will help foster care agencies target their communication messages more effectively,

thus getting more value for their (often very limited) marketing dollars.