Marketing to Kids: Why & How Marketers Target Kids Before discussing why and how marketers target kids, let us look at these facts: * Companies spend about $17 billion annually marketing to children, a staggering increase from the $100 million spent in 1983. * Children under 14 spend about $40 billion annually.
Teens spend about $159 billion. * Teens between 13 and 17 have 145 conversations about brands per week, about twice as many as adults. * Children under 12 influence $500 billion in purchases per year. * Children aged 2–11 see more than 25,000 advertisements a year on TV alone, a figure that does not include product placement. Almost every major media program for children has a line of licensed merchandise including food, toys, clothing, and accessories [Source: Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood] Kids are a valuable market to marketers and represent an important demographic segment.
They have become an essential element in most punch-line advertisements. Known for their sprightliness, kids play a significant role in promoting brand image. Realizing this potential the marketers today know that if they are able to target kids it’s a battle half won. Why do marketers target kids? There are a number of reasons.
Kids are impulsive buyers and have money to burn as parents today are willing to buy more for their kids. They have their own purchasing power; they influence their parents' buying decisions (nag factor). Children are easier to persuade as they are less prejudiced and sceptical than adults. Industry spending on advertising to kids has exploded in the past decade, increasing from a mere $100 million in 1990 to more than $2 billion in 2000 [www. media-awareness.
ca]. Companies know that kids are the adult consumers of the future and once they have “branded” a child, he or she is likely to be a customer for life-from “cradle to grave. [Source: www. octagonfirstcall. com] How do marketers do it? Marketers foster dissatisfaction that leads to consumption.
They know how to capitalize on important childhood issues and anxieties, like coolness, peer acceptance, body image and a need for power. They use these themes repeatedly in advertising geared towards kids as they are particularly vulnerable to this sort of manipulation Here are some of the strategies marketers employ to target kids: Pester Power: Kids have the power to influence the decision-making within the family.They are verbal and articulate about what they want their parents to buy. "Pester power" refers to children's ability to nag their parents into purchasing items they may not otherwise buy [www.
imediaconnection. in]. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power, because advertisers know what a powerful force it can be. According to Barbara A.
Martino-“We’re relying on the kid to pester the mom to buy the product, rather than going straight to the mom”. Marketing and psychology: To effectively market to kids, marketers need to know their psychology.With the help of well-paid researchers and psychologists, marketers now have access to in-depth knowledge about kids’ emotional, social and developmental needs at different ages. Using research marketers can analyze their behaviours, fantasies, choices, etc. Brand recognition: Marketers plant the seed of brand recognition in kids at a very early stage, in the hopes that the seeds will grow into lifetime relationships. Brand loyalties are built as early as age two and by the time children go to school they can recognize hundreds of brand logos.
According to James McNeal-“Even if a child does not buy the product and will not for many years... he marketing must begin in childhood.
”[www. media-awareness. ca] Commercialization in education: A school setting delivers an attentive youth audience and consists of the endorsement of teachers and the educational system. Marketers are eagerly venturing this medium in a number of ways like sponsoring educational materials.
Another example is Nescafe setting up stalls in schools. Internet: The Internet is an extremely desirable medium for marketers wanting to target children. It is a part of youth culture. Kids are growing up with the Internet as a daily and routine part of their lives.Marketing entertainment to kids: All the kids’ channels offering various interesting programs are targeting the kids. Various reality shows are doing extremely well with this target group.
Marketers have reversed the traditional equation of marketing. Earlier marketers used to reach out to the parents to reach the kids. Now they reach out to the kids to influence the decisions of the parents. As the cliche goes, “follow the money.
” That’s exactly what marketers have done—and the easiest path is the one through the child’s pocket [www. crosswalk. com].
