How Marketers Target

Kids
By
Qaisar Wahab Aimal BBA (Hons.)
Umair Zaman Group-B
Batch 2005
Abd-ur-Raheem
Hasan Javed
Marketer’s opportunity
Kids represent an important
demographic to marketers because they
have their own purchasing power, they
influence their parents' buying decisions
and they're the adult consumers of the
future.
Guilt can play a role in spending
decisions as time-stressed parents
substitute material goods for time spent
with their kids.
Single minded
Competitiveness

Corporations are racing to stake

their claim on the consumer group
formerly known as children.
Brandishing advertising jargon like
“Cradle-to-grave brand loyalty“
The Issues
Advertising, its
everywhere
Studies show, that on average we see
3,000 ads per day. At the gas pumps, in
educational institutes, during sporting
events—advertising is impossible to
avoid.
Billboards, clothing with prominent
corporate logos, endorsements by
famous actors, product placement
within films and television programs,
etc.
Some ways of Targeting
Ambient advertising
Stealth-endorsers
Targeted advertising
Product placement
Digital or “Virtual” advertising
How do they target kids
Pester Power
Children's ability to nag their
parents into purchasing items they
may not otherwise buy
Marketing to children is all about
creating pester power, because
advertisers know what a powerful
force it can be
Kids’ Psychology and
Marketing

With the help of well-paid

researchers and psychologists,
advertisers now have access to in-
depth knowledge about children's
developmental, emotional and
social needs at different ages
Building brand name
loyalty
Marketers plant the seeds of brand
recognition in very young children, in
the hopes that the seeds will grow into
lifetime relationships
Brand loyalties can be established as
early as age two, and by the time
children head off to school most can
recognize hundreds of brand logos
Commercialization in
education
Budget shortfalls are forcing
institutions to allow corporations
access to students in exchange for
badly needed cash, computers and
educational materials
Exclusive deals with fast food or
soft drink companies to offer their
products in a school or district
Sponsoring school events
The Internet
Part of youth culture
Parents generally do not
understand the extent to which
kids are being marketed to online
Kids are often online alone,
without parental supervision
Unlike broadcasting media, the
Internet is unregulated
Marketing adult
entertainment to kids
Children are often aware of and want to
see entertainment meant for older
audiences because it is actively
marketed to them
70% video game companies regularly
marketed Mature rated games (for 17+
years) to children
Mature and Teen rated video games are
advertised in youth magazines; and
toys based on Restricted movies and M-
rated video games are marketed to
children as young as four
Effects of Excessive
Marketing
Developmental concerns
Young children have difficulty
distinguishing between advertising and
reality in ads, and ads can distort their
view of the world
Young children are especially vulnerable
to misleading advertising and don't
begin to understand that
advertisements are not always true until
they're eight
Effects of Materialism
Children's identities shouldn't be defined
by their consumer habits; yet that is the
way they see themselves reflected in
the media—as consumers, and
advertisers are targeting younger and
younger children with this message
A healthy society raises children to be
responsible citizens rather than just
consumers. Creating healthy, happy
families means spending time together
rather than spending money.
Young consumers as
Collectors
Kids love to collect things
Collections used to consist of marbles,
stamps or coins
But now, thanks to our consumer
culture, kids amass huge collection of
store-bought items such as action
figures
Because most collecting crazes are
short-lived fads, the trend quickly
fades, and kids move on—leaving
behind boxes of discarded toys
Dealing with Marketing:
What Parents Can Do
Educate your kids about
advertising and how marketers
target young people
Encourage your kids to challenge
advertisers' claims about their
products
Young children should watch
mostly non-commercial television
Contd.
Explain that shopping should not
be viewed as a hobby or pastime.
It's something we do when we
need to buy something and then
we come home
Get your kids involved in other
activities, so they have less time to
hang around the mall
Examples in our Society
Ding dong, Captain Safeguard
Conclusion
Children's immersion in the
commercial culture has
implications that go far beyond
what they buy or don't buy. The
very traits that today's advertising
encourages--brand loyalty, impulse
buying, and cynicism--are
antithetical to the qualities
necessary in a healthy democratic
citizenry
Questions & Queries