Himadri C.I

Seminar on contemporary issue Named PESTER POWER (Children influencing parents buying decision) JECRC Business School JECRC
Business School, Sitapura, jaipur

In The Partial fulfillment of the requirement of M-207 Award of the degree of master of business administration 2010-2012 Submitted by: HIMADRI SATI MBA II SEM (JBS) Submitted to: THE DIRECTOR
Acknowledgement
I take this opportunity to thank my guide who apart from being a constant source of inspiration and encouragement also provided me with his timely help and scholarly ideas in giving final shape to this report.
I also thank the college library and Computer lab of S.I.M.C.S. which provided me many books, round the clock internet facility to satisfy my thirst of knowledge related to my subject matter.
I also express my heartily gratitude to all my friends for their kind support. It was due to their valuable guidance and support that helped me to complete the report with a lot of learning.
HIMADRI SATI MBA- II Sem.
2 Pester Power effect of Advertising
CONTENTS
S. No.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Introduction Pester Power
Topics
Page No.
5 8 15 24 29 31 35 36 37 39
Catering to the Little Customers-the Kids Some Research findings Drivers of Pester Power How Marketers Target Kids The Age Of Pester Power Could Be Over Parenting: How to handle pester power Tips on tackling pester power Bibliography
Introduction
The effects of television advertising
Television is a major part of childrens lives in the Western world today. In the UK children spend an average of two and a half hours each day watching TV and 63% have their own TV set (Livingston & Bovill, 1999). Levin, Petros & Petrella (1982) found that children as young as 3 were able to make the distinction but had no understanding of selling motives of advertisers. Levin et al. say that it is not until 8 years old that children begin to understand the selling purpose of an advertisement. Prior to this children regard advertisements as simply announcements designed to help, entertain or inform viewers. In making the decision not to allow advertising aimed at children. Being able to recognize that advertisements differ from programmes appears to emerge early on in development, whereas the kind of healthy skepticism which is needed to resist commercial pressure requires far more sophisticated levels of understanding. The cognitive skills which children lack, i.e. understanding of persuasive intent, consumer literacy and perception of realism are discussed further here. 1. Understanding of persuasive intent Young children do not realise that a message can portray only positive information. For example, in the Aloise-Young study, children were asked to present a description of themselves in order to get picked for a fictitious team. Younger children included negative as well as positive information, whereas older children were better at self-promotion and included only positive descriptions. Eight year olds ability to selectively self promote suggests that this is the age when children are also able to appreciate that advertisers try to influence us with persuasive messages. A lack of this awareness in younger children, resulting in higher trust in the advertiser, renders them more vulnerable to selling messages. Allied to this is the authoritative status of television messages for young children, who believe that adults do not lie and the younger the child is, the more likely they are to believe that advertisements always tell the truth . 2. Consumer literacy Young children have a limited understanding of commercial markets, and are unaware that advertisements are motivated out of a desire for profits. Somewhat surprisingly, Greenberg et al. (1986) claimed to have found that 80% of 4- to 13-year old children knew that advertisements wanted to sell you something with no variation by age. . Younger children, who do not know that selling implies an exchange of money for goods (and an opportunity for profit), are unlikely to recognise advertisers motives
Therefore, it is probably around age 13 or 14 that young people understand consumer markets and acquire a healthy skepticism towards the truthfulness of product claims.
3. Perception of realism. In television commercials techniques are frequently employed to enhance the appearance of a product. Adults know that the sparkle on the newly-cleaned floor in the TV commercial is unlikely to be matched in reality. But before the age of four or five children are more heavily affected by production factors and do not understand that appearances can differ from reality. In Flavells study he found that these young children believed a bowl of popcorn would spill if the set was turned upside down. And when Jaglom and Gardner (1981) showed two and three year olds an egg breaking on television, the children tried to clear it up. This reality perception is important because television that is perceived as real has a greater impact on children than if it is judged unreal (Berry & Asamen, 1993). Without an awareness of production techniques and the representational nature of television, young children will believe that a product is exactly as it appears and not realise that the advertisement was created to promote it in the best possible way. After the age of four children develop the cognitive skills, including a theory of mind, which helps them to distinguish reality from fantasy. Thus a number of strategies and cognitive abilities need to be in place before the child is fully aware of the selling motives of the advertiser. Evidence from psychological studies suggest that these abilities emerge at different points in development and that full understanding of advertisers motives is likely to be a process which takes a number of years. Parents have a r&e to play in this. By watching television with their child they can help them to understand advertisers motives and the difference between appearances and reality, thus neutralizing some of the powerful messages their children are exposed to. There is little reliable data available on co-viewing although it has been found that children who watch more commercial television had parents who were less concerned about the negative effects of watching television and perceived less need to control their childs viewing (Gunter & McAleer, 1997). Nonetheless, childrens lack of awareness about the motives of television advertisers does not prevent the, commercial messages influencing their preferences and, as suggested, may render the child more susceptible. For the advertiser, a successful advertisement is one which is memorable since there is usually a delay between seeing an advertisement and remembering to buy, or request, the product. Childrens memory for advertisements is a very complex issue and one which has been investigated using a variety of methodologies. Discrepancies in the results of studies into the age at which children can remember television advertisements may be due to the limitations of each of these methodologies. Surveys suffer from lack of verification of the information gained and the fact that children are often overconcerned with giving the right answers: Younger children are also likely to be unable to recall brand names which, nonetheless, may still have left a memory trace. Studies which test recognition of products get around this problem, usually by employing a forced choice test, but these have usually been
conducted in laboratory settings and suffer from a lack of ecological validity. Both types of studies fail to successfully emulate the time lapse that can occur between exposure to an advertisement and its recall, or to recreate the type of context in which children typically express a product preference. The current study looks at the impact which toy advertising, in the run-up to Christmas, has upon children below the age of seven. As the literature has shown, this is the age group who are likely to have higher trust, lower recall and lower understanding of commercial messages than older children. This would lead us to expect these children to have a high Vulnerability to advertising, although perhaps with a low recall of brand names. The study also employs a novel method which overcomes many of the methodological limitations of earlier research. It assesses the effects of toy advertising by looking at a behaviour which many children engage in spontaneously, asking for toys in a letter to Father Christmas. Thus it overcomes the lack of ecological validity which laboratory experiments suffer from, since virtually all children in the UK write a letter to Santa each year. Furthermore, it is less subject to the failings of survey methods where misunderstandings about questions can produce inaccurate data. By collecting childrens letters at the beginning of December, when toy advertising has been intensifying for a number of weeks, the study also makes use of the real time frame between exposure to the advertisements and the making of requests. It also goes beyond measuring which advertised products children recognise or recall and tells us what they actually want. Finally, it is not complicated by the financial status of the childrens parents. Children from poorer families may have been socialised not to ask their parents for expensive toys, yet may feel these constraints do not apply to their requests to Santa. By looking at the under-sevens requests in their letters to Santa, and also obtaining a measure of their television viewing habits, this study therefore aims to discover whether there is a relationship between young childrens exposure to commercial television and requests for advertised products. The data on viewing habits also reveal whether children watch alone or with a parent and whether this affects their susceptibility to advertising. By comparing letters written by children in the UK with those written by Swedish children it also asks whether their ban on toy advertising means that children ask for less.
Pester Power!
Pester Power is the name given to Marketing Techniques which encourage children to nag their parents to purchase a particular product.
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.
Pester power
TV junk food advertising is being blamed for the ever increasing number of young, obese Australians. A lobby group is stepping up its campaign to ban the ads. Charmaine Camilleri reports. Eight-year-old Lauren Merrington had one mission on her special trip to McDonald's to get one of the limitededition Finding Nemo toys that she had seen on TV a few nights before.
Image: Composite
"My friend nearly had the whole collection. I really wanted the squirt character. The ad said you could put it in the water and it can glow in the dark," she says. "I wanted the whole set. One was Bruce, one was Nemo." Lauren got her toy, which came with a cheeseburger, oil-cooked fries and a sugary soft drink in the popular Happy Meal. According to her mother, Julia Merrington, TV advertising for fast food has influenced Lauren from a young age. "When Lauren was about two years old, we drove past McDonald's and she pointed and said, 'Mac-a-don-ulds'. She was just learning to speak. My husband and I were horrified. She was too young to have peer-pressure influence. It was definitely from TV. It shows how powerful advertising is." This is not to say that Lauren is a junk-food addict. She has fast food just once a month and, unlike many kids her age, only orders pizza because of the "interesting vegetables on it".
But, says Merrington, it has not been easy. "As a parent, I have a battle every time we go to the supermarket. Every time, it's, 'Can we get this?' and of course, a lot of it is advertised on TV. "I'm sure there are parents who go down the easy road and say, 'Yes', because it's easier than fighting. When you're tired, have been working full-time and want to quickly shop, you give in. I've been guilty of it." Medical and health groups say such advertising is fuelling the obesity epidemic. More than 1.5 million young Australians under the age of 18 are now overweight or obese, according to the National Obesity Taskforce that's more than triple the population of Tasmania. "We're not seeing obesity contained. It's out of control and increasing." Tania Ferraretto, of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), says the impact on young people is stark. "In my practice, I have had teenagers come in who have Type 2 diabetes. Ten years ago, it was mostly in people over 40 years old." She says obesity is also related to conditions including heart disease, stroke, joint problems and cancer. "Socially, children can be left out in their peer groups and their selfesteem can be affected. And that can be for life," she says. Every year, advertisers spend huge dollars on media campaigns worth millions in revenue for TV networks. According to Nielsen Media Research, McDonald's Corporation's total media expenditure for 2002 was $40-45 million. KFC and Pizza Hut, of Tricon Restaurants, spent $35-40 million and Cadbury Schweppes, $25-30 million.
Lauren Merrington loves eating healthily, but the toys offered at fast food chains make their meals enticing. Picture: Rebecca Hallas
On average, children watch two hours and 30 minutes of TV per day, according to Young Media Australia, exposing them to 30 food ads per session and around 10,900 per year. Only one in four will promote a healthy product. "By the time children leave secondary school, they will have spent about as much time in front of the TV as they would have spent at school. In that time, they would have seen more than 100,000 ads for junk food," says Swinburn. Dr Michael Rice, spokesman for the Australian Medical Association, says parents have a responsibility to monitor children's food intake, but advertisers have a job to be responsible. "Advertising high-calorie foods is not responsible action," he says.
In one of the newest studies on the topic, published in last December's Pediatrics, researchers at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, traced almost 550 ethnically diverse students, aged about 12, over a 19-month period. They determined that the more hours children spent watching TV, the worse their diet was. "As the television viewing increased over time, that was associated with further declines in fruit and vegetable consumption," study author Renee Boyton-Jarrett recently told Health on the Net Foundation. In Australia, CFAC whose members include the Australian Medical Association, Nutrition Australia and the Australian Consumers Association wants ads for products high in fat, sugar and salt to be rescheduled in adult viewing times. "Adults can make informed decisions, whereas children are manipulated," says Mehta. The coalition stepped up pressure on Australian governments last November with the release of its report Children's Health or Corporate Wealth?, which says that large volumes of TV ads contribute to an obesity-promoting environment. The report points out that there is about an 80 per cent chance of an overweight or obese child being overweight or obese at the age of 20. It also quotes a 2003 study commissioned by the British Food Standards Authority that found food promotion affected children's preferences, purchase behaviour and consumption. Critics also claim that some food advertisements are simply misleading. "The ad says the product is fruit-flavoured and it shows pictures of fruit, but then when you look at the product, there's actually no fruit in it," says Barbara Biggins, of Young Media Australia. Mehta says children are seduced into buying products. "Generally, the ads don't talk about nutritional value. The messages are about fun, cool giveaways, getting friends and that's what children take literally," she says. Despite calls from health experts, no recommendation for bans or restrictions was made in the Obesity Taskforce's final report released late last year. (The Federal Government set up the taskforce in November 2002 to combat Australia's worsening childhood obesity problem.) "Taking ads off TV is not considered the most valuable thing to do," says spokeswoman Kay McNiece. "The taskforce, at this stage, has no concrete evidence that TV food advertising has an effect on children's obesity levels." Others question whether a ban would work. The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) says a 1994 UK study found that TV advertising influenced just 5 per cent of family food choices, with mothers at the top of the list (20 per cent), followed by the children (13 per cent).
The study was reported in an article in the international advertising industry magazine Admap, and titled The Myth about Children's Dietary Choice. "Advertising censorship would not impact on obesity trends," says AANA chairman Ian Alwill. "Factors including mothers, older siblings and peers are far more influential than advertising, in food choice and family diet." Some food companies have listened to concerns. McDonald's last year launched a new range of salads and reduced TV advertising to children by 40 per cent. "A change for good," says Guy Russo, CEO of McDonald's Australia. "Let the parents make the choice, whether they want their child to have an apple or fries." About 80 per cent of the company's media expenditure has gone to promote the healthy range since August, Russo says. But educating children about healthy lifestyles is useless unless the family supports it, says Julia Merrington. "It's all very well for the parents to say, 'They made me buy it', but you can always say, 'No' to your child," she says. "Advertisers have a right to advertise. Whether they are successful or not is due to the decisions the parents make. They have the purchasing power." Marketing to the kids could be your passport to growth. Companies are using this segment to rake in profits Britannia Khao, World Cup Jaao - a campaign that was a rage, especially among the kids during the 1999 cricket World Cup. Thanks to Kidstuffs Promotions and Events (KPE), the brainchild behind the campaign, Britannias products were picked up from the shelves like hot cakes. Britannia even launched a new biscuit called Multi-vita just for the kids aged between one to three years. What does all this imply? Where are marketers heading? The kids market has grown by leaps and bounds an indicator being the increased usage of basic need categories. Not only that, the usage has reached beyond the basic need categories. Kids want more and they want it now! The middle class family is value-oriented, upwardly mobile, and harbours big ambitions for its little ones. The downside is that their involvement with a particular brand becomes temporary. Kids change dramatically as they grow and are notoriously unpredictable, hence marketers will have to offer paths of continuous upgradation to retain them. Lego has understood this very well and introduced the concept of continuous innovation in their products with building blocks. Kids being the centre of a familys aspirations, parents are more oriented to investing in children. In most US homes for instance, the choice of computer is dependent on kids.
For most marketers, achieving a high involvement relationship with both parents and the kid is a priority. Parents react hysterically to brands that try to hook their little ones. Women may be a marketers delight, but with the arrival of the second child she becomes a budget-conscious housewife, preferring to recycle old stuff when needed. Montu wears the clothes that his older brother, Raju has outgrown. Advice to young mothers helps sell baby products especially when endorsed by a doctor. Wipros Baby Soft proved doomsayers wrong in its ability to compete against Johnson & Johnson. This was done by using a renowned paediatrician in its advertising, to dispense advice on teething problems in infants. However, brands that try to dislodge conventional wisdom should be careful while targeting conservative mothers. No mother would like to be told that the knowledge imparted to her down the years, by her mother and grandmother was wrong. The toy market in India is huge, estimated at Rs. 350 crore. This is one sector that will boom further. Wise parents allow their babies to follow their instincts, within safe boundaries. Sometimes, a greater degree of creative freedom is given to the child, to explore his hidden talent. This unfortunately for parents, translates into destruction of toys, leading to more purchases. Parents prefer safe toys that last long. Though the result often is boredom and breakage. The toys in demand are ones that offer fun, education and variety. Lego claims to provide all this and more. Children being vulnerable are easily influenced by ads on television and this activates pester power, i.e. where the children harass their parents to purchase products they want. With the increase in number of working couples, the childs pester power becomes inversely proportional to the time available with parents. They might buy a product if it shows promise of satisfying or quietening them temporarily. Considering the above, a marketer must try to develop a strategy, which targets the kids and influences them totally, so that next time they are out with their parents, they get what they want! Impulse purchases due to POP promotions also play an important role, too.The marketer must capitalise on this aspect and design baby/kids products, which offer value for money, are eco- friendly and of superior quality. Build brand equity and you will build profits!.
For more pester power

Purvita Chatterjee Bajaj hopes its animation campaign building on the Hoodibabaa promise for Caliber will help it add volumes.
TAKING the Hoodibabaa campaign for Bajaj's Caliber 115 cc forward is an animation commercial. Created by Lowe Mumbai, this is the first time that an animation film has been made for the rather `serious' motorcycle category. According to R. L. Ravichandran, Vice-President (Business Development & Marketing), Bajaj Auto Ltd, "Animation films are possibly seen in children's categories, such as biscuits. Nobody had done animation films for a serious product like motorcycles, so we, along with our agency, decided to try it out for the first time in the motorcycle category." Continuing with the father-son emotional bond from its previous Hoodibabaa films, the TV commercial shows the father as the hero riding the bike to rescue his son from a lion which has escaped from its cage, managing to save his son and also trap the lion back into its cage. Added Indraneel Ghosh, Brand Services Director, Lowe, "We have used animation to break through the clutter. The purpose was to leverage pester power to an extent that the child could convince adults into buying the brand." In fact, Bajaj's Caliber 115cc has always been positioned on the emotional platform and Hoodibabaa was a new term to express the `wow!' qualities of the brand, explains Lowe.
The advertising account moved to Lowe last March with the re-launch of the Caliber 115 cc motorcycle in the form of the Hoodibabaa campaign. Bajaj Auto has been trying to gather prominence in the executive segment of motorcycles with its Caliber 115 cc and Wind 125 cc models. As of now, Hero Honda dominates the segment with a 60 per cent share with brands such as Splendour and Passion. While the Hoodibabaa phrase has caught on and Bajaj Auto has managed to gather a combined 12 per cent share in the executive segment for both its brands, it believes the new campaign will add more volumes in this segment. "Through this campaign we want to move a notch above our rivals," says Ravichandran. Besides, it also wants to upgrade the users of low-end bikes (the 100 cc segment) to the executive segment with its superior product-led features such as that of extra mileage and a quick pick-up. With the executive segment (the Rs 40,000-plus range) being the fastest growing segment in motorcycles today, Bajaj intends spending lavishly on its two brands in this segment. It has already allocated an ad budget of Rs 50 crore. Kid-fluence, the Nag Factor and Pester Power Mom I want this. Dad I want this are the demands, fuelled by marketing tactics that erode the adult wallets. The bug is none other than Pester Power. The power children have, by repeated nagging, of influencing their parents to buy advertised or fashionable items is called as Pester power. The marketers are relying on the kids to pester the mom to buy the product, rather than going straight to the mom- Barbara A Martino (Advertising executive) Kids rule, be they in terms of what to watch over TV or what to buy for themselves or what a household buys. The influence that the kids wield over purchase decisions in a household along with the nagging effect that they have on their parents is growing day by day. With the increase in the number of working couples, their pester power is inversely proportionate to the time available with parents. Their day begins with Tom and Jerry and ends with Dexter. Besides, there has to be in place the entire collection of Barbie, Playstation, frequenting at Mc Donalds, trendiest watch, school bag with Power Puff Girls on it, an independent mobile, television, PC and that too cool branded ones. Kids seem to want virtually more of everything. There is an untiring wish list of food, fun, collectibles, gadgets and brands. Frontline, the PBS documentary series, notes that Millennial Teens influence more than $50 billion adult spending every year and pester an adult 25 times on an average before the desired product or experience is finally bequeathed. Over 95% of kids have pestered their parents for a product promoted on TV, according to a new survey by www.raisingkids.co.uk. T
T Catering to the Little Customers-the Kids

There are numerous examples where the marketers are either innovating their offerings for the kids or re-positioning themselves to cater to the segment that is becoming influential in the family purchase decisions. Horlicks repositioned itself as a pleasurable nourisher for the entire family. ICICI has launched a special account for kids in association with cartoon network. This is to cater to the aspirational and demanding kids by catching them young. Doing this, ICICI has made a presence across the entire life cycle of a person. Along with the account, the child can now avail of a personalized debit card. The rising fad among kids towards toiletries and cosmetics has given birth to products targeted at children like L'Oral Kids. Britannia Khao, World Cup Jaao - a campaign that was a rage, especially among the kids during the 1999 cricket World Cup. Thanks to Kidstuffs Promotions and Events (KPE), the brainchild behind the campaign, Britannias products were picked up from the shelves like hot cakes. Britannia even launched a new biscuit called Multi-vita just for the kids aged between one to three years. Novartis India tells school children that they need two calcium tablets (Calcium Sandoz) a day to develop healthy bones and sharp brain. After complaints by the Consumer Education and Research Centre of Ahmedabad, Novartis dropped the exaggerated promotional campaign it was conducting inside schools. Doctors are of the view that calcium Sandoz contained salts in addition to calcium carbonate and its reckless use by children who did not suffer from calcium deficiency might lead to kidney stones because of excessive intake of salts. Raymond eyes the Rs.27, 000 crore kids wear market with ZAPP! The first store in Ahmedabad followed by another in Bandra, Mumbai. (The name ZAPP! comes from the initials of the four cartoon characters Zion, Ashley, Posh and Pixel who have a different world on planet Zuto.)ZAPP! has tied up with Warner Brothers for the Superman brand of clothing in India. Each of the stores comes with lots of space for kids to move around and choose from. The clothes are kept in such a way that kids of any height can pick them up, so they get the feeling that they are shopping for themselves. The company wants to create an open communication channel through a website and build upon the relationship through it and the ZAPP! Club, giving each member an individual experience through special events. A membership card records preferences such as styles and colors. It also allows kids to swipe their cards to see a customized version of themselves on a plasma screen at the entry of every store. Magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated and People have all launched kid and teen editionswhich boast ads for adult related products such as minivans, hotels and airlines.
Pester power: Can children influence papa's decisions?

Nokia has a naughty eight-year-old girl looming large from the billboards thrusting the 3210 in your face. Onida's salesman goes blue in the face (literally) trying to convince his 10-year-old customer that the Candy brand does not come in a vanilla flavour. Papa finds it hard to decline his six-year-old's request to give half the school a ride back home in his squeaky new Fiat Uno. When papa nicks his chin while shaving, the toddler crawls up with a tube of Boroline in its cute hands. Of course, whenever mom hears "mummy, mummy, bhook lagi hain'' she knows what's cooking. Marketing minds are finally taking kids seriously. Millions are being splurged on striking the right chord with the Chunu, Munnu, Pinkis of every home. In other words, marketers are realising that the road to a customer's heart (and mind) is the child at home. From cell phones, cars and soaps to noodles and potato chips, children seem to have a say in it all. So, how real is pester power? A recent study by AC Nielsen reveals that children do have the ability to influence their parents's decisions. The pester power is best displayed when it comes to toys and games, where in a market of Rs 362 crore (Rs 3.62 billion) , 41 per cent of the purchases are influenced by kids -- i e Rs 148 crore (Rs 1.48 billion) worth of business. This may not be such a surprise -- after all, who else would decide between Barbie and GI Joe? But children can be quite persuasive even in more adult areas. For instance, toothpaste. In the Rs 988 crore (Rs 9.88 billion) toothpaste market, 65 per cent of the business is estimated because of kids. But what has changed in the last 10 years? Why are marketers suddenly concentrating on kids so much? Says Suhel Seth, CEO, Equus Advertising, "Generation Next kids are well aware of what is happening in the marketplace, for they are exposed to a lot of advertising both on television and outdoors. So be it television sets, cellphones or the new video game in town, children are well educated about the brands available and the prices. However, the moot question is how far does the child's word go in the buying decision. After all, it is the adult parent who spends the money and actually buys the product. Hence, it is very important for a marketer to understand the buying pattern before they really target the ads at children. At times the line is ambiguous in the kids-specific market too
because these products may be premium priced and the parent my not be in a position to yield to the child's whims." Hence, companies such as Frito Lays, Nestle or Candico find it easy to sell their products targeted at children because they are low-priced fast-moving consumables. However, this is not always true. Johnson & Johnson realised a couple of years ago that selling kids soap is not exactly child's play, especially when your product is priced as high as Rs 28 for 75 gm. J&J could not strike the right chord with kids despite the use of jazzy colours. The company re-launched its Kids brand in a new star-shaped avatar in August to attract the little ones. J&J now plans to have intensive advertising and numerous activities involving kids to generate top of mind recall for its brand. "We need to create a lot of excitement around the brand," says Anita Pande, client services controller, Ammirati Puris Lintas. Explains marketing guru Shunu Sen, "Children are an important part of the 'family' for a marketer. It would be a good idea for a toothpaste marketer to address the children, though for a consumer durables marketer children may not be the right bet." Despite apprehension from market gurus, consumer durables marketers are trying hard to influence children. Says Seth, "It is here that market behaviour becomes ambiguous. It is easy for a parent to decide on X candy because his child wants it, or Y brand of soap because his daughter likes it. But it is quite another issue if the child insists on Z brand of television." Nokia defends its using a child in its 3210 advertisement saying, "We want to stress on our human technology aspect. We want to show the ease of use and the add-on features that make it exciting. You see, very often you will see children using our phones to play a game while their parents are busy with something else." Market studies have also shown that children are more tuned to swadeshi brands, and hence brands such as Onida, BPL, Videocon in consumer durables or Ruff n Tuff in apparel would do well to talk to the kids. AC Nielsen found that kids aged between 7 and 18 in India were definitely inclined towards swadeshi in terms of brand preferences. Consider this: To the question 'Which is your favourite jeans brand', about 43 per cent of Indian kids said Ruff 'n' Tuff, a local brand from Arvind Mills. As far as their favourite sport shoe was concerned the choice was swadeshi again: 'Action'. Says Duncan Morris, associate director (media research division) A C Nielsen, China, "In India, it is not totally foolish to target a bit of the ad spend at children. You see, our study shows that Indian children are the most decisive in their preferences, be it career,
most hated food or favourite drink. For instance, when we asked what was the most hated food, children from all over Asia responded 'vegetables', but in India, the kids were very specific and said 'idli'." Adds he, "Children can be really specific in their tastes and preferences and sure have strong likes and dislikes, and advertising has an impact on them. But, and this is important, whether advertisements really prompt children to buy a product is still ambiguous. For instance, during our survey, a majority of the children voted the Pepsi ad as their favourite, but said Coca-Cola was their favourite drink!" As Seth puts it, "Kids may be confused, but they are confused pests and that makes them important and powerful!"
...and the award goes to: McDonald's Happy Meals!

The Children's Food Awards Pester Power is the name given to marketing techniques which encourage children to nag their parents to purchase a particular product. For instance, advertisers use famous pop stars such as S Club 7 and footballers such as David Beckham to entice children into wanting their products. Link-ups with children's films and cartoon characters are another enormous money-spinner. This McDonald's Happy Meal, purchased in July 2002, came with a free Smurf character - one of nine characters which children are encouraged to collect. Children love collecting toys and McDonald's in particular have made this a key element in encouraging children to eat their food. The members of The Parents Jury were particularly critical of companies using Pester Power, and McDonald's was the clear winner of this award with more complaints than any other food manufacturer.
Read what the parents had to say, below:
McDonald's bribe children by giving away nasty toys to go with the latest Disney film. mother of two, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire I have a particular problem with McDonald's - there is such a strong advertising campaign and the offer of Happy Meal toys. It is difficult when so many children eat there not to visit as well. Once inside there aren't really any healthy options. mother of two, from Hailsham in East Sussex
I dislike the use of pester power marketed to create demand for unhealthy food i.e. McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, they link up with toy companies to offer collectable ranges. other of one, from Isleworth in Middlesex What is the attraction of McDonald's? My children get so excited about it. We don't go very often and they don't like the actual food that much. The chips are very popular but I think that is the salt. But there is the toy and the novelty of the packaging. mother of two, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire Children choosing food products because of the "free" gift - particularly with McDonald's and children's cereals. mother of one, from London
McDonald's, Burger King, etc., all use children's movies to attract kid to their restaurants. Explaining to a four-year-old why she can't have a toy that lots of other kids will have is very difficult. father of one, from Teesside in Cleveland With free gifts and toys, children want the food and pester to get it purely to have the free toy. McDonald's do an 'amazing' selection of toys linked to films, to attract children to pester and pester parents. You have to eat more of the product to collect the set - e.g. Tigger, Pooh, Piglet or the Tweenies. mother of one My son gets sad that he can't eat at McDonald's when he sees the TV adverts which depict free toys with every kids meal. mother of one, from Brecon in Powys Happy meals at McDonald's are a problem. Kids want the current toys - all part of a large collection that encourages kids to keep going back to get all the toys. mother of three, from Stone Cross in East Sussex The Happy Meals adverts are all too persuasive. Wouldn't it be nice if they harnessed all their skills to create a healthy, nutritious meal with a toy - and sold that as well as they do burgers?! mother of two, from London
My children have both admitted recently that they don't like the food - they just want the toy. mother of two, from Olney
He always asks to go to McDonald's because he sees other children with the Happy Meal toys (in fact, he thinks McDonald's is a toy shop!). We haven't given up yet! mother of two, from Stockport 'McDonald's loves mums, so can we go?' my four year old asks mother of two, from Harrogate
Expert opinion
McDonald's certainly knows how to sell fast food. The company spent 58,470,000* on advertising in the UK in 2001, and a large proportion of that budget was aimed directly at children. Unfortunately the fast food which McDonald's sells is typically high in fats (including saturated fats), salt and sugar. Whilst eating the occasional Happy Meal isn't going to damage you - frequent consumption of meals like these could compromise your future health. The Happy Meal which we describe below has more fat (19g) than protein (15g), and more sugar (27g) than fat or protein. And no fresh fruit or vegetables. In the famous McLibel trial, the judge ruled that the company does 'exploit children by using them as more susceptible subjects of advertising, to pressure their parents into going to McDonald's' (Justice Bell, High Court, 1997)
McDonald's Happy Meals - What's in 'em?

McDonald's Happy Meals carrry no ingredients list or nutritional information, so it's hard to know exactly what you're eating. A Happy Meal consists of either a Hamburger, Cheeseburger, 4 Chicken McNuggets or 3 Fish Fingers, or a New Chicken and Ketchup Burger, plus regular French Fries and a regular soft drink. The McDonald's website does give nutritional information for McDonald's products, but without any healthy eating guidelines against which to judge the information.
We used the website to analyse a typical Happy Meal - 4 Chicken McNuggets, regular French Fries and a regular soft drink - and found that the meal contains 19g of fat, 27g of sugar but only 15g of protein. Chicken McNuggets Chicken, Water, Flour (Wheat, Maize), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Modified Wheat Starch, Salt, Breadcrumbs, Egg Albumen, Maize Starch, Maize Polenta, Raising Agents: Phosphate Salts (E450), Sodium Carbonate (E500) and Tricalcium Phosphate (E341), Modified Tapioca Starch, Spice, Dextrose, Ground Celery, Stabiliser: Potassium Triphosphate (E451), Sugars. French Fries Potatoes cooked in 100% Vegetable Oil. Dextrose sometimes added. Salt added after cooking. Coca-Cola Carbonated Water, Sugar, Colour: Sulphite Ammonia Caramel (E150d), Phosphoric Acid (E338), Unspecified Flavourings, Caffeine.
Catch Them Young at Schools and Web
Advertisers have very blatantly entered the schools. They put up posters and billboards in the schools, persuading the cash-starved schools into opening their doors to them by paying for access to classrooms and space for their advertising material and promotions. Web-based groups providing free e-mail accounts and contests with tempting prizes is another strategy that is rampantly used. This almost approximates to a crime because it is nothing less than attacking the natural credulity of the most innocent, most gullible and most inexperienced beings on earth.
Child Psychology Unraveled
Children think and behave differently from adults. They are great observers, highly creative, very insightful, spontaneous, sensitive and volatile. They have different emotional, social and developmental needs at different stages. Consumer socialization is the process by which these kids acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes pertaining to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace. This is based on child development -how age related patterns emerge across childrens growing sophistication as consumers, including their knowledge of products, brands, advertising, shopping, pricing and decision-making. Three to seven years of age is approximately the Perceptual stage wherein the child can distinguish ads from programs based on perceptual features, believes the ads as truthful, funny and interesting and holds positive attitudes towards the ad. As against this, seven to eleven years of age is the Analytical Stage wherein the child distinguishes ads from programs based on persuasive intent, understands that the ad may have
contain a bias and deception and can also hold negative attitudes towards ads. Eleven to Sixteen years of age is the Reflective Stage and here the child understands the persuasive intent of ads along with the specific ad tactics and appeals. He believes that the ads lie and knows how to spot the specific instances of bias and deception. In a nutshell, he is skeptical towards the claims made in the ad.
The Development of Critical Sense
Children's reactions to advertisement can be very different from grown-ups. Kids have a short attention span and are extremely quick to criticize or reject advertising that does not fulfill their viewing criteria. If adults see a product advertised and don't find it when they go shopping they forget about it. As children develop the ability to recognize and understand ads and their purpose they start making demands. If these demands are not fulfilled they might start screaming or throwing themselves to the floor. It is difficult to explain to young children the reasons why they cannot have everything which - according to advertising - is 'for them'. Research by advertising agencies has confirmed that children's personal preferences can be targeted and changed by TV advertising. Family dynamics are thus influenced by advertisements that create demands and provide children with arguments why they should want a particular thing; this can make life extremely difficult for parents who for financial or moral reasons refuse to comply. Research has confirmed the influence of the media upon the close conformity between children's tastes and perceived needs and the content of the programs they watch. Teachers say they know what has been on TV the night before by the games the children play the next day.
Some Research Findings

Findings of the Kids Lifestyle Study- New Generations 2005-conducted by Cartoon Network Mobile Phones with cameras rank the highest in the list of gadgets of desire for kids 714. 74 percent of the children, who have heard of mobile phones with cameras, saying that they, would like to own one. This is followed by X-Box at 45 percent, apple I-Pod at 43 percent and Sony Play station at 33 percent. Nokia turned out to be the coolest brand among this age group with 72 percent saying that its very cool followed by Sony (71 percent), LG (60 percent), Microsoft (39 percent), Reliance (56 percent) ,Wipro (35 percent),HCL (32 percent),Google (31 percent), Infosys (30 percent) amongst the kids who have heard of these companies. Passe Syndrome-The research talks of a Passe Syndrome amongst kids that makes kids increasingly dismiss products that fail to cater to their immediate needs, an outcome of the wide choice that they have at their disposal. They seem to be moving to the next beat thing a lot quicker and a lot many times. They form the most unloyal, ever experimenting and most fickle demographic segment, being always in the whats next mode. They are actually promo loyalists and keep switching brands for better offers. Times Magazine and Consumer report 2005 list of top-10kid-bribes Nintendogs FLY Pentop Computer I-Dog Zizzle lz Pixel Chix Shift Tricycle PlasmaCar 20Q Orb One laptop per child
AC Nielson Research
A greater access to pocket money and a bigger say in purchase decisions has resulted in children being more informative and demanding. Impulse category brands are always being evaluated. The need for something new, something novel makes them
experimenting on the retail front and keeps marketers on their toes, trying hard to keep their brands in the top-ofmind- recall at all days of the wek and all times of the day. Kids are extremely conscious about product features and thereby brands and hence comes the kidfluence.
US studies on the impact and influence of advertising on children show that
An estimated $12 billion a year is now spent on advertising and marketing to children (The Kids' Market: Myths and Realities; McNeal, James; 1999) Young children are not able to distinguish between commercials and TV programs. They do not recognize that commercials are trying to sell something (Television and the American Child; Comstock, George, 1991; Academic Press Inc) In 2000, teenagers, ages 12 to 17, spent a record $155 billion (New York Times; Salamon, J. March; 2001). In 2001, children ages four to twelve spent an estimated $35 billion (Tapping the Three Kids' Markets. American Demographics; McNeal, James; April 1998). In 1997, children 12 years and under, directly and indirectly, influenced the household spending of $500 billion (McNeal, 1998). The average American child may view as many as 40,000 television commercials every year (Strasburger, 2001). Children as young as age three recognize brand logos (Fischer, 1991), with brand loyalty influence starting at age two (McNeal, 1992). Children, who watch a lot of television, want more toys seen in advertisements and eat more advertised food than children who do not watch as much television (Strasburger, 2002). The market sales of licensed products for infants increased 32% to a record 2.5 billion dollars in 1996 (Business Week, 6/30/97). Four hours of television programming contain about 100 ads (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999).
The Outcome of Indiscreet Marketing to Children
Magazines aimed at children have blossomed. Many of these magazines are kid versions of adult magazines. For instance, the popular Sports Illustrated for Kids, carries ads for minivans. Promotional toys either tie in to cartoons, TV shows and movies or promote brand consciousness and loyalty.
Cartoon and toy characters are used on all kinds of products, seeking to catch the children's eyes and purchases. Databases of child customers are being built from information gathered on Internet sign-ups and chat rooms, from electronic toy registries at stores like Toys 'R' Us, and from direct surveys. Advertising in schools: Advertisers and marketers take advantage of severe budget shortfalls in schools to offer cash or products in return for advertising access to children. Channel One: short news briefs are surrounded by commercials that children are forced to watch in schools. Promotional licensing of products aimed at kids which will include media pitches, e.g., a brand of pagers will include messages from MTV. Logos on all types of merchandise, everywhere children go. Children's radio networks are becoming popular. Children's toys are starting to carry product placements (e.g. Barbie dolls with Coca Cola accessories). Give-away programs include promotional merchandise aimed at children (e.g., McDonald's "Happy Meals"). In Britain too the numbers are startling. That is why advertising agencies such as McCaan- Erickson and Saatchi and Saatchi have launched separate divisions to produce advertising aimed at children.
Kids the chief design element of commercials
Kids are everywhere in advertising. They are being used as effective ways of grabbing adult attention. There is Videocon with Sharukh Khan and a bunch of kids and Hutch with a pug and a boy to hook the adults to the commercials. Close-up has now entered the fray with two cute tykes, Tata Steel uses children symbolically to show how their company works. Kids with celebrities like the Big B in the Hajmola ad make a still more lethal combination.
Kids and ICTs
Informal evidence suggests that the most popular in thing for kids these days are the ICT product and services. All stakeholders in this area should recognize the particular vulnerabilities of young children who are still developing physically, socially and emotionally. The risks to young children from the use of ICTs are enormous:
a. Physical risk of developing a sms thumb caused by very young hands using a keypad designed for adult hands.
b. Gaining access to harmful content as a form of communication. c. New technologies likely to increase risks for young children
Pervasive and ubiquitous computing products, embedded and wearable communicating devices, and ad hoc networking technologies will bring a paradigm shift greater than that precipitated by the telephone, the internet and the mobile phone taken together. The main concern will be that the risks of harmful contacts, outside of direct parental supervision will increase. As an example, consider Location Based Services (LBS). Today, the accuracy of the location is limited to the size of the mobile cell in which the mobile phone is operating. The question parents are asking is if I can establish the location of my child with this technology, can anyone else do this? Next generation LBS will put satellite positioning technology into mobile phones. This will improve the accuracy of location to about 3m. Will this make a child more or less safe? The recent introductions of Advergames and Tribal Marketing need to be mentioned in this context. Advergames are web based computer games that incorporate advertising messages and images. They serve to reinforce brands in compelling ways because users have to register to be eligible for prizes. This helps marketers in collecting customer data. The gamers may also invite their friends, the brand benefits from propagating a word of mouth. Tribal Marketing strategy helps in creating communities or social groups focused on a product or service. The strategy is based on the premise that the tech savvy child today has a fascination for technology that can add to his or her comfort along with providing the social advantage of being connected and linked. The functional value and the connecting value is the most sought after.
Kids and Eating Habits The kids market remains crucially important as the marketers seek to attract a new audience and build brand loyalty at a very young age. Mc Donalds has long been using children as a bait to lure the family into its restaurants. Through constant engaging, fun, lively communication, brand bonding efforts, Mc Donalds has been able to capture its little consumers. It has lived by its symbols-the Golden arches, Ronald McDonald and the red fry carton have all become iconic. The Mc Donalds Happy Meals ad, which talks about distributing free toys, has a great nagging effect and the parents are almost forced to visit Mc Donalds by the little customers that Mc Donalds sets its eyes on. The Action Man and My Little Pony figures are a lure to buy a high fat meal which probably contains fewer nutrients than the toys themselves. The advertisements have created very powerful and vocal kid consumers with huge buying leverage. In a compilation of studies done on children's media habits spanning nearly four years, the APA has deduced that children under eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful,
accurate and unbiased, leading to unhealthy eating habits. All supermarkets display food products at their checkouts, with most checkouts displaying chocolate (87%), gum (81%) and sweets (80%). Only 7% of checkouts had their display of foods or drinks out of the reach of children. Malaysia is considering a ban on fat food advertising as it is been considered that the food that the ads promote act as silent killers. Links between fat rich fast food and health issues like obesity were heightened by a 2001 U.S Bestseller Fast food Nation and a 2004 documentary movie about eating only fast food for a month-Super Size Me. Food Advertising and Obesity Zuppa, Morton and Mehta suggest that the amount of advertising to which children are exposed has the potential to influence childrens health attitudes and behaviors. Television may be more influential than families in setting childrens food preferences Epstein et al (1995) clarify the link by identifying a co-relation, but not causation between television viewing and obesity. Another study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Wednesday, says childrens exposure to billions of dollars worth of food advertising and marketing in the media may be a key mechanism through which media contributes to childhood obesity What is the Role of Advertising in Promoting Food Choices? It is claimed that advertising manipulates consumer preferences, thereby reinforcing the biological pressures driving obesity (Anon, 2003).The same anonymous authors who make the above assertion (Anon, 2003) specifically blame high profile fast food brands for manipulation of consumer perceptions. For example, McDonalds exploits the affect heuristic (i.e. emotional aspects of learning about the brand - via trial and error - acquired by consumers and then used as a shortcut in subsequent decision making explanation added) by advertising a family friendly environment and generating positive associations that may cause consumers to devalue their perceptions of the risks arising from unhealthy diets (Anon, 2003: 1168).
Drivers of Pester Power

Indian society has undergone a sweeping change in terms of the structure and environment of its vital institution-The Family. More working women and consequently more dual income families. Grand parents increasing role in bringing up children because of working mothers. Grand parents are the fastest growing income sources for the children. Rise in the number of single parent households Research supports that children in single parent households make their first purchases almost a year earlier than their two-parent household counterparts. Delayed parenthood This results in parents with more disposable incomes at the time their children are born. A 2000 study of 50 older couples by SNDT University showed that most of them had kids after they turned 35. The average age of career women starting a family may well have touched the mid-30s, says gynecologist Dr Duru Shah. Greater exposure to kids There is an ever-increasing exposure to kids both in terms of technology and mass media. The pang and guilt of not being able to spend much quality time with children is compensated by smothering them with material goods. Hurried Child Syndrome and Hyper parenting Parents today overscheduled their childrens life with a heavy dose of academics and extracurricular activities, forcing the little adults to excel both at school and extra academics. David Elkind, a child psychologist, first proposed this in 1981 in his book The Hurried Child: Growing up too fast. The Askable Parent The great authoritarian divide between parents and children is inexistent. Parenting is out and being pals/friends to the children is the in thing. Communication between parents and children has opened up considerably and the stereotypical roles have become rarer. This endearment encouraged the wanton kids to ask for material pleasures which they know would never be denied by their parent turned pal. Growth of retail sector There appears to be a high positive correlation between the growth of the retail sector and the development of the kids market. There are opportunities galore. Every
departmental has a space assigned exclusively for kids merchandise ranging from Kriish apparels to Power Ranger bikes. A perfect example is the growth of indoor amusement centres in malls targeted to children. Kids channels-a newer phenomenon The dedicated channels to kids programming target kids in two ways-eyeballs on channels that is, viewing and brand promotions. Cartoon Network and Disney lead the pack. Children and Advertising-Issues and concerns The effect of advertising on children and their portrayal in advertisements are sensitive issues. The common issues surrounding children and advertising are: Making children desire things which their parents cannot afford or which they (children) will not be able to use. Pester power: Encouraging children to pester their parents for advertised product or service. Showing children in unsafe or dangerous situations which the kids may emulate. Child rights activists are up in arms against MTV and Pepsi for depicting children in a negative light and endorsing child labor in their advertisements. The NGOs are especially peeved with the Pepsi commercial as, they say, it glorifies child labor. The ad shows a child negotiating a dangerous route to reach the Indian cricket team that is waiting for their drinks. The protestors believe that by featuring the entire Indian cricket team, the multinational was depicting India as a whole as endorsing child labor. Making children feel inferior, especially if they dont buy products and services shown in the ads. Showing children in a sexual way, i.e. wearing make-up and glamorous clothes. Advertising soft drinks and high fat/sugar contents to kids. Images of children often appear in advertisements, both those designed to sell childrens products and those designed to persuade adults to buy anything from car insurance to carpets Children are the vulnerable members of the society- in order for them to lead healthy, normal lives, children rely on adults for safety, shelter, food, clothing education and love. The marketers, as adults, have the responsibility to depict children in the advertisements in a more responsible and responsive manner.
How Marketers Target Kids

STRATEGIES MARKETERS EMPLOY TO TARGET CHILDREN. 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. Industry spending on advertising to children has exploded in the past decade, increasing from a mere $100 million in 1990 to more than $2 billion in 2000. Parents today are willing to buy more for their kids because trends such as smaller family size, dual incomes and postponing children until later in life mean that families have more disposable income. As well, guilt can play a role in spending decisions as time-stressed parents substitute material goods for time spent with their kids. Here are some of the strategies marketers employ to target children and teens: Pester Power Today's kids have more autonomy and decision-making power within the family than in previous generations, so it follows that kids are vocal 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. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power, because advertisers know what a powerful force it can be. "We're relying on the kid to pester the mom to buy the product, rather than going straight to the mom." Barbara A. Martino, Advertising Executive
According to the 2001 marketing industry book Kidfluence, pestering or nagging can be divided into two categories"persistence" and "importance." Persistence nagging (a plea, that is repeated over and over again) is not as effective as the more sophisticated "importance nagging." This latter method appeals to parents' desire to provide the best for their children, and plays on any guilt they may have about not having enough time for their kids. The marriage of psychology and marketing To effectively market to children, advertisers need to know what makes kids tick. With the help of well-paid researchers and psychologists, advertisers now have access to indepth knowledge about children's developmental, emotional and social needs at different ages. Using research that analyzes children's behaviour, fantasy lives, art
work, even their dreams, companies are able to craft sophisticated marketing strategies to reach young people. The issue of using child psychologists to help marketers target kids gained widespread public attention in 1999, when a group of U.S. mental health professionals issued a public letter to the American Psychological Association (APA) urging them to declare the practice unethical. The APA is currently studying the issue.
Building brand name loyalty Canadian author Naomi Klein tracks the birth of "brand" marketing in her 2000 book No Logo. According to Klein, the mid-1980s saw the birth of a new kind of corporation Nike, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, to name a fewwhich changed their primary corporate focus from producing products to creating an image for their brand name. By moving their manufacturing operations to countries with cheap labour, they freed up money to create their powerful marketing messages. It has been a tremendously profitable formula, and has led to the creation of some of the most wealthy and powerful multi-national corporations the world has seen. Marketers plant the seeds of brand recognition in very young children, in the hopes that the seeds will grow into lifetime relationships. According to the Center for a New American Dream, babies as young as six months of age can form mental images of corporate logos and mascots. Brand loyalties can be "Brand marketing must established as early as age two, and by the time children begin with children. head off to school most can recognize hundreds of brand Even if a child does not logos. buy the product and will not for many years... While fast food, toy and clothing companies have been the marketing must cultivating brand recognition in children for years, adultbegin in childhood." oriented businesses such as banks and automakers are now getting in on the act. James McNeal, The Kids Market, 1999 Magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated and People have all launched kid and teen editionswhich boast ads for adult related products such as minivans, hotels and airlines. Buzz or street marketing The challenge for marketers is to cut through the intense advertising clutter in young people's lives. Many companies are using "buzz marketing"a new twist on the triedand-true "word of mouth" method. The idea is to find the coolest kids in a community and have them use or wear your product in order to create a buzz around it. Buzz, or
"street marketing," as it's also called, can help a company to successfully connect with the savvy and elusive teen market by using trendsetters to give their products "cool" status. Buzz marketing is particularly well-suited to the Internet, where young "Net promoters" use newsgroups, chat rooms and blogs to spread the word about music, clothes and other products among unsuspecting users. Commercialization in education School used to be a place where children were protected from the advertising and consumer messages that permeated their worldbut not any more. Budget shortfalls are forcing school boards to allow corporations access to students in exchange for badly needed cash, computers and educational materials. Corporations realize the power of the school environment for promoting their name and products. A school setting delivers a captive youth audience and implies the endorsement of teachers and the educational system. Marketers are eagerly exploiting this medium in a number of ways, including:
Sponsored educational materials: for example, a Kraft "healthy eating" kit to teach about Canada's Food Guide (using Kraft products); or forestry company Canfor's primary lesson plans that make its business focus seem like environmental management rather than logging. Supplying schools with technology in exchange for high company visibility. Exclusive deals with fast food or soft drink companies to offer their products in a school or district. Advertising posted in classrooms, school buses, on computers, etc. in exchange for funds. Contests and incentive programs: for example, the Pizza Hut reading incentives program in which children receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal; or Campbell's Labels for Education project, in which Campbell provides educational resources for schools in exchange for soup labels collected by students. Sponsoring school events: The Canadian company ShowBiz brings moveable video dance parties into schools to showcase various sponsors' products.
The Internet The Internet is an extremely desirable medium for marketers wanting to target children:
It's part of youth culture. This generation of young people is growing up with the Internet as a daily and routine part of their lives. 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, which have codes regarding advertising to kids, the Internet is unregulated. Sophisticated technologies make it easy to collect information from young people for marketing research, and to target individual children with personalized advertising. By creating engaging, interactive environments based on products and brand names, companies can build brand loyalties from an early age.
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. In a report released in 2000, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed how the movie, music and video games industries routinely market violent entertainment to young children. The FTC studied 44 films rated "Restricted," and discovered that 80 per cent were targeted to children under 17. Marketing plans included TV commercials run during hours when young viewers were most likely to be watching. One studio's plan for a violent R-rated film stated, "Our goal was to find the elusive teen target audience, and make sure that everyone between the ages of 12 and 18 was exposed to the film." Music containing "explicit-content" labels were targeted at young people through extensive advertising in the most popular teen venues on television, and radio, in print, and online. Of the video game companies investigated for the report, 70 per cent regularly marketed Mature rated games (for 17 years and older) to children. Marketing plans included placing advertising in media that would reach a substantial percentage of children under 17. The FTC report also highlighted the fact that toys based on characters from mature entertainment are often marketed to young children. Mature and Teen rated video games are advertised in youth magazines; and toys based on Restricted movies and Mrated video games are marketed to children as young as four.
The age of pester power' could be over
The recession could signal the end of pester power' as new research reveals the extent to which the recession is having an impact on children's lives and their attitudes to money. The study follows interviews with more than 1,000 parents and 600 children. It highlights how parents are "greatly underestimating" the effect that the credit crunch is having on their children, not just in their attitude to finances, but also how worried they are about their parents' wellbeing. While only 18% of parents thought their children were concerned about the credit crunch, in reality the figure is much higher - more than half (55%) of kids said they were worried about the impact the recession was having on their mum and dad. In addition, only 16% of parents thought their children were worried about financial issues, compared to nearly half of all children (49%) who said they now worry about money. The research also uncovered that the credit crunch generation has developed a more frugal outlook on life, potentially signalling the demise of pester power'. 44% of kids admitted they are not asking their parents for things that they don't really need' compared to before the recession. Parents are also pushing back more, with 56% saying no more often to their kids. In addition, 44% of children said their lives had become worse since the beginning of the credit crunch, with more than two thirds of 12-16 year olds (68%) saying they are worried about getting a job when they are older.
Parenting: How to handle pester power

Are you yet another parent who is being held to ransom by your tiny tots? Many children, especially in cities today, want the moon for their birthday. And they are even getting it. Recently, an article in one of the national dailies talked about the harrowing experience one mother had whilst celebrating her little girl's birthday. According to the story, it was very stressful for the parent to measure up to the kid's demands and also prove that she could outdo what the best friend's mom did for her birthday! All this hullabaloo for the birthday of a 5-year old! In India this trend is slowly but surely creeping in. Expensive gifts It is not uncommon for parents today to gift their children personal plasma televisions, that latest video games (that cost more than the average person's monthly income), designer watches, et al. Gone are the days when children were content with dolls, board games and books. Today, some kids might consider these gifts pass. Suneil turned seven last month and his birthday gift is a colour television in his room. His mother Asha, 27, who works in a five-star hotel in Mumbai says, "There were big fights between Suneil and my mother in-law over the television. She wants to watch her serials while he wants cartoons. My husband and I are out to work and come back late. We hate to come back home and see the child and grandparent at war. So we bought him a television for his birthday." Sunaina, a 28-year old single mom, who works in a foreign bank in Kolkata, bought a battery-operated miniature bike for her five-year old son. "I really feel bad about leaving him with the maid all day long. I work long hours and need to travel frequently. After my husband's death, I don't want him to feel deprived. The bike is very expensive but the look of joy on his face made it worthwhile." They know they can Kiddie pester power is on the rise. If kids want something, they seem to know how to 'lovingly' whip their parents into relenting. Suneil cajoled his parents by lamenting how lonely he felt while his parents were at work; having a personal television would make
him happier as he could watch his favourite cartoons sans grandmum's constant nagging, Sunaina's son just had to say, "If dad was here, he would have got it for me." Techniques range from emotional blackmail to temper tantrums, cajoling to manipulation -- but the fact remains that an increasing number of parents are succumbing to relentless pestering. Most parents can see through but give in nevertheless. Says Sunaina, "I know my son armtwists me into agreeing to his demands but I give in. He doesn't have his father and why do I earn if not to give him what he wants?" The kiddie brigade is also influencing adult decisions of purchase. My friend and her husband upgraded their car from the humble Wagon R to Chevrolet Aveo because their six-year old went on endlessly about how miserable he felt driving around in the Wagon R! Working parents' guilt Psychologists point to the spurt in dual-income households. Families now have fewer children and working parents feel guilty about not being at home more often. Anjali Chhabria, a child psychologist with 20 years of experience who manages her own practice in Mumbai, says, ''Parents try to give their kids opportunities they didn't get when they were young. Parents often try to live vicariously through their kids and make up for many of their own shortcomings." Psychiatrist Dr Shetty opines, "Parents also want whatever little time they spend with their kids to be pleasant and tantrum-free, so they give in to the child's demand." The usual line of thought is 'We can afford it, so let the kid have fun.' Child psychiatrists feel that today's children are confronting a new world with new rules, where they are taught to be more assertive, more independent and to make choices. But teaching your child how to make choices is one thing and allowing them to have their way at any cost is quite another. How to tackle the problem The how-to list is never ending. The crux of the issue is that you have to be firm. Children emulate parents. So, if you are extravagant in your expenses, you can't blame the kid for making unreasonable demands. ~ Teach your child how to take 'no' for an answer The most valuable and important lesson you teach your child is to accept rejection. Life abounds in disappointments and rejections. Unless they learn to cope with it, their years ahead would be full of misery. ~ Be firm
When kids make expensive demands, be firm. Teach them the value of money. But all this will fall on deaf ears if you don't practice what you preach. If they see your fritter away your money; they won't feel wrong in demanding extravagant gifts from you. ~ Discourage comparisons When they say that they should have a grander birthday than their best friend, sit down and talk to them. Tell them that there's no end to compete on such trivial issues. There will always be someone with a better car, a better house, etc. Explain that competition is good at sports and studies but not in such trivial things. Once again, you have to show the way. If you compete with your friends in buying the bigger car, bigger diamonds, etc, you can't blame the kid for competing with his/her friend. ~ Beware of the guilt trap There's no reason to feel guilty if you are working. Whether you work to keep the family afloat or to achieve your personal ambitions, you have no reason to feel guilty. If children or others in the family begin the emotional blackmail on you, nip it in the bud. Let them know that you dislike such comments and they wouldn't get anywhere with such tactics.
Tips on tackling pester power
Dont feel guilty for not having a bottomless purse. Especially if you want to give them things you never had. It helps to be calmly honest and explain what you think is value for money and what is affordable.
Teaching your children the value of money is an extremely good lesson to learn.
When you say no, mean it. If your kids know that you will eventually cave in they will keep trying. This can be the hardest thing to do. But just remember you are saying no for a reason.
When you say no it may help to talk to your child about why. It could be that you cant afford it or that you only just bought them something last week. 'Just because I say so' is sometimes not enough for your child to understand the decision. But be firm so you dont get caught in the trap of haggling if your child has an answer for everything.
Is there a compromise? For example, those trainers dont come cheap but may be really important to your teenager and how they fit in with their friends. Is there a possibility of sharing the cost with your older children? If they have a Saturday job or paper round you could offer to pay for half if they put in the rest. Or could you combine birthday and Christmas presents together if they were set on something? Again if your child is really serious about something can the family club together rather than buy individual presents? If you do this you may need to remind your child that they will not be getting as many presents if everyone clubs together.
Even if you say no try to show your child you understand how they feel. Sometimes as parents we forget how important something as simple as a pair of trainers or the latest football shirt can be. But to some children it can mean so much more - like fitting in with friends, or trying to impress. Even if the answer is no, try not to be flippant with their wants and feelings.
Agree tactics with your partner. Agree on decisions and stick to them so you dont undermine each other.
Setting ground rules with your ex-partner is important in the same way all decisions are, so if you have said no for a reason you know your ex-partner will back you up. But if this sounds an impossible task, dont let yourself get het up if they buy the kids presents you cant afford. Remember all the things that you do give your child, like your time, love or simple but thoughtful presents will be remembered long after the latest toy has been thrown away.
Remember that children change their minds every week with new crazes. Help them to see that they cant have everything they want and if it is a Christmas list tell them that not even Father Christmas has that much money and ask them to list presents in order of preference with a limit of five.
Is there anyone who can look after the kids when you go shopping?Although there is not always a babysitter to hand when you want to go shopping, there may be times where you can share babysitting so that you can go shopping without the children and avoid the stress of shopping with them.
Try to get out of the habit of buying something every time you go out and make treats be what they are treats. If you know your child will start asking for a new toy, take one of their favourites in your bag to distract them. Or if you know your child will want a drink or a snack pop some in your bag. They will soon learn that mummy or daddys purse doesnt come out for them every time you go out.
Dont say yes unless you mean it. If your child asks you if they can have something and you feel put on the spot, tell them you will think about it so you can give them a final answer rather than break a promise which can be hard for your child to understand.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kotler, Philip and Keller, Kevin Lan, Marketing Managaement,12 edition, Pearson Education(Singapore)Pvt.Ltd., Indian branch, New Delhi. Onkvisit Sak & Shaw John J International Marketing-Analysis and Strategy. Prentice Hal Publishing House, New Delhi. Bhattacharya Varshney International Marketing Management. (Sultan Chand and Sons), New Delhi. International Marketing: Rajesh Mohan Joshi, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
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Seminar on contemporary issue Named PESTER POWER (Children influencing parents buying decision) JECRC Business School JECRC

Business School, Sitapura, jaipur

HIMADRI SATI MBA- II Sem.

2 Pester Power effect of Advertising

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4 Pester Power effect of Advertising

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For more pester power

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T Catering to the Little Customers-the Kids

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...and the award goes to: McDonald's Happy Meals!

Read what the parents had to say, below:

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McDonald's Happy Meals - What's in 'em?

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Some Research Findings

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Drivers of Pester Power

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The age of pester power' could be over

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WWW.YAHOO.COM WWW.GOOGLE.COM WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM WWW.YOUTUBE.COM WWW.TALKINGRETAIL.COM

ECONOMIC TIMES TIMES OF INDIA

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