Kids are an important demographic for marketers as they play a significant role in their parents’ decisions regarding their purchases. They also influence their parents’ behavior when it comes to making decisions.
Around 98% of the time, kids go to a casual restaurant for their family meals. 34% of them have a say in the choice of the establishment.
Over the past two decades, the amount of money that companies have spent on advertising to children has increased significantly. In 2009, the US alone, they spent over $17 billion on this.
Today, parents are more willing to spend money on their kids due to various factors such as the increasing number of disposable income and the desire to spend more time with their kids. guilt can also play a role in their decisions.
According to Barbara A. Martino, an advertising executive, children are more likely to pester their parents to buy a product instead of going straight to them.
The rise of autonomy and decision-making power in the family has led to an increase in kids’ ability to influence their parents’ purchases. This is why kids are known to pester their parents. This is why marketing to children is geared toward creating a powerful force that can be used to compel their parents to buy.
In Kidfluence, a marketing book, the concept of persuasion or “nagging” is categorized into two categories: “persistence” and “importance.” The former is more effective when the target is persuasive, and plays on the guilt that the parents feel about not having enough time to care for their kids.
With the help of psychologists and researchers, advertisers have gained a deeper understanding of kids’ emotional, social, and developmental needs. This allows them to develop effective marketing strategies that can reach young people. Through studies that analyze kids’ behavior, artwork, and fantasy lives, companies can now create marketing programs that are geared toward reaching young people.
During the 1990s, advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi enlisted the help of cultural anthropologists to study kids’ use of digital technology. They were then tasked with coming up with a strategy to get in touch with them.
In 1999, a group of mental health professionals in the US criticized the practice of using child psychologists to target kids. Their letter to the APA, which is the professional organization for psychologists, asked it to stop doing so.
Although the American Psychological Association (APA) did not ban psychologists from working with companies to develop effective marketing strategies for kids, it suggested that they should consider the ethical issues involved in this practice. For instance, some psychologists might find it difficult to explain the goals of television commercials to children, especially those who are too young to understand them.
In her 2000 book, Naomi Klein tracked the evolution of brand marketing. During the 1980s, various companies such as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, and Calvin Klein started to focus on creating an image for their brand instead of producing products.
In order to create effective marketing messages, companies shifted their manufacturing operations to low-cost countries. This has resulted in the creation of some of the most successful multi-national corporations in the world.
Marketing professionals place the seeds of brand recognition in young children in order to develop lasting relationships with them. According to a study, kids as young as six months old can create mental images of various corporate mascots and logos. Brand loyalty can be established by the time kids head off to school, and by the time they start to look at hundreds of brand logos, most of them have already identified them.
The challenge for marketers is to reduce the clutter in the lives of young people. One of the most effective ways to do this is through “buzz marketing,” which is a new type of marketing that involves finding the coolest kids in the community and having them wear or use your products. This strategy can help a company connect with the teen market. In addition to being able to identify the kids who are most likely to buy their products, “street marketing” also helps a company build a strong relationship with the influential teen demographic.