Welcome to another edition of Carat’s eNewsletter. Today we are focusing on another “elusive” audience – kids. In challenging times where over 80% of kids in Australia believe that companies are trying to sell them things they don’t need, how can you successfully market your wares to children? Pester power has moved to Participation Power. Despite Confucian values in many Asian countries, parents are making choices for their children, but most likely as part of a “family democracy” rather than unilaterally. The only world today’s kids know is a digital one. How do you effectively use digital to reach your messages to children?

photo by Andrew Huth

The Rise of the “Caring Corporation”

Today’s parents think about the brands they choose for their kids – from nappies to games most are a considered purchase– and they want to make the best choice possible. In a world where a simple yellow wrist band moves from fashion item to a cure icon it’s obvious that corporate responsibility is a core part of marketing to kids and parents. Corporations that behave ethically and responsibly, giving back to local communities engender trust. From a marketers perspective, this trust is the cornerstone of the relationship between parents and the brands they choose for their children.

Present a consistently, responsible brand story that reflects the values of today’s parents in all media channels – from the nightly news to online advertisements.
Integrate all elements of the brands communications. Use advertising, grass roots sponsorships and community education initiatives to demonstrate your brand is a trustworthy and desirable part of a child’s life.

photo by Commoner 28th

Popular (un)Culture

An average child sees up to 220 ads per day but unlike adults don’t have the experience or life skills to differentiate between advertisements and content. Marketers using celebrity endorsements, licensed characters and other pop-culture personalities to sell ‘unhealthy ‘products risk alienating parents. This type of branded association is seen as marketers manipulating children’s brand choices. Even today’s kids are unimpressed; 88% of Australian kids believe that companies try to sell them things they don’t need.

Promotions, brand events, sponsorships that focus on values, not celebrity, are better choices for marketers who want to re-fresh their brands appeal.

Rather than relying on a brand ad, try creating a series of branded communication ‘stories’ that add excitement and build a sense of anticipation to engage kids over time.

photo by moonfever0

Try Participation Power

The age of pester power is over. Today’s families are mini-democracies and more than ever children are playing an active role in the brands that they, and their families use. Rather than thinking of parents as gatekeepers, it is better to think of families as a consensus seeking group where parents arbitrate but also consider children’s opinions. For marketers this means thinking about family decisions based on active participation, not pester power.

Concurrent messaging is the norm now because of co-consumption of the same channels – and in some cases the same media vehicle.

Worldly children’s consumption of mass media means sophistication. Today talking to parents also means engaging their children in a conversation – often through similar media channels.

photo by m ke2

Kids Today are Digital Natives

6 out of 10 children aged between five and nine in Japan have a mobile phone. The only world the kids of today know is digital. They program the DVD player for parents , often more familiar with the the electronic program guide (EPG) than the rest of the family, share downloaded content on video iPods and IM has become a generational marker. In China, 93% of kids between 8 and 14 have a friend they have met online, but will never meet face to face through social media sites. For some parents logging onto a social network is the only way to have a “conversation” with tween-age kids and they’re no longer needed with homework because Google is quicker and has all the answers anyway.

360 degree digitally-led solutions need to be the norm because that’s where your kids are.

Digital natives demand transparency and clarity– with everything connected your brand messages needs to be consistent, and true, across all platforms and touch points.

By integrating messages across multiple touch points you create the opportunity to talk with, and not at, today’s kids. This leads to greater engagement and greater loyalty.