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How Companies Learn How to Sell Stuff to Kids
by Nathan Dungan
Have you ever wondered who concocts all those schemes that target
your child or grandchild with the latest, greatest consumer product?
One high-profile venue for dispensing the best marketing
ideas de jour is the annual Kid Power Conference (www.kidpowerx.com.)
This year the conference is being held in Orlando, Florida at the
Disney Yacht and Beach Club.
For 13 years, Kid Power has been convening conferences
that bring together top youth marketers from around the world. Their
goal; teach conference attendees how to reach the highly profitable
global youth market.
The conference description says it all. "With
13 years under our belts, we understand what's important to the
marketing minds attempting to engage the ever evolving kids' market.
That's why we have organized four full days packed with creativity,
education and opportunity. Getting the most out of Kid Power 2006
is as easy as A-B-C-D...."
And lest you think this is small potatoes, think again.
Not only are these companies dreaming up new ways to sell even more
stuff to your kids and grandkids, they are also targeting you --
parents and grandparents.
According to youth-marketing agency Wonder Group,
"if a product or service is purchased for a child, moms tell
us that the child is between 80 percent and 90 percent influential
in the decision. Even if a purchase is made for the family (like
a car or new home) the child is highly influential!"
Having attended similar conferences like Kid Power;
I've seen first hand how eager companies are to learn new techniques
for mesmerizing toddlers, tweens and teens with yet another "gotta-have-it-now"
advertising campaign.
Brand imprinting is big business. How big? Think
trillion-dollar big.
In fact, youth 18 and under will spend and influence
the spending of more than $1 trillion this year in the U.S. With
so much money at stake, you can see why conferences like Kid Power
have been so successful.
With the stakes so high for being a preferred brand
of the under 20 set, how does one successfully navigate the shark-infested
waters?
If your current strategy for dealing with the marketing
barrage is to "close your eyes and hope it goes away"
a few words of warning. It won't work. When facing adversity, it
is best to address it head-on.
Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
1. Query friends in your neighborhood to see how they
are successfully addressing the issue. Word-of-mouth idea sharing
is often the best way to bubble-up new ideas.
2. Raise the awareness of your children or grandchildren
by asking them to track all the different ways they are marketed
to over the course of a day or a week.
3. Ask them to identify which, if any, of these messages
encourage them to save or share some of their money.
When did you first notice that the amount of advertising
to children had increased?
Nearly 60 percent of kids age 6-11 watch television
commercials.
Source: The Center for Media Research
Nathan Dungan is president and founder of Share Save
Spend, LLC an organization that helps people develop and maintain
healthy financial habits. Nathan’s book, Prodigal Sons and
Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child’s ATM (John Wiley),
was released in 2003. He’s been widely quoted in The New York
Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and TIME. He speaks and consults
with organizations and families related to this topic. For more
information, visit www.sharesavespend.com.
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