| Marketing |
| Written by Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter |
| Monday, 30 November 2009 18:18 |
| THE economic crunch has reached the pockets of one of the most influential consumer segments in the world: nine-year-olds. “Kids today may not use the word recession but they do understand that times are changing,” The Marketing Store Worldwide (HK) Ltd. managing director Andrew Kingham said. Speaking at the recent 21st Philippine Ad Congress at the Subic Bay Freeport, Kingham noted that the kids of today are more exposed to such issues than the children of yesterday. He said that this is due to an exposure to sources of information as well as the obvious evidence that their pocket money has been decreasing, especially those in the recession-hit economies like the United States. Kingham bared these points to allow advertisers and marketing professionals to understand a segment that influences consumer spending trends. “Kids are complex, ever changing and faster to drive trends than ever before,” he said, noting that the impact of the overlay of their influence on the mother or family is “even more pronounced” today. Kingham noted that with the economic crunch, more families are staying at home and cutting down on outdoor expenses. “Home is the new playground: film nights, board game—highest sales in 2008—sleep-over and garden entertaining [picnics]. Out of home is about group experiences and the best way to stretch budgets, e.g., day at a theme park being replaced by movie and a quick or cheap bite to eat.” Kingham noted that kids notice their parents are cutting back on their luxuries like shopping, sports channels, etc., so that there is as little disruption in their children’s lives and they can still go on school trips, birthday parties and the like. “They don’t want them to worry about the recession at such a young age,” he said. But based on their studies, kids do. And because of their exposure to information, most of them are also aware of social issues like global warming, the ozone, recycling, poor countries, etc., via school curriculums, parents, media and government campaigns. “They talk about it in simple terms such as turning the light or tap off, special colored bins, recycled paper and helping poorer countries.” On a brighter side, the condition has made kids value money more, with some of them going into entrepreneurship, according to Kingham. “Kids understand they’re not entitled to money but they have to earn it. Kids think up ways to earn more money from doing chores, to selling sweets to baking cakes.” Still, Kingham advises that “marketing to children requires a special touch, a unique insight into the world of your audience; for example, an eight-year-old.” “Whilst there are many pitfalls to this approach, get it right and the audience are responsive and loyal advocates of brands.” |