BEST CAMPAIGNS TARGETING KIDS

Key take away facts

- Brand loyalty begins as early as age 2. The average 3-year-old recognizes 100 different brand logos.

- Toddlers cannot distinguish a commercial from a television show.

- It isn’t until age 8 that kids begin to realise advertising can be misleading.

- In 2000, $2 billion was spent on advertising to children in America. Today, that figure has increased to $15 billion.

- In a study of more than 1,000 U.S. families, researchers found that 40 percent of 3-month-olds and 90 percent of kids aged 2 years old and younger regularly watch television, DVDs or videos.

- In 2008 Coca-Cola and PepsiCo announced plans to stop -targeting under-12s in response to rising worries over child obesity.

Children have long been a desirable target for advertisers – reaching them at an early age helps build brand loyalty that will last for life. From the age of around three, children can identify brand logos, and basic forms of brand loyalty can start as early as two.

Kids' spending ability doesn’t stop at pocket money – advertisers can benefit from the influence of pester power, where children can actively have an effect on their parents' purchase decisions. Traditionally, campaigns that aim to harness pester power have been limited to those for purchases including breakfast cereal, drinks and toys, but smart marketers can expand their horizons to bigger purchases.

With the rise of tweens with more influence and more disposable income, kids are getting older younger. No longer content with dolls and teddy bears, children under 12 are choosing video games, MP3 players and mobile phones. This type of sophistication means that marketers must use more sophisticated techniques to communicate with them.

Captivating kids and targeting tweens

Don’t underestimate the sophistication of children’s taste

Parc Asterix (FREE)

Parc Asterix entices new visitors through a branded content strategy that attracts children to engage with the characters from the park.

Parc Asterix, the number-two theme park in France, aimed to engage parents and children with a TV campaign that could compete with market leader Disneyland Paris, but without Disney’s marketing budget.

Parc Asterix felt that the perfect children’s programme did not exist on French television so it decided to create one. The highest-rated show among kids was Intervilles, an adult programme that matches towns against each other in a series of games and sporting events.

In partnership with TV channel Gulli, Parc Asterix created Intervilles Junior, a new, prime-time programme that followed the format of Intervilles, this time with children and parents competing at Parc Asterix. The park got the kind of exposure no ad spot could provide and the fit with Parc Asterix’s brand positioning – The Gallic Mood – could be tailored to perfection.

The campaign received massive press coverage and the programme achieved 425,176 viewers. Some 374,208 of them were children aged 4-14. Channel Gulli is now the No 1 television channel for kids. The show has since been aired on other TV channels in France and beyond.

BRAND

Parc Asterix

BRAND OWNER

Parc Asterix Groupe Compagnie des Alpes

CATEGORY

Entertainment

REGION

France

DATE

Apr 2007 - Jun 2007

MEDIA CHANNEL

Think laterally to evade restrictions

Cheetos

Cheetos makes a cartoon cheetah the focus of a campaign and overcomes a big barrier to advertising on children's television channels.

Create long term engagement with appealing cartoon characters

Kajeet

Kajeet kids' cell-phone service targeted tweens through interactive animated webisodes starring cartoon characters who used kajeet phones.

Arrange family-friendly events

Happy Feet

Movie Happy Feet reignited the hype for the DVD following a successful cinema launch with family tap-dancing events near major retailers.

Pester power = purchase power

Make traditionally boring purchases child friendly

Pedrigree (Free)

A smart insight about pet ownership get kids to engage with a dog food brand.

Use children carefully to influence large family purchases

Renault

Renault increases brand consideration for its new Scénic model by engaging children in a design competition.

Tackle any parental worries about your brand

McDonald's

McDonald's raises awareness about some of the healthier options for kids on the menu and challenges parents' perceptions about the brand.

Use children’s marketing techniques to explain very adult issues

Windows Home Server

Microsoft creates a children's book to promote the concept of the home server.