Buy-Buy Baby!
''I want this...I want that.'' Parents hear it all the time--and who do they blame? You.
A fun family trip to Toys "R" Us can quickly turn into
a grabby nightmare when kids call out for all the newest name-brand
toys. And vendors know the power of "I want," especially
when it's voiced by a 4-year-old. But have marketers gone too
far in targeting their products to young consumers? According to a
study from the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit
organization advocating responsible consumption, 87 percent of
parents say yes. "Parents feel their kids are being
assaulted," says Eric Brown of the center. Commercial messages
at school, on television and in every other possible outlet have
kids putting possessions highest on their lists of priorities,
according to Brown.
So how does an entrepreneur walk that fine line between
marketing their groovy products to kids and offending wary parents?
"The best ads are the ones that treat parents with respect and
encourage communication between kids and their parents," says
Brown, "[They also] educate people about the real properties
of the goods being sold." In other words, tell the truth,
respect the kids and remember that parents are the key.
And don't buy into the notion that marketing to children is
all-bad. "Products help us project who we want to be,"
says Rachel Geller, a chief strategic officer with Geppetto Group,
an advertising agency and marketing consultancy specializing in
kids and teens. "Why shouldn't kids have that same
opportunity?"
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Contact Sources
Center For A New American Dream, (877) 68-DREAM, http://www.newdream.org