Today, more and more marketers are aiming their advertising dollars at children. Research has shown that, for some brands, “securing” these young customers from infancy throughout life (i.e. cradle to grave) can mean revenues of up to $100,000 for any one advertiser.
It is argued that advertising and marketing encourages unhealthy levels of consumerism among children, since kids often want the things they see advertised. They beg their parents to buy these products featured on television or merchandise associated with their favorite movie and TV series.
A great example is the recent children’s movie Cars. Awhile back, I walked through a Target store with my three-year-old cousin. I was overwhelmed by the amount of Cars merchandise on shelves throughout the store and impressed with this toddler’s awareness of and responsiveness to the characters from the movie.
Of course, the toy section offered replica cars for each of the characters from the movie, but there were also stuffed toys, beach towels, books, CDs, shoes, clothing, breakfast cereal, juice boxes, fruit snacks, motor oil and even tissue boxes available with the Cars logo and characters.
This example goes to show how easy it is to capture and mold the minds of children and as integrated marketing communications practitioners, we should use a certain level of respect and restraint when speaking to this young audience.
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