Youth market

Résumé du document

There was a time only about 30 or 40 years ago when children were not spoken of as spenders or customers but as savers and future consumers. Sure, they bought penny candy and an occasional soft drink, but retailers did not think of them as customers per se. They were more often perceived as "Mrs. Bohuslov's kids" who just happened to buy something while they were in the store. Children had money, but it was for saving, not spending. They were always saving up for something, but never actually seemed to buy very much. They would, for example, save up for a football or bicycle or even a college education, but usually these items and almost anything else they saved up for were bought by their parents or perhaps their grandparents. Children received allowances then perhaps as frequently as they do today. Their allowances were relatively smaller, however, and parents usually dictated the amount or percent that could be spent - and this also was often small. Parents would justify this strict guidance with such sayings as, "a penny saved is a penny earned," and "save for a rainy day."

Extraits

[...] Then how is it that by age six or seven children have money to spend and are spending it? Several social forces produce this activity, but ultimately the parents determine it through their desire to please their children and their desire to prepare their children. We usually pamper our children from day one by giving to them an unending range of things obtained from the marketplace. As soon as they develop some money awareness, probably around age four or five, we begin giving them money in a desire to please them more, so that they may independently obtain some of the things we have been giving them. [...]

[...] Marketers can also lace chat-room discussion with subtle promotions, or "plant" personalities to enliven talk or encourage visitors to disclose personal information. Advergames: Marketers also see great opportunities in online game playing. Researchers say that when we play electronic games or surf the Net, we enter a "flow state" that makes us receptive to the images and messages we encounter. Traditional commercials don't work online—they interrupt that flow state. Games, on the other hand, are an ideal vehicle for keeping kids in the marketing loop. [...]

[...] A 1990 Market survey, based on the responses of 49 corporations and advertising agencies that market children's products, revealed that $ 16.1 million was related to product, concept, commercial tests, audience segmentation, programming, packaging, promotions, print advertisements, brand name identification, and pricing. According to the marketing literature four essential elements help marketers reach children: First, marketers keep tjeirs efforts child-focused. Second, they ask children the right questions and select appropriate outcome measures. Third, marketers keep corporate attention focused on children's needs (using seminars, qualitative interviews, and periodic testing of products and communication strategies). Fourth, marketers complement intuition with theory when designing their research. [...]

[...] They were more often perceived as "Mrs. Bohuslov's kids" who just happened to buy something while they were in the store. Children had money, but it was for saving, not spending. They were always saving up for something, according to them, but they never actually seemed to buy very much. They would, for example, save up for a football or bicycle, or even a college education, but usually these items and almost anything else they saved up for were bought by their parents or perhaps their grandparents. [...]

[...] How marketers reach young consumers? Marketers are extremely interested in children as consumers because children themselves spend billions of dollars annually, influence household purchases, and are future adult consumers. A lifetime customer may be worth $100,000 to a retailer. Hence, the advertising industry aggressively pursues efforts to understand and anticipate the needs and desire of young consumers. With more sophisticated market research techniques, marketers have gained a wealth of information about children and teenagers. A review of the research methods marketers use provides insight into the type of information they seek: information that allows them to design marketing strategies for young consumers. [...]