Marketing to Children.

Why have kids become the focus of our lives?

To rephrase the question, how have children gone from “seen and not heard” back in the Victorian days, to the “little prince/princess” generations?

Well, back then children had no family influence at all; they were considered business since they were put to work at the age of 10 to earn more money for the household, another quiet pair of working hands set firmly in their place. Nowadays children can be considered to be the ones running the family with their high pitched demands for the latest and loudest of toys; with a ruling iron fist clutching onto bank account of mummy and daddy. So how did our society fall to the mercy of these little ones? Blame it on the schools? Blame it on the parents? Blame it on marketing?

In the space of these two very different times, there have been some significant changes both economically and politically in society. Families have much more disposable income with more and more people in better paying jobs, governments now protect the rights of little Timmy instead of breaking his back at the factory.

But what sparked these changes? Well, overall nowadays we want better lives for our children, we want them to have what we didn’t, even if we had everything we wanted, parents are always raising that bar. The devaluation of morals and the lack of religion in society had allowed the children of today to become little adults who are more clued up than ever. At the age of 10; children aren’t fixing the cogs of oiled up ton in weight machines but running around in playgrounds after science class, arguing over who will win the premiership and gossiping about the latest gay storyline in Eastenders. Legally children have to be in education until the age of 16 which enables them to socialise faster and younger.

Looking at the families themselves, there are in comparison less children per family, the majority have 1 or 2, Victorians liked an army of often double figures. Less children means more money to share around, especially since pregnancies are getting later, the average age often being 30 means that being close to the peak of their careers, parents have more disposable income.
Welcome the era of the “Latch Key Kids”. The family influence is watered down since children socialise more with their time in school (9-4 five days a week) with peers and teachers, than the precious little time with the family. There’s little time around the table and going to church, but more and more time with dinner in front of the telly or in their bedrooms. With Mum and Dad’s high paying high pressure job, there is a lot of working late and out of office, bringing the work home and often going away for weekends.

In a nutshell, mummy/daddy has a hectic job that keeps them away but leaves them with plenty. The few children they have are sitting constantly at the TV and itching to get one up on their friends’ collection of toys in the playground. On return of that weekend long work related absence from home or a simple telling off that turns in guilt due to the nagging feeling of not really being present in the Childs’ life as much as you would like to be; leads to guilt stained offers of penance.
- “Timmy! ...I’m home, I hope you’ve been good while I’ve been gone, I got you a present”
And in beauty of this beast; Timmy has completed his Match Attack collection and hence will be king of the playground tomorrow. SCORE!

Marketers, the cunning creatures, have witnessed and played on this reality. Children and a number of avenues to get what they want.

1. Just ask, they have a voice and have been handed a level of family influence so use it.

2. Guilt ridden gifts from sorry affections of the absentee hard working parents.

3. A broken home allows for a constant reassurance of love – “Don’t worry Timmy; even though Mummy and Daddy don’t love each other anymore, they still love you. Here’s a Playstation.” Or even a broken home transforms Timmy son to a pawn in “Divorce Chess”.
– Mum: “Happy Birthday Timmy, have a laptop”. SCORE!
-Dad: “Merry Christmas Son, here’s the computer game your mum always said you couldn’t have for being too violent, oh, and a ticket to Disney Land.” SCORE!
It’s on this basis that pester power is most effective.

KGOY Trend.
Kids Getting Older, Younger; It’s blindingly obvious that children are children for only a short while. Their attitudes to fashion items, status items and even television programmes are changing rapidly. They live in an adult world and have no choice other than to be involved, soak up every swear word and double entendre.

Below Karen form BBC "outnumbered" displays her knowledge of Hells Kitchen and Above she is "Lesbian Spotting".

If it carries on like this, can you imagine?
“Mother I’m far too old to be watching Iggle Piggle prancing around with that silly blanket in the Night Garden; can you switch to Sex and the City please? By the way, have you seen my dummy recently?”

There are two sides of the parenting pool though, the ones who find this previous prediction the scariest thought possible and try to keep their child a child for as long as possible, and the parent who encourages their child to grow up.

These Helicopter mums, who are regressive in parenting, buy the toys that keep Timmy a little prince with push cars, Lego and Hungry Hippos. The progressive parents encourage the maturity in their children with game consoles, laptops and football season tickets. These parents often embrace the changes in technology.

Mintel Pocket Money Report.
Instead of working at the factory for money to give to the family, children often get pocket money from the parents are then essentially in charge of their own funds. Mintel reports that “children across the three age groups from less affluent households tend to receive more pocket money than those from AB socio-economic group.” – possibly due to the AB parents being able to afford the expensive toys so have no need to give much money to the children, and the less “well off” parents feeling bad for not affording that dent in the account, can substitute by handing a modest amount on a regular basis.

Other trends show that “earning money is much more common among children with siblings, suggesting that only-children are pampered more.” And reflecting on the KGYO movement, Mintel says that “girls are more likely to get money from parents both for specific things and to spend at will. This is a reflection of the fact that girls of this age (11-14) like to choose their own clothes and prefer shopping with friends rather than parents” – Latch Key children. “At this age too, girls are more self-conscious and would start to buy cosmetics and additional toiletries.”

Channel 4, Jo Frost exhibits the extremes of KGOY in kids beauty pageants.

ASA Law
So now marketers with all this information are just salivating to push their products and reap the benefits, but the ASA and BCAP has a duty to restrict and regulate the process of marketing to children for ethical purposes. Examples as follows:

Section 7.1.1 Children’s inexperience. Advertising must not take advantage of children’s inexperience of their natural credulity and sense of loyalty.
7.1.2 Unrealistic expectations. Advertisements for products of interest to children must take account of the level of experience of those in the relevant age groups so as to avoid arousing unrealistic expectations. (Don’t advertise a cereal enabling the child to fly once consumed, Timmy might have a nasty bump from jumping off the stairs after breakfast).

7.2.1 Diet and Lifestyle. Advertisements must avoid anything likely to encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children.

7.3.2 Pressure to purchase: Unfair Pressure. Advertisements must not imply that children will be inferior to others, disloyal or will have to let someone down, if they or their family do not use a particular product or service. (That’s the job of the playground and peer pressure!)