Buy-Buy Baby! ''I want this...I want that.'' Parents hear it all the time--and who do they blame? You.
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A fun family trip to Toys "R" Us can quickly turn intoa grabby nightmare when kids call out for all the newest name-brandtoys. And vendors know the power of "I want," especiallywhen it's voiced by a 4-year-old. But have marketers gone toofar in targeting their products to young consumers? According to astudy from the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofitorganization advocating responsible consumption, 87 percent ofparents say yes. "Parents feel their kids are beingassaulted," says Eric Brown of the center. Commercial messagesat school, on television and in every other possible outlet havekids putting possessions highest on their lists of priorities,according to Brown.
So how does an entrepreneur walk that fine line betweenmarketing their groovy products to kids and offending wary parents?"The best ads are the ones that treat parents with respect andencourage communication between kids and their parents," saysBrown, "[They also] educate people about the real propertiesof 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 isall-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 inkids and teens. "Why shouldn't kids have that sameopportunity?"
Contact Sources
Center For A New American Dream, (877) 68-DREAM, http://www.newdream.org
