All about Kids Market Targeting.

How We Target The Market (Kids) :

Kids represent an important demographic to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, they influence their parents' buying decisions and they're the adult consumers of the future.

Industry spending on advertising to children has exploded in the past decade, increasing from a mere $100 million in 1990 to more than $2 billion in 2000.

Parents today are willing to buy more for their kids because trends such as smaller family size, dual incomes. As well, guilt can play a role in spending decisions as time-stressed parents substitute material goods for time spent with their kids. Here are some of the strategies where we need to work on : Pester Power : Today's kids have more autonomy and decision-making power within the family than in previous generations, so it follows that kids are vocal about what they want their parents to buy. "Pester power" refers to children's ability to nag their parents into purchasing items they may not otherwise buy. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power, because advertisers know what a powerful force it can be. ("Persistence" and "importance.") This latter method appeals to parents' desire to provide the best for their children, and plays on any guilt they may have about not having enough time for their kids. Building brand name loyalty: Marketers plant the seeds of brand recognition in very young children, in the hopes that the seeds will grow into lifetime relationships. According to the Center for a New American Dream, babies as young as six months of age can form mental images of corporate logos and mascots. Brand loyalties can be established as early as age two, and by the time children head off to school most can recognize hundreds of brand logos. The Internet: The Internet is an extremely desirable medium for marketers wanting to target children: Parents generally do not understand the extent to which kids are being marketed to online. Kids are often online alone, without parental supervision. Unlike broadcasting media, which have codes regarding advertising to kids, the Internet is unregulated. By creating engaging, interactive environments based on products and brand names, companies can build brand loyalties from an early age. Privileged Commercialization in education: School used to be a place where children were protected from the advertising and consumer messages that permeated their world—but not anymore. Budget shortfalls are forcing school boards to allow corporation’s access to students in exchange for badly needed cash, computers and educational materials. Marketers are eagerly exploiting this medium in a number of ways, including: Sponsored educational materials Supplying schools with technology in exchange for high company visibility. Exclusive deals /offer their products in a school or district. Advertising posted in classrooms, school buses, on computers, etc. in exchange for funds. Contests and incentive programs: for example, the Pizza Hut reading incentives program in which children receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal; or Campbell's Labels for Education project, in which Campbell provides educational resources for schools in exchange for soup labels collected by students. Sponsoring school events: The Canadian Company Showbiz brings moveable video dance parties into schools to showcase various sponsors' products. Buzz or street marketing: The idea is to find the coolest kids in a community and have them use or wear your product in order to create a buzz around it. Buzz, or "street marketing," Buzz marketing is particularly well-suited to the Internet, where young "Net promoters" use newsgroups, chat rooms and blogs to spread the word about music, clothes and other products among unsuspecting users.

If Our Product Range:

Ø Comics

Ø Activity Books

Ø DVDs

Ø Miscellaneous

Ø T-Shirts

· Comic stores (Owned / Franchisee / Dealer ship).

· Throw Traditional supply chain (DSR).

· Venue sales and Canopies

· Modern trade marketing.

· Online (Own site / others –eBay & Amazon…)

· Buzz marketing

· The Internet.