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Marketing to Children

I recently looked into how marketers target whole campaigns at children. It may seem strange at first as they are not the ones making the final decision as to what to buy, but they do have a very effective method of affecting what their parents buy: nagging.

We all know about McDonald’s successful “Happy Meal” product design that kids can’t help but want. Some of us may even remember how we had to carefully persuade our parents to buy us these happy meals.

Is it ethical?

Considering that children’s brains are not as developed as adults, nor do they normally have the capacity to resist an urge, targeting them can be seen as being unethical. It is widely known that McDonald’s food is the healthiest food we can eat; to say the least. It targets kids who are growing up who need proper nutrition.

Formulating Young Kids’ Preferences:

Kids who go to McDonald’s develop the habit of urging for it occasionally, something they may carry forward far into the future. This may be why McDonald’s holds such an advantage the number of families it attracts. Its’ competitors have tried to appeal to younger crowds but have not had nearly as much success as McDonald’s.

My Marketing Blog

Hello internet,

I recently read an interesting article on about Pepsi and CocaCola’s rivalry for the soft drinks market in India. As the economy grows people begin to have more income to spend on soft drinks among other cheap goods. As soon as such opportunities are seen by big brands such as Pepsi, they quickly penetrate the market and begin marketing their brans heavily. They also buy smaller local competitors that are established in the local market and make use of its distribution channels and knowledge about the market.

A little history about the rivalry:

CocaCola was the first to introduce their brand in India in the late 1970’s. After the government demanded that they partner up with a local firm, resulting in the spread of Coke’s secret formula. This cause Coke to pull out of the market. After a decade, the macroeconomic environment began to evolve and regulations were softened. Pepsi was the first to enter this time around.

Genious Marketing Idea:

Pepsi had entered the market and cleverly began a huge marketing campaign led to “Pepsi [becoming] a common synonym for cola in India’s most widely spoken language after having the market to itself for three years until 1993. PepsiCo Inc.’s linguistic advantage translates into higher sales. Its cola brand’s market share is 73 percent greater than Coke’s, according to Euromonitor, a consulting firm”.

*Source

Impressive. Pepsi used their first-mover advantage and created a competitive advantage that they enjoy to this day.