In general, my children refused to eat anything that hadn’t danced on TV.  ~Erma Bombeck

Over the past few decades the amount of solely children targeted marketing campaigns has exploded globally and is an evident part of everyday life in any average North American household. Marketers rely on a few key strategies to connect with kids, and in turn influence the purchasing patterns of parents. One of these strategies is known as “Pester Power” where marketers reach out only to children in the hopes that they will voice their wants and nag at their parents. Research has proven that children are given more and more choice as we move from one generation to the next which makes this type of marketing to children the most appropriate way to reach the one who will ultimately be making the buying decision.  Before marketers are able to get children talking about their products, however, they must find a youth friendly communication channel. A strategy marketers have employed to combat the over stimulated minds of kids is to use what is known as “Buzz or Street Marketing”. Buzz marketing involves connecting with some of the more popular or influential members of a demographic and having them communicate the value of a product. This can be accomplished through kids actually wearing the product or by using the technologically revamped word of mouth technique via the internet. One example of Buzz Marketing is when Hasbro Games created “secret agents” out of numerous elementary aged students and tasked them with playing their games with their peers. I believe this type of marketing is so popular and effective due to one person relating to another instead of being pitched a sale by someone they do not even connect with. Being able to envision themselves wearing, using and most importantly buying the product due to the commonalities between the reference character and themselves creates a sense of confidence that he or she may not have gotten through a scripted commercial.

Read more children oriented marketing techniques at

http://mediasmarts.ca/marketing-consumerism/how-marketers-target-kids