ethics - marketing to children

Marketing to Children

Patrick CruvellierKirsten Ewan

Jessica HirschKrishanthi Jeyarajan

Dany Théberge

Children as Consumers A lucrative target market

Areas of Influence:• Current consumption• Influence over parents• Future spending

$100 billion spent of individual and parent’s money Aggregate spending tripled in past decade

Recommendations LessonsEthical Issues Ethical Scandal Positive Practices Regulations

"If you own this child at an early age, you can own this child for

years to come.“

- Mike Searles, Kids R’ Us President

Power Over Children A highly influential consumer group

Developing brand loyalty & consumer habits Sensitive to external influences ; accept without question Age & Perception Timeline:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

- Begin asking for items

- Make own choices- Can recognize brands

- Cannot distinguish between programs & ads

- Most susceptible age group

- Can understand persuasive intent

Marketing Mediums Channels of communication

Host-selling Text Messages School Internet• Unsupervised• Divulgence of elicit personal information

Television• Children aged 2 – 17 watch 15, 000 to 18, 000 hours

of TV per yearRecommendations LessonsEthical Issues Ethical Scandal Positive Practices Regulations

Psychological Repercussions Effect beyond the wallet

Perception versus reality Pressure to conform to group standards; ads define “norm” Affects perception of the world Mental and physical consequences

Changing Values Impact on a developing value system

Marketer’s job: to push product Indifferent to their influence on children’s value development Parents stress character values (i.e. Integrity) Marketing stresses materialistic values (i.e. Consumption)

Materialistic Values What really matters?

Material Goods• Narcissistic Wounding• False sense of self-esteem• Playground politics

(competition) Lifestyle Choices• (Poor) Eating Habits• (In)Activity

Consumer DevelopmentHow behaviour is cultivated

Development of a consumer from an early age

Observing Requesting Selecting Purchasing Independence

1 53 42

Parent – Child Relationships A changing bond

Pester Power Targeting parents through children Difficult to decrease exposure

Health ImplicationsLasting consequences to a serious problem

Each year the average child views 40, 000 commercials on TV alone,

promoting candy, sugared cereal, soda and fast food

(Lempert, 2005)

Industry Marketing TacticsFood and beverage advertising mechanisms

Videos Online games Product placements Character licensing (cartoon characters) Celebrity endorsements Special Events In-school promotions

Advertising and ObesityA growing epidemic

300% increase in rate of either overweight or obese children Phenomenon of the past three decades

Ethical Scandal – Cheetos Marketing to children, gone wrong

1992 – Many shows are based on children’s toys Frito-Lay and Fox Broadcasting create a Saturday morning cartoon Yo! It’s the Chester Cheetah Show• Would be the first show based on

brand mascot

Ethical Issues - Cheetos The impact of a brand-based cartoon

No reason for being, other than to sell Promotes an unhealthy snack Does not stimulate imagination• Show based solely on brand mascot identification

Deceptive: hard for children to distinguish between a commercial and a show

Stakeholders - Cheetos Who is implicated in this case?

Public• Interests represented by Action for Children’s

Television (ACT)• Outraged over controversial show concept

Frito-Lay• Decided to not show Chester eating

Fox Broadcasting• Viable business opportunity but wants to avoid

controversy

Values Involved - Cheetos What is the value scope of this case?

Chester the Cheetah: a child’s hero?• Selfish, sly, sneaky, usually depicted as stealing

Cheetos Materialism• Only created for promotional / consumption

purposes Social Issue• Kids developing own values adopting those of Frito-

Resolution - Cheetos How did it play out?

ACT started a petition, demanding that the show be cancelled Media pressure resulted in Fox cancelling the show No government legislation Frito-Lay created other promotional mechanism: video game• Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool

Positive Ethical Practices – Kraft Inc. A market leader in safe marketing to children Revised nutrition standards Limited used of licensed characters Sensible Solutions No marketing in schools Innovation in healthy products Phase out TV, radio & print ads for least nutritional foods (targets 6 to 11)

Kraft Inc. A new focus on healthier products

Positive Marketing DevelopmentsOther pioneering companies and practices Annie’s Homegrown Noodles Nickelodeon & Dora the Explorer Nutrition shift Limited use of licensed characters Independent monitoring and reporting

International Regulations Stricter rules protecting the interests of children

Sweden (since 1991)• Prohibition of all television advertising aimed at

children under the age of 12 World Health Assembly• “In securing the health of all the world’s people, we

need to build, finance and sustain health systems.”- Jane Halton, President of the 60th WHA

Recommendations Manager Specific

Be aware of impact on children Use resources to promote positive messages Use moral awareness Condemn unethical marketing practices Inform employees

Recommendations Government Specific

Unhealthy habits persist into adulthood Government (of Canada) must care for avoidable

problems Governments should monitor media messages• Healthy living ideals• Anti-smoking campaigns• Anti-drug campaigns

RecommendationsPublic Specific

Parents should:• Monitor & minimize exposure• Educate children

Consumers should:• Demand ethical marketing from companies• Not tolerate unethical campaigns

Lessons To You What can we take away from this topic?

Critical thinking Questioning Smart consumption Sustainability

Dilemma

With elementary schools facing limited government

funding, what are the ethical factors involved in

corporate sponsorship?

Questions?

ethics - marketing to children

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