marketing matters
Targeting Kids of Different Ages
by Erinn Morgan
Kids can be your most hard-to-please customers. Yet, as consumers, they are hard to ignore. "Our research shows that the child has an influence on 80 to 90 percent of household purchasing decisions," says David Siegel, founder and president of Wondergroup, a kids' marketing agency, and co-author of Marketing to the New Super Consumer Mom & Kid by Tim Coffey, David Siegel, and Greg Livingston (2006, PMP).
How can you better target these super consumers? Talk differently to children of different ages.
THE CHILD (AGES TWO TO EIGHT)
Do's: Target with simple messages. "They are more concrete and not into abstract thinking," says Siegel. These children are also into family, love, and warmth, so warm, soft cartoon characters appeal to them.
Don'ts: "Keep it simple, simple, simple, with no jumping around," says Siegel. "You have to have a start and finish on one central point."
In Practice: "With little kids, we try to keep it fun," says Denise Abrego, optician at Children's Eye Care in Torrance, Calif. "They want us to be entertaining and enthusiastic."
THE TWEEN (AGES EIGHT TO 14)
Do's: When kids hit age eight, they begin to understand more abstract thoughts and are aware of themselves as individuals. "They need products that make them think ‘Hey, this was made for me,’" says Siegel.
Tweens also look to their friends to build their own identity. "They'll want to pick a pair of eyeglasses that make them look good in school," says Siegel. "They don't need to look cutting-edge, but they can't look wrong."
Don'ts: "The deadly mistake in marketing to a tween is marketing too young," says Siegel. Keep in mind that the cartoon characters that work for young kids actually repel tweens.
"The second one is assuming they understand you and marketing too old," he notes.
In Practice: Kids tend to be in a hurry to grow up, so relate to them accordingly. "It's all about being their buddy, regardless of age," says Abrego. "But we try to treat older kids more in an adult way and respect their opinions." EB
| CREATING AGE-APPROPRIATE DISPLAYS |
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| ■Use bright colors; they work for every age group. "We are designing a store for tweens and not doing anything different with their colors—they are all bright, vibrant, and cheerful," says David Siegel of Wondergroup, a children's marketing agency. ■ Know that the same colors work for both genders, but retailers that have the space can focus more on pinks and purples for girls and blues for boys. ■ Separate kids' and tweens' frames on display. "We have it arranged by age group, with a section for boys 10 and under, a section for girls 10 and under, and then we have teens and tweens," says Paul Zinser, an optician at Physicians Optical, a pediatric dispensary in Columbus, Ohio. ■ Use images that attract kids in each age group. "We went out and bought decals of Spiderman and Superman plus Disney characters and Scooby Doo," Zinser says. "For tweens and teens, we try to use sports-themed things." |
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