1. Introduction
Why Market
To Children?
There
are three primary reasons companies target children (preschoolers to late
teens) when marketing their products and services. First, as a primary
market, children have become a legitimate market, with vastly increased
purchasing power. Second, children serve as an influence market, with a
huge impact on their parents’ purchasing decisions. Susan Linn of the Boston
Globe (2000) estimates that children directly control $24.4 billion a year in
potential revenue, and they influence another $300 billion. And third, children
are the adult purchasers of tomorrow – the future market. The ultimate
goal of marketers is to instill lifetime brand loyalty in children. The following
references address reasons for marketing to children.
Leonhardt,
David and Kerwin, Kathleen. Is Madison Avenue taking
"get'em while they're young" too far? Business
Week, 06/30/97
Issue 3533, p62.
This article describes the aggressive
marketing approach shown by producers marketing to children. It shows the
potential market of the latest generation of children, and addresses not only
the sheer numbers but the wealth of this generation. Discusses commercials
shown to children, advertising in child-specific media, products designed for
children, and marketers’ attempts to sell to parents through children.
Linn, Susan (2000, January 16). Electronic Marketing:’Here, Kiddie, Kiddie!’ The Hours that Children Devote to TV. The Boston Globe. http://jbcc.harvard.edu/media/electronic_marketing.htm
This article discusses the increasing impact of media on
children, and advertising executives’ desire to capture the lucrative youth
market. Marketing concepts such as lifetime brand loyalty, the “nag factor,”
employment of psychologists, cross-marketing, product placement, and saturation
marketing are discussed. The author promotes protection of children from the
marketing onslaught and the pressures of incessant advertising.
McNeal, James U. Kids'
markets. American Demographics, Apr98, Vol. 20 Issue 4, p36.
Discusses how companies are targeting the
child consumer markets, kids' products that are being marketed, information on
the distinct consumer markets – primary, influence and future, and forecasts
the market potential of kids.
McNeal, James U. (1992). Kids as Customers: A
Handbook of Marketing to Children. New York: Macmillan, Inc.
An
excellent handbook for marketers interested in targeting children. How changes
in the family structure have impacted the children’s market and how children
have emerged as influential consumers. Children’s income, savings, and spending
patterns. Changes in marketing strategy over the past few decades. Marketing to
the vast overseas children’s market. How kids influence their parents’ decision
making.
Rice, Faye. 'Superstars'
of spending. Advertising Age, 02/12/2001, Vol. 72 Issue 7, pg1.
This article presents a special report on
how United States
advertisers are trying to market to children and young teenagers – so-called “tweens,” or older children who are not yet teenagers. The
article discusses the increase in this age group's spending power, marketers'
efforts to build brand loyalty, the role of child psychologists in helping
marketers to target youthful consumers, and children's strong opinions on the
kind of advertising they like.
Rosenberg, Janice. Brand
loyalty begins early. Advertising Age, 02/12/2001,
Vol. 72 Issue 7, ps2.
Discusses marketers' efforts to build
brand loyalty early in United States children. Covers the role of the so-called “tween”
market, which falls between young children and pre-teens, presents a
statistical breakdown on how children like to spend their money, the amount of
money children have to spend each week, and children's attitude toward
advertising.
Stipp,
Horst. New ways to reach children. American Demographics, Aug93, Vol. 15
Issue 8, p50.
This article discusses the need to rethink
marketing strategies aimed at children. Outmoded assumptions regarding changes
in young people's development are discussed, along with the reasons for a rise
in children's spending, children’s influence on parent's purchases, and the
importance of choosing the right media for marketing.
Today's kids are consumers
of play. Drug Store News, 06/07/99, Vol. 21 Issue 9, p66.
Provides information on the evolution of
children consumers in the United States.
Includes comments from Jim Mitchell, general manager of Small Talk, a marketing
firm specializing in marketing to children, statistics on children consumers in
the country, a discussion on the attitude of young consumers, as well as
diversity among youth consumers.
2. Traditional Marketing to Kids
Retailing
Retailers
have changed their approach to children as consumers over the past few decades.
Where once children were looked at as potential shoplifters – an extension of
their parents – they are now viewed as an important source of purchasing power
and future business. Kids now make purchases in a wide variety of retail
outlets, both with their parents and without. As retailing has become more
competitive, many retailers have come to recognize this key market segment and
develop strategies to capture their business. Several marketing strategies have
been developed by retailers to target children – development of more kids’
product lines, credit cards for kids (through parents), entertainment areas
(videos/reading areas), kids’ clubs, kid-oriented visual displays (colorful
signs and lighting), kids’ fashion shows, placement of items that kids want
near the checkout line, placement of kid’s items at eye level, focus on
designer brands and providing a large variety of kid’s items, “teen” sections,
kid’s menus, cross-marketing, training of store personnel to value and assist
children customers, and a variety of other marketing techniques – all aimed at spurring sales and developing
loyalty among kids.
Hefty Sales. Discount
Merchandiser, October 1998, Vol. 38 Issue 10, p74.
Reports that retailers in the United States
are targeting larger-sized children to increase their sales and profit gains.
The article discusses the overweight children's market, retailers that have
expanded their children's extra large sizes, and the boom in sales of school
uniforms.
McNeal, James U. (1992). Kids as Customers: A
Handbook of Marketing to Children. New York: Macmillan, Inc.
A
handbook for marketers interested in targeting children. This book contains an
excellent analysis of kids’ impact on retailers of various types, how retailers’
views have changed, and what steps retailers should take to address this
important market segment.
Williams, Laura A.;
Burns, Alvin C. Factors Affecting Children's Store Loyalty: An Empirical
Examination Of Two Store Types. Journal of Applied Business Research,
Winter2001, Vol.17 Issue 1, p61.
This research is an empirical examination
of the factors that affect children's store loyalty. Specifically, the effects
of impersonal communication, interpersonal communication, experience, and
perceptions of affective and functional qualities of store image are examined
as to how they impact children's store loyalty. Results suggest that prior
experience and impersonal communications are important in the formation of a
child's perception of a store's image. In turn, the child's perception of the
affective and functional qualities of a store's image are fundamental to a
child's store loyalty. These findings were supported for both a
mass-merchandise discount store and a specialty store. Managerial implications
for retailers interested in building store loyalty with children are discussed.
Advertising
The
advertising part of the marketing communications mix has become the “hot
button” of controversy with regard to marketing to children. Issues abound,
including manipulation, fairness, and appropriateness. Television advertising
remains the primary channel for reaching the kid’s market, but the following
media are also used: magazines, mail, display advertising, movies, advertising
in schools, newspapers, radio, videos, and the Internet. Marketing strategies
targeted to children are becoming more integrated, with a variety of
advertising strategies meshed with other communication channels. The following
references address the topic of advertising to children.
Campbell, K.;
Davis-Packard, K. How ads get kids to say, I want it! Christian Science
Monitor, 09/18/2000, Vol. 92 Issue 207, p1.
Reports on the increased criticism of the
practice of marketing to children. It discusses the influence of children on
household purchases and questions practices by the advertising industry –
suggesting that children must have a particular toy in order to be socially
successful. Other criticisms include the allegation that television ads
reinforce in male minds that they are violent and in female minds that their
worth is determined by their physical appearance.
Conover, Kirsten A. Why
Johnny has to have those sneakers. Christian Science Monitor, 02/10/98,
Vol. 90 Issue 52, p13.
This article looks at the ongoing
controversy surrounding marketing to children. It discusses the rise in
marketing and advertising to children, the potential marketing power of
children, the controversy surrounding marketing in schools, and commercial
pressures that children face.
Fox, Roy F.
(1996). Harvesting Minds: How TV Commercials Control Kids. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger
Publishers.
A
detailed study of the effect of commercials on children. Addresses how
commercials are designed to attract kids, how kids evaluate and respond to
commercials, and how commercials affect kids’ behavior (consumer and
otherwise). The author suggests that commercials play a significant role in
kids’ lives, that kids accept, value, and embrace television commercials, and
that kids buy what they see in commercials. The author recommends actions that
can be taken by parents, schools, and regulators to diminish kids’ exposure to
advertising.
Gay, Kathlyn (1992). Caution!
This May be an Advertisement: A Teen Guide to Advertising. New York: Franklin Watts.
An
excellent analysis of advertising to teens. Shows how advertisers use
persuasive techniques to get teens to buy products, and how advertising
messages are conveyed through the various media. Also includes discussion on
the history of advertising, current marketing strategies, consumer issues, and
regulations impacting advertising to teens. Specific chapter on marketing to
target groups: students, teens, drinkers/ smokers, health conscious teens. The
author also provides recommendations for “smart shopping,” including comparison
shopping and validating advertising claims.
Henderson, Shirley.
Youth quick to get the ad facts. Advertising Age, 02/12/2001,
Vol. 72 Issue 7, p2.
This article reports on studies which
suggest that United States
children are knowledgeable about advertising, and that they know what they want
to do with their own money. Discusses the 'KidTrends
2001 Report,' by Children's Market Research, the “tween”
demographic group (between the child and pre-teen markets), and presents
comments from individual children on what they do and do not like in
commercials.
Hollander, Stanley C. and Germain,
Richard (1993). Was There a Pepsi Generation Before Pepsi Discovered It?:
Youth-Based Segmentation in Marketing. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group.
Provides
a historical perspective on advertising to youth, the use of youth in
advertising, and targeting youth with advertising.
Kline, Stephen (1993). Out of the Garden: Toys,
TV, and Children’s Culture in the Age of Marketing. London: Verso.
This
book looks at the history of marketing of toys to children via the mass media
and its impact. The author suggests that the cultural effects of television and
mass marketing to children are negative in nature. A “host of stereotyped
figures around which children can organize their imaginative experience” have
evolved that diminish the value of other experiences in children’s lives – such
as reading books, imaginative street play, and family experiences.
Kraak, Vivica and Pelletier, David L. How Marketers Reach Young
Consumers: Implications for Nutrition Education and Health Promotion Campaigns.
Family Economics & Nutrition Review, 1998, Vol. 11 Issue 4, p31.
Provides an overview of the advertising
techniques, styles and channels marketers use to reach children and teenage
youth. Discusses how knowledge of market research methods, marketing
strategies, and techniques can be used to design more effective nutrition
education and health promotion campaigns for young consumers. Includes
marketing concepts that can be used for planning a social marketing program.
Linn, Susan and Levin,
Diane E. Shielding children. Christian Science Monitor, 09/22/2000, Vol.
92 Issue 211, p11.
This article argues that the advertising
practices of the marketing industry are harmful to children. It discusses ways
in which companies market to children, the role of television viewing in the
dissemination of marketing content, the marketing of violent content to
children by the entertainment industry and its impact on the way that children
behave, and marketing by fast-food companies to children and its impact on
children’s health. The authors suggest that young children are extremely
vulnerable to manipulative advertising – advertising that affects their health,
safety, and creativity.
Lipscomb, Elaine and Evers, William D. (2001, March
16) Impact of Television Commercials on Food Preferences of Preschoolers. Purdue University School of Consumer and Family
Sciences. eFood RAP, Volume 11, Number
6. http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/extension/efr11-06.htm.
This
article reports the results of research conducted on a group of preschool
children. Researchers evaluated the impact of television commercials on food
preferences. The study showed that the food preferences of the preschool
children tended to reflect the television commercials they viewed. Researchers
recommended that parents limit their children’s exposure to television
commercials, that parents explain to children the purpose of commercials, and
that children be taught the difference between healthy and non-healthy foods.
Solomon, Michael R. (1996). Consumer Behavior:
Buying, Having and Being. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Textbook
on all aspects of consumer behavior. Includes an excellent section on children
in the marketplace – the impact of the growing children’s market, targeting
children, building brand loyalty, and understanding and appealing to the teen
market. Contains several examples of print advertisements aimed at youth.
To talk to kids,
companies usually need translators. Brandweek,
2/13/95, Vol. 36 Issue 7, p26.
Presents guidelines for marketing to
children and discusses the difficulties of present-day marketing to children.
Reports on the annual spending power of children and how children in the 8 to
17 segment break down their purchases. Includes the following guidelines:
assume nothing, kids seek attachment and familiarity, kids will not forgive
disappointment – you must deliver what you advertise, kids demand more
information on products these days, play up the “wow” factor, appeal to kids and
their parents for a “double-whammy.”
Cross-marketing
The
use of the cross-marketing technique has become an effective marketing
strategy. Cross-marketing occurs when a company uses a variety of vehicles
simultaneously to market their product. For example, PokemonTM
is a children’s card game, a movie, a television program, a computer game, a
video game, toys, clothing, and a McDonald’s Happy MealTM
toy! The goal is to saturate the kid’s market with as many images of their
product as possible. Another excellent example of a company that cross-markets
is Disney. The following reference discusses the topic of cross-marketing.
Linn, Susan (2000, January 16). Electronic Marketing:’Here, Kiddie, Kiddie!’ The Hours that Children Devote to TV. The
Boston Globe. http://jbcc.harvard.edu/media/electronic_marketing.htm.
This
article discusses the increasing impact of media on children, and advertising
executives’ desire to capture the lucrative youth market. Marketing concepts
such as lifetime brand loyalty, the “nag factor,” employment of psychologists,
cross-marketing, product placement, and saturation marketing are discussed. The
author promotes protection of children from the marketing onslaught and the
pressures of incessant advertising.
Market
Segmentation/Research
Age
segmentation and market research are important marketing techniques. The
segmentation of children as a target market has been done for some time.
Marketers are now further segmenting children into smaller target markets, both
by gender and by age group. For example, television programming (and the
advertisements shown during these shows) reflects the fact that preschool
children watch TV on weekday mornings, school-age children watch TV in the
afternoons and early evening, and teens watch TV late evening. There is a
distinct difference in programming during these times. Segmenting allows the
marketer to focus on the target market and use the appropriate message and
delivery technique. Market research
allows the marketer to profile target market segments and more effectively
program their marketing strategies. The more information the marketer has about
target markets, the more focused the marketing strategy can be. The following
references address segmenting and market research.
Acuff, Dan S., Ph.D. (1997). What
Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids. New York: The Free
Press.
A good “how-to” book on marketing to children.
Includes the authors’ specific process (Youth Market System) for developing a
marketing strategy for products aimed at children. The book tells how different
segments of the “kid market” make decisions, segmenting the market into birth –
age 2, ages 3 – 7, ages 8 – 12, and ages 13 – 15, and ages 16 – 19. Discusses
how gender differences in children impact marketing.
Bradley, Frank (1995). Marketing Management:
Providing, communicating and delivering value. New York: Prentice Hall.
A
comprehensive text on marketing management. Includes very good sections
covering both market segmentation and market research, including the design and
implementation of market research projects.
Boutilier, Robert (1993). Targeting
Families: Marketing to and Through the New Family. Ithica,
New York: American Demographics Books.
Discusses the
importance of families to marketers. Changes in the family structure in today’s
society and how they impact marketing. The four “Ps” and how they apply to
families. Decision making dynamics in the family unit. Market research in the
area of marketing to families.
Forsyth, J.; Gupta, S.; Haldar,
S.; Haul, A.; and Kettle, K. (1999). A segmentation you can act on. The
McKinsey Quarterly, Volume 3, p7.
Discusses
the concept of value-based segmentation, versus the traditional segmentation
based on demographics or geographical area. The difficulty of defining
value-based segments is that they don’t fit neatly into demographic or
geographic groups. The authors suggest that marketers think outside the box to
identify target segments that provide the maximum value. One example is the
self-selection approach, where marketers give consumers in a given market ways
to segment themselves.
Heuton,
Cheryl. No one's watching the kids. MediaWeek,
3/25/96, Vol. 6 Issue 13, p9.
Focuses on the lack of ratings data for children's radio
broadcasting in the United States. Impact on radio's marketability as a
marketing tool for advertisers catering to children below 11 years old; Reasons
for Arbitron's decision not to measure the market
segment; Marketers' call for data on the segment.
McNeal, James U. (1992). Kids as Customers: A
Handbook of Marketing to Children. New York: Macmillan, Inc.
An
excellent handbook for marketers interested in targeting children. This book
includes a chapter dedicated to marketing research among children – its
purpose, how to conduct research, and what problems might be encountered.
Techniques discussed include observation, laboratory experiments, role playing,
focus groups, and picture drawing techniques.
Use of
Promotions
Marketers
have used promotions to attract kids to their products for many years.
Promotions include the use of games and contests (“peel and win”, game pieces,
collect and win, etc.), distribution of free or discounted merchandise (“get a
free pack of baseball cards with each Mark McGwire
action figure!”), sampling, offering special “limited time” bargains (“this
sale only good until Saturday.”), and inclusion of toys or other “prizes” with
purchases (Cracker JackTM prizes,
McDonald’s Happy MealTM toys, cereal box
prizes). The following references include material on the use of promotions in
advertising.
Boyd, Malia. Look who's buying. Incentive, Sep94, Vol. 168
Issue 9, p76.
This article focuses on children as a
market force not to be ignored. Discusses the impact of promotional marketing,
using the example of McDonald’s Happy MealTM
– one of the most effective marketing tools ever devised for marketing to kids.
The article further discusses product characteristics ideal for children,
marketing plans that work on children, and examples of promotional marketing
techniques used by some major companies in United States
designed for children.
Bradley, Frank (1995). Marketing Management:
Providing, communicating and delivering value. New York: Prentice Hall.
A
comprehensive text on marketing management. Includes a section on sales
promotion. Covers the need for sales promotions, benefits of immediate
response, determining the appropriate use of sales promotions at different
stages of the product life cycle, developing sales promotion objectives, and
determining the success of sales promotions.
Gay, Kathlyn (1992). Caution!
This May be an Advertisement: A Teen Guide to Advertising. New York: Franklin Watts.
An
excellent analysis of advertising to teens. Shows how advertisers use
persuasive techniques to get teens to buy products, and how advertising
messages are conveyed through the various media. Cautions against being
“fooled” by advertising “gimmicks” and sales promotions that may not be
bargains at all. The author provides recommendations for “smart shopping,”
including comparison shopping and validating advertising claims.
Hollander, Stanley C. and Germain,
Richard (1993). Was There a Pepsi Generation Before Pepsi Discovered It?:
Youth-Based Segmentation in Marketing. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group.
Traces
the history of marketing to youth. Examines marketing campaigns aimed at
children, including Pepsi, Brylcreem, Hallmark, Brunswick, auto companies, Jantzen, RCA, and others. Discusses the impact of
promotion, pricing, distribution, product design, and targeting of youth.
Strasser, Susan (1989). Satisfaction
Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market. New York: Pantheon Books.
A comprehensive history of advertising, retailing,
sales and promotions, packaging. Includes many sample advertisements through
recent history, as well some discussion on marketing to children.
New
product development
The
development of new products targeted at the children’s market requires that
product developers consider the characteristics of the children’s market during
the conception and development stages. New product developers must work
hand-in-hand with marketing managers experienced with marketing to children.
This will ensure that developers take advantage of kids’ known patterns, and
will make the job of the marketing manager much easier “down the road.” The
following references contain material on new product development and marketing
to children.
Battersby, G. J. and Grimes, C. W.
(1996). The Toy and Game Inventor’s Guide. 2nd Edition. Stamford, Connecticut: Kent Press.
Specifically
directed at readers interested in developing new toy and game products.
Includes specific instruction on conception, research, development, and
marketing of toys and games. Describes the toy and game market/industry.
Walden, Gene and Lawler, Edmund O. (1993). Marketing
Masters: Secrets of America’s Best Companies. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
An
analysis of several of America’s most effective marketers.
Common characteristics of the best marketers. New product development
techniques. Discussion of the following companies’ marketing techniques:
Rubbermaid, Tyson Foods, Logitech, Gerber, McDonald’s, Subway, and others. Some
discussion of how certain companies market to children.
Kid’s
Marketing Leaders
McDonald’s
(www.mcdonalds.com) has long been
viewed as a leader in marketing to children. Although some argue the value of
turning kids on to fast food that may impact their health, none can argue their
success at winning kids’ loyalty to their products. There are scores of
articles that discuss McDonald’s marketing success, including the following. Other
companies that have achieved success marketing to kids include Disney, Lego,
and Nintendo.
Komenar, Margo (1997). Electronic
Marketing. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
A
guide to electronic marketing techniques. Includes information on marketing through
various electronic channels, examples of industry leaders in eMarketing, intellectual property issues related to
electronic marketing, and electronic marketing relative to children. Examples
of McDonald’s kids page, AOL’s Kids Only web page, and KidSoft
software.
Calkins, John D.; Eagle, Jevin
S.; Farello, Michael J.; Horn, Michelle B.; and Loch,
Mark A. (1999). You want profits with
that? The McKinsey Quarterly, Volume 4, p134.
Discusses
changes in the fast food industry and an important part of the strategic mix –
concept renewal. McDonald’s is highlighted as a company continually renewing
concepts – adding playgrounds, changing décor, menus, and promotions.
3. Aspects of
Online Marketing to Children
Brick-and-mortar businesses have long
understood the powerful combination of kids and money. Today, as the number of kids using Internet
is reaching 10 million, more and more companies are using Internet to market
their products to kids. Online
advertising has several characteristics that make it even more powerful than
traditional advertising:
·
It has no national boundaries and therefore is often unregulated
·
Children that participate in online activities become a part of the
online community and create a strong association with the brand
·
Advertising is interwoven with the content of the web site and is hard
to distinguish from entertainment, activities, and information
·
Companies are able to collect personal information about kids by
engaging kids in clubs, surveys, contests, and sweepstakes
·
Companies are also able to track kids’ tastes and preferences online
and customize online experience to their specific interests
A list of the most popular kids’ web sites is
provided by the Center for Media Education and can be found at: http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/teamed2/cmebest.htm
Media Awareness Network
(2000). Online Marketing Strategies.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/webaware/tipsheets/kds4sale.htm
In addition to traditional banner ads used to
market products on the Internet, companies that target kids in their
advertising use many other marketing strategies. The most common ones are creating communities
or virtual worlds, using “spokescharacters” to
promote products, and involving kids in interactive activities such as coloring
pages, crosswords, and word searches featuring brand-name products and their spokescharacters.
Tracy, K. Ad Models for the Internet: What Clicks with
Kids. KidScreen
Magazine. 03/01/01, p. 48.
Retrieved from http://www.kidscreen.com/articles/magazine/20010301/30801.html
The article talks about different advertising approaches
that are used by companies that advertise online and provides examples of
different ad formats. Banner ads, the
traditional format of online advertising, is still a great way to generate the
most mass, cost-effective reach for your message. “Adisodes” are
streamlined video/audio ads/cartoons that showcase an advertiser’s brand to the
audience (i.e. Nick.com). Stand along
product sites are used for promoting branded products (i.e. Pokemon.com) by
offering interactive video games and building a brand “community.” While there is no clear consensus on what
advertising strategy works best online, most believe that the integrated
approach should be used for advertising online.
Online
Shopping Issues
Van Nevel,
F. (2000). Digital Allowances: What
Parents Need to Know.
http://www.lgefcu.org/magazine/0200_d.htm
In the recent years, several companies
engaged in offering online allowances or “digital wallets” that allow kids to
shop on their own, but allows parents to control where, when, and how much
their kids can spend online. Kids can
spend their online allowances in e-stores, deposit it into a savings account,
or donate it to a charity. Some of the
“digital wallet” companies allow ATM withdrawals, and teach kids about
budgeting, and how they can invest their money in custodial investment accounts
or mutual funds.
Online
Privacy Issues
Arden, L. Kids Online: Surfing in Shark-Infested
Waters.
http://www.eref.net/privacy/features/kids_online.asp
Over 75% of web sites still
collect kids’ personal information without receiving parents’ consent. The information being collected from the kids
often goes beyond what is needed for identification. Kids are routinely asked for information
about parents, including their home address, employers, favorite hobbies or
music or sports. The article examines
multiple examples of privacy violations and provides recommendations what
parents can do to protect their kids online.
Digital Chaperones for
Kids. Consumer Reports Online. March 2001.
http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detail.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=18867&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=18151&bmUID=1005599167364
The article reviewed six Internet filters
including AOL’s parental controls. The investigation found that some filters
blocked nearly 20% of sites with legitimate content, and AOL’s Young Teen
control blocked 63% of those sites. The ability of filters to block inappropriate
sites also varied, with AOL’s Young Teen control allowing only one site out of
86 through in its entirety, along with portions of 20 other sites. The other
filters allowed at least 20% of the sites through in their entirety. The sites
were filtered through three basic methods: software analysis, human analysis,
and site content labels, such as the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA)
labels. The ICRA plans to release a free software program later this year which
will allow parents, schools, and other institutions to set up their own list of
permitted and blocked sites.
Lewis, M. (2001) Surprise! Children’s Web Info For Sale
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/7029.html
The article describes how one company (N2H2)
that monitors sites visited, pictures downloaded and information provided by
students at school, also sells that information to other interested
companies. The company reviews web site
access by kids and organizes it into 40 categories such as pornography,
e-commerce and auctions. The company
later sells the nonspecific information about students’ age, race and census
district for a yearly fee of $10,000.
The article points out that even though this practice is within the
legal standards, the boundaries of collecting and selling information about
kids might need to be revised in the future.
4. Marketing In
The Public Schools
A recent study from the U.S. General Accounting Office confirms
that advertising and commercial activities in public schools are widespread.
Safeguards protecting students against advertising do not exist due to
the absence of comprehensive state laws and regulations. The GAO states that advertising in the public
schools takes several forms including:
- Product
Sales, including exclusive contracts between schools and soda or fast food
companies, and other activities such as the sale of candy and gift-wrap;
- Direct
Advertising – Targets students with advertisements on vending machines and
school buses. It also includes
direct ads delivered thought electronic media outlets;
- Indirect
advertising – Occurs primarily when schools use corporate-sponsored
educational materials; and
- Market
Research Practices – Employ focus groups, student questionnaires, and
online tracking to capture students’ consumer habits. Included in this
group are companies that track individual students by age, gender, school
zip code and aggregate information describing students’ Internet
activities.
This section presents various examples of marketing within the
public schools, and the extent to which national organizations are building
momentum against such tactics.
References to several public-school advertising programs are provided. This includes three of the most controversial
programs: Channel One; Beverage Advertising and ZapMe!
Advertising in the Schools. ERIC Digest – Amy Aidman
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed389473.html
Illustrates why big business markets to children by citing
elementary school children having an estimated $15 billion of their own money
to spend annually of which they spend an estimated $11 billion on products such
as toys, clothes, candy and snacks. And that children influence at least $160
billion in parental annual purchases.
The article attempts to rally support for appropriate policies for
addressing the increasing flow of commercialization in the classroom.
From Billboard to Chalkboard: Advertising Creeps Into the
Classroom – Linda Starr
http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin056.shtml
This article illustrates that kids spend more than 20% of their
time in school, causing marketers to realize that “All roads eventually lead to
the schools”. Strategic reasons for
targeting students include: Influence how kids spend their own money; Affect
how kids influence their parents spending; and build brand loyalty among future
adult consumers. Corporate presence
continues to grow at a fast pace despite concerns of educators and parents due
to the sizable financial assistance that schools may realize. This is
especially true at a time when taxpayers are increasingly reluctant to raise
school budgets, when school spend enrichment programs are in danger, and when
teachers spend an average of more than $400 of their own money on classroom
supplies.
Channel One
Channel One
http://www.commercialfree.org/channelonetext.html
Presents extensive information on Channel One’s market share and
how Channel One provides schools TV sets, VCRs and a satellite dishs in return for airing its proprietary productions. The
article also discusses how school districts require their students to watch
Channel One as part of its curriculum and the rigorous criteria by which
schools commit to deliver “captive audiences” i.e., students to the viewing of
Channel One. Marketed as the “Leading
provider of television news and education program”, research indicates that a
significant part of each broadcast is devoted to advertising, sports, weather
and natural disasters, features, and profilers of self-promotion of Channel
One. Social economic patterns are presented
indicating that Channel One is disproportionately shown in low-income
communities and communities of color where less money is available for
education. While it uses public schools as an outlet for programming, Channel
One refuses to allow public access to its tapes and programs. Students spend
approximately six days of an average school watching Channel One, equating to
$1.8 billion dollars of annually-lost classroom time to watching Channel One
and $300 million in class time lost to commercials.
Commercial Alert – Protecting Children and Communities Form
Commercialism
http://www.commercialalert.org/channel_one/
Summarizes the negative impact of Channel one, including: Misuse
of the compulsory attendance laws to force children to watch commercial
advertising; Wastes school time; Promotes violent entertainment; Wastes tax
dollars spend on schools; Promotes the wrong values to children; May harm
children’s health; Corrupts the integrity of public education; and Promotes
television instead of reading. The
article also provides suggestions on how parents, local educators and concerned
citizens can take action against Channel One.
Testimony to the Senate Committee On
Health, Education, Labor And Pensions – Phyllis <
Herb Winston
