During the last few weeks, there has been a lot of talk about how aggressive brands are about targeting kids without taking into consideration how parents may feel like. These brands get a lot of bad publicity for doing so and sometimes it can backfire on them. Kids are extremely important to the development of a brand and to the growth and survival of it. So, how can you target kids without putting your brand at risk? Can you truly make everyone happy and everyone love you and your brand?
A successful family marketing promotion is about balance.
No matter what great concept you come up with, how cool of a give-away you are going to use, or what kind of media you choose to communicate it; if you want your promotion to be a success (why wouldn’t you?), you NEED it to be balanced. The balance I am talking about is the balance between what parents like and expect versus what appeals to kids.
Let’s face it, as adults we still have a little inner kid in us. We still like to have fun and if we have kids, we want our kids to have fun and enjoy themselves, within reason, of course. Easy concept, correct? What happens most of the time is that certain promotional items are skewed towards either kids or towards parents. Some items are too safe and mean no harm or offense, so in some cases, they could be categorized as boring. A promotional concept that targets kids does not need to be offensive, aggressive or gross to capture the attention of the little ones, and they certainly do not have to be plain and boring to attract the attention of parents. So how do we keep concepts and ideas well balanced and in harmony?
There are several things to keep in mind but I believe the most important one and that one I have chosen to focus on is value; more specifically, perceived value.
Perceived value in Adults: This is something that is key to keep things in balance. When parents and adults think of perceived value, the first thing that comes to mind is quality and the relation of what they are paying versus what they are getting in return. There is a popular saying: “You pay for what you get”. Let’s dig in a little deeper. Today, there are lots of offerings at restaurants, online promotions, trial packages, etc., in which most of the time, the product/item/toy will be offered free of cost with a purchase of something else (ie: a toy is free with the purchase of the meal). That does not mean that parents are not to expect a high quality item for their kids simply because they are getting that given item free. Simply put, make sure your give-away matches your brand, EVEN if you are giving away the item free of charge. If you pride yourself of having a great restaurant, with a pleasant atmosphere, hip and trendy with delicious food, then the give-away needs to match your restaurant. If you use a coloring book with crayons, don’t use something generic and boring. Use something trendy with modern characters and tied to contemporary themes. If you have a brand that exemplifies staying green, that prides in using recycled goods and gives back to the community, then by no means should you use an item that consists of materials that oppose your cause. Stay with something green that fits your brand. Look around you – there are plenty of marketing flaws in which products and giveaways do not complement the brand; they actually fight it. Don’t be that brand.
Kids’ Expectations: What do they expect when it comes to value? Kids’ expectations are different. Kids want to have fun right now and right away. Kids are sophisticated and kids’ trends and likes change considerably faster today than several years ago. So make sure you stay current with trends, movies, with what is popular, etc. Kids today prefer brands that give back and that help the environment. They will value your efforts to do the same. Go with the flow and learn to appeal to those causes. It is never too late to start learning and adapt to trends. Kids and teens communicate at great speeds through texting, emailing, chatting, FB’ing, etc. Make one happy and soon you will have a big following. Make one mad, and by association, you already alienated not only them, but potentially his/her friends and classmates, which combined, represent a much larger potential group of clients. Kids will value your efforts to target them if you do it with respect and keeping their feelings in mind. Don’t be cheesy. Do not treat kids like kids. Kids are small adults and they do take notice of your efforts. Think like a kid.
So, what is balance? Balance is weighing the odds. What are the odds of this item being liked by kids and not turning parents off? Balance is harmony and the ability to put a smile in kids’ faces without making parents mad. That is balance.
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