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Opinion Piece – Marketing to Kids
Article - Andrew Cook, director of sales
at leading prize promotion specialist, Unmissable,
says
With unparalleled spending power nowadays (not to
mention the slightly less savory ‘pester power’!)
relieving kids of their good will and the cash is
not, perhaps, as easy as might at first be thought
– sophisticated and worldly-wise is the least
of it! Progress in this age group relies on specialist
techniques and we talk to the experts to determine
how best to proceed if your target audience falls
somewhere in the under-16s.
With a specific focus on travel, lifestyle experiences
and consumer goods, Unmissable specialises in creating
and delivering bespoke solutions for consumer promotions
and staff / trade incentives.
We work in partnership with some of the UK's leading
Sales Promotion, Public Relations & Direct Marketing
agencies as well as some of the most recognised consumer
brands and leading commercial radio stations. Unmissable
has successfully delivered promotions utilising a
number of mechanics including, commercial radio, on-pack,
in store, print, online, SMS and television.
- Space Camp in Alabama
- Be a pop idol
- Recreate a game of Quidditch with the actual Harry
Potter flying team
- Kids stunt school
- Cordon Bleu Kids – Cookery schools for kids
- Ritz Kids – Hotel designed for kids
- Wizards & Witches training camp
- Mascot at a Premier League football ground
- Spend Halloween in ‘Hell’
- Play table football with a professional footballer
- Spend the day in the Bat Mobile or Harry Potter’s
Ford Anglia
- Learn to be a secret agent
- Go to the world’s biggest water fight
- Have a birthday party at Hamley’s toyshop
- Film & TV acting school for Kids
- Fashion school for kids
- Personal shopping trips for kids
Marketing to kids is a sensitive issue and many in
Europe would be happy to legislate against it. Whilst
Unmissable are not experts in European law aimed at
marketing to the kids / youth market, we can offer
some guidelines to help avoid any potential pitfalls,
ensure that whenever you are offering a prize at minors
that you have checked:
- Restrictions such as age / height / weight etc….
- Insurance is included where necessary
- Adult supervision is accounted for where necessary
- Where applicable parents in attendance
In terms of our experience in this area, I have outlined
a number of case studies of recent projects we have
worked on…
Case Study: Ribena Purple Popstars
The mechanic was an on pack promotion run in-store
in nationwide multiples across Ireland, with consumer
sending in their wrappers to win a chance to experience
life as a popstar with return flights from Dublin,
limo transfers, top hotel and a day in a top recording
studio to cut your own CD.
Case Study: Gadgets and Gizmos
Based on the boy genius ‘Jimmy Neutron’,
readers of the Funday Times in conjunction with Burger
King were given the opportunity to win a Sony Aibo
Dog or one of 20 stomp rockets and radio pens. Sony’s
RS 210 series AIBO Dog is a walking, talking autonomous
entertainment robot with highly interactive features.
Your AIBO takes its own decisions, displays different
moods and acts like a pet companion.
Case Study: Up Up and Away……
As part of their customer loyalty program HSBC ran
an incentive scheme aimed at customers with families,
which enabled both adults and kids to experience space
camp training in Alabama USA. U.S. Space Camp is a
five-day program jam-packed with astronaut training
for young people. Activities include simulated Space
Shuttle missions, IMAX® movies, training simulators
(like the 1/6th Gravity Chair), rocket building and
launches, scientific experiments, and lectures on
the past, present, and future of space exploration.
Case Study: Witches & Wizards School
Anchor Dairy Cream ran an on pack trick or treat
competition offering kids the chance to win a trip
to a secret witches and wizards academy. To enter
all they had to do was dress up as their favourite
witch, wizard, ghost or monster take a photograph
of themselves and send it in, with the scariest entrant
and a friend winning a trip to become apprentices
at the Wizards & Witches School!
Case Study: Be a Princess for a day
To celebrate the launch of the Princess Diaries
2 on DVD, IPC Media’s ‘Mizz’ magazine
ran a print promotion offering their readers the chance
to win a ‘day as a princess’. The day
was for one winner and a friend to travel to London
whereupon a limo picked them up and whisked them of
on a sightseeing tour via their swanky hotel in central
London. On the Saturday they headed of to TopShop
for a makeover session and £100 voucher to spend
on clothes, they even got to go to a show in the West
End as VIP guests.
Case Study: Slam Dunk trip to Florida
Briefed with sourcing a unique basketball experience
for 7UP, which would compliment the 'hip' image of
the game and the brands association with it, Unmissable
gave a family of 4 the trip of a lifetime to Miami
home of the NBA's Miami Heat. Not only did the prize
include return flights, hotel transfers, five nights
accommodation, tickets to a game and Miami Heat headgear
& jerseys - our winners were even able to attend
a charity event where they met some of the superstars
of the NBA. A truly slammin' prize...
- ENDS -
For further information,
please contact:
Jane Lowen, The Press Office, 01580 764721
jtlowen@aol.com
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