Horton Hears a Who!

Horton Hears a Who, a Dr Seuss story from 1954 hit theaters on March 14, 2008. The movie was adorable, from my point of view. Although some jokes were put in place for an older demographic, such as a who checking out her Myspace profile picture, I did not think any of the content was unsuitable for children. This movie stood up to its G Rating. 

My view of the impact the movie had kids may of changed if I was attending the premier in Mann Village Theater where Jim Carrey and Steve Carell were both in attendance. The main theme of the movie is that "after all a person is a person, no matter how small." A group of pro life activists saw this as an advantage to use against the ideas of abortion. After the protesters crashed the premier and delivered their ideas, they placed red stickers with the world life on their lips and marched around the event. 

TMZ reported that the audience seamed outraged and started shouting sayings such as "this is a kids premiere, how dare you!" I would have to agree with the audience. Although these protesters are not getting judged on how they are "marketing" themselves towards kids, they need to pay attention to the demographic of who they speak to. Yes I agree that the message for this movie did fit with their protest, but to enter into a theater filled with stars and their young kids in not an appropriate time or place. What is a parent supposed to say to a 7 year old who does not even understand sex yet when they ask "mommy, what is an abortion?"

My First Shades

A Press Release by 24-7 pressrelease announced today that Meyers Communications has added My First Shades to its client list. My First Shades is a company that recognizes the harmful effects of UV rays and the importance of protecting kids eyes while they are still young. The Company hopes that by teaming up with this strategic branding company they can become the sunglasses empire of kids shades.

My First Shades offers sunglasses with 100 percent UVA and UVB prection. They also use technology insure that the design of their glasses are comfortable to wear. They also focus on the fashion of the shades, because we all know a kid is not going to wear anything that is not
"cool."The company has sunglasses for kids ranging in age from newborns to 7 year olds. Below is a picture of a pear of their sunglasses for newborns to 3 year olds.

Dan Meyers, the CEO or Meyers Communications says "We are excited to partner with My First Shades to help develop and elevate their premium children's sunglasses to the highest level, not only do we believe in the My First Shades philosophy, we live by it."Meyers Communications is a multi-faceted agency with extensive experience in the children's apparel industry and should be able to sucessfully market this product to kids.

I think its a great idea to pear these two companies together. My First Shades is not only trying to create buzz about how harmful the sun can be on our eyes, but it is offering a high tech sunglass to solve the problem!

WWE marketing to kids

WWE, a wrestling program, has started to capitalize on the trend of marketing to kids. Although WWE has toned down a lot over the last ten years, people feel that it is still not suitable for kids. 

The VP of WWE marketing, Geof Rochester, said that " A large percentage of children in America get introduced to our brand from 6 to 10 years old. We say we have a strong kids audience, lets embrace that. We want a life long relationship with these kids." As a result WWE has created a kids magazine that will hit the stores in April of this year. They have also launched a separate website for kids that is linked from WWE's homepage next to a photo of a girl in a bikini. 

This new marketing campaign is going to create a lot of talk. I would have to agree with the article by James Caldwell. WWE still contains a lot of material that is not suitable for kids. Yet, the business is trying its best to do it in an ethical way. They have a page for parents that reads: "If parents make the decision to allow their kids to watch our programming, we encourage those parents to watch with their kids. We urge parents who allow younger children to watch our programming to explain that what our superstars do on television should not be  emulated or attempted in real life." If parents actually take the inactive to do as WWE suggests, advertising directly to them will not be as hazardous. Yet, if they fail to do so as many parents may, this could be dangerous for the safety of make young kids. 

Reaching kids through books

An article in The Age discusses the new trend of advertising to kids through product placement in books. A Company named HarperCollins in the U.S announced that it will be publishing a series of books that are targeted at 12 year old girls with full references to specific brands that agree to sponsor them. These Mackenzie Blue books will be written by Tina Wells, the chief executive for a marketing company that teaches companies on how to sell to teenagers and pre-teenagers. 

This article is filled with quotes from different professionals that are outraged at this announcement. A women named Pam Mclntyre, who teaches literacy at the University of Melbourne stated that she "thinks it's Dreadful. It's such cynical marketing that's got nothing to do with reading or promoting reading. Its just identifying young people as a vulnerable group." Christine Andell, who is a director of  the children's bookshop the Little Bookroom wonders what type of authors would allow this type of interference. She thinks its awful that they are attacking kids through books. 

This is not the first company to be participating in this type of product placement.  Two years ago Cathy's Book which was a mystery for young adults written by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman referenced cover girl makeup within its pages. 

I would have to agree with the professionals that are quoted in this article. Children are influenced by advertisements in almost everything they do. They turn on the TV and see an ad, drive down the street and see a billboard, or turn on the computer and receive a popup ad. I think it is going a little to far to try and influence children through literature. 

Limits on Food Ads for Kids

An article in the Wall Street Journal published last week, on March 15th, discusses how certain groups are urging the placement of restrictions on food ads for children. The Consumers International and the International Obesity Task Force have together created a code for marketing to kids that they hope the government will adopt. 

The groups want to ban ads for foods and beverages that are high in fat, sugar, and salt between the hours of 6 a.m and 9 p.m on both the radio and television. They also want to ban food ads on social network sites that are often used by a younger demographic, giving away gifts or toys as a way to promote unhealthy food, and the use of celebrities and cartoon characters in this type of foods ads. 

A spokesperson of Consumers International named Luke Upchurch says "What we're asking for is a global code so that consumers everywhere are protected from junk-food marketing. There's a disputer about what constitutes child marketing. The food industry world say under 12, but at least under 16 is what we want."

These groups are approaching health ministers in a hope that they will discuss the code during the World Health Assembly. This is an annual meeting that establishes policies that will be held in May by the World Health Assembly. If they enforce the code individual governments will have to decide if they would like to adopt this marketing restrictions through legislation.

Some companies such as General Mills, Kellogg, McDonalds, and PepsiCo have already started to participate in these types of restrictions. They all have pledged to not advertise to kids under 12 types of products that don't meet certain nutrition standards. Maybe thats why all McDonalds recent commercials feature happy means with milk and apples instead of soda and fries.

I think this is an important code that should be passed and enforced. Obesity has become such a major issue in our nation and needs to be dealt with at a young age!

Frosted Mini-Wheats

We have all seen the commercials produced by Kellogg for its Frosted Mini-Wheats that show a child performing better in school with their Mini-Wheat by their side from breakfast. A press release that was released today by PR Newswire proves that the claim these commercials make are really true. 

Kellogg recently commissioned a study to see if eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast can help children stay focused in school. The study found that eating a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal can help improve a kids attention in school by nearly 20%!!! The article explains that with many school districts administering standardize tests in the next couple of months, it is the parents job to make sure their children are eating a healthy breakfast. By doing so, they can greatly increase their scores.

Kellogg has taken these results and are already releasing them to the public through their a online site.  The interactive site, which is dedicated strictly to the Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal, grabs viewers attention to the results immediately with  a familiar talking Mini-Wheat that is seen in commercials. He states the results of the study and encourages consumers to learn more. I loved this site. You are able to watch commercials that are associated with this campaign. The commercials are funny, and grab kids attention through the cute character. You can also play mind games or send a "focus message" to your friends on their phones. The site is a great marketing tool to get kids involved with this product along with motivating parents to buy it!

Multi Media Platforms

Today the majority of kids are multi tasking between different media outlets. TV once was the dominant kids' medium, but it no longer holds their undivided attention. An independent research Firm that specializes in new media marketing conducted a study called Kids' Social networking study and found that marketers should be using multi media platforms to reach this demographic. 

The study found that 64% of kids go online while watching television with 49% of them saying that they do it anywhere between 3 times a week to several times a day! Therefore, placing content in one of these mediums will influence their behavior on another. By making a multi platform marketing campaign companies can instantly increase their frequency within this demographic. 

Peter Grunwald, the president of the Grunwald Association, stated that "The findings of the study strongly suggest that companies should use multi platforms-TV, online, social networking, handhelds and other interactive media-to create a synergistic communications effort and a compelling, highly interactive experience for kids. "

I completely agree with the article that published the results of this study. The article was published on the internet retailer, a site that specializes in strategies for multi channel retailing. The results of this study clearly indicate that by making a multi platform campaign a company can greatly increase their awareness among kids. This is a perfect example of taking a trend that exists in a certain demographic and turning it into a profitable campaign. 

PBS Kids Sprout

The first 24 hour  program targeting only preschool kids on TV  called PBS Kids Sprout launched a program called Sprout Smart on January 17, 2008. It is designed to encourage parents to connect with their kids about health, nutrition, safety and even social development. The goal is to each year release a new topic related to preschool health and development. 

This year the program is focusing on  Healthy Living a

nd Nutrition for preschoolers. Its subjects from January-March will focus on Getting ZZZs and teaching the importance of sleep. From April-June Sprout Smart will focus on Kids in the kitchen which highlights the fact that when kids are involved in preparing foods they are more likely to eat healthy. From July-September they will discuses the power of play and how important exercise is. Lastly, from September-December they will focus on being together at the table and how important it is to have family meals. 

Sprout is already a network that encourages healthy habits throughout all of its programming. Now by strategically teaming up with Mott's for 

Tots (a healthy unsweetened juice for kids) and KidsHealth.org (who focuses on a wide rang of health and family issues) they will only further develop their credibility. 

 The program started airing sprout smart PSA's on the 18th of January. As of February 15th, these PSA's were made available on Sprout on Demand. I think this company is doing an excellent job in marketing healthy habits to preschoolers through their parents. Creating healthy habits at this age can save a child from multiple health issues in the future. 

Fuse Marketing

Marketing to kids has become such a popular trend that the company Fuse was created

specializing in marketing to tweens and teens. Fuse youth marketing major discipline areas include sport marketing, music marketing,  and fashion marketing. By targeting these demographics through these areas, Fuse strives to associate a specific brand with the youths culture itself.  

Some clients that Fuse has successfully worked in include Pepsi, Motorola, Ford, New Balance, NBC, TAG, and Song. Although these companies are very different, they all share a common interest in connecting with these younger demographics.  

An article published in the Bulldog Reporter published on February 25, 3008 describes awebsite created by Fuse for a Dew Tour (a pro tour for action sports) for NBC sports in 2006.  The article describes Fuse's strategy to hit the youth where it counts with "sophisticated, frequently updated web content. The site ended up receiving heavy traffic (a 47% increase from the year before) and praises from fans and sponsors. As a result, the Tour has continued to be successful and the site is up and running for the 2008 tour!

These two pictures are examples of pictures from the site that attract the youth audience!

I think it is an excellent idea to have companies that specialize in targeting a specific audience. These companies have the skills and knowledge needed to successfully reach a targeted audience. This goes to show that sometimes outsourcing to another company has a lot more benefits than trying to do everything in house. Once NBC sports contacted Fuse, their awareness and traffic increased dramatically!