BETTER INSIGHTS. SMARTER DECISIONS. FASTER.
|
|
Download PDF Invoke Explores Mothers' Perceptions of Marketing to Children Mothers Still Concerned About Marketers, But Take Responsibility WALTHAM, MA - March 18, 2008: Invoke Solutions recently used their Engage Live and Open methodologies to conduct a 60-minute interactive research session with over 200 mothers of children under 18. The goal was to get a quantitative and qualitative read on how they feel about marketing to children, what is appropriate, and where the responsibility in protecting their children lies. We covered five main areas: general perceptions, brands and product categories, media exposure, shopping with children, and whose responsibility it is to protect children. 1. General Perceptions Overwhelmingly, mothers believe that there is too much marketing aimed at children (89%) and over half are extremely of very concerned about the situation (57%). One participant described the situation, “Advertisements come on the television about toys. Your child sees it and wants it. Then they pressure you into buying it and it may be suitable. Example: video games. A lot of the video games are not suitable for some children.” Said another, “Lots of these ads make children want things that are usually not good for them. The ads have lots of appeal to children but usually I have to be the bad guy and say no to the majority of them.” They fear that marketers will have a negative impact on a range of issues with the biggest being materialism (82% top 2 box), body image (72% top 2 box), childhood obesity (69% top 2 box), and low self esteem (65% top 2 box). One mother summed it up by saying “I think it sets an example about what is acceptable and "cool", and I don't want my kids to eat junk or feel they have to wear a certain kind of shoe to be accepted and friends with someone. There's enough peer pressure from school. They don't need more.” 2. Brands and Product Categories: The Good and the Bad Mothers are very aware of marketing that is targeted directly to their children (66% very or extremely aware) and are concerned about its impact, especially with unhealthy food items and inappropriate toys and games. Fast food and carbonated beverages were considered the least appropriate product categories to be marketing to children (70% of mothers labeled each of them inappropriate.) “Food items should not be marketed directly to children,” said one mother. “It is the responsibility of the parent to monitor what the child eats so you know that they are eating well.” Still, not all marketers were labeled as bad. Some of the brands that came up as most admirable were Toys r us, Kellogg’s, and Mattel. Also, brands that were considered to be selling healthy products or encouraging reading were seen in a favorable light. For example, one mother says she likes Scholastic books because “Scholastic Books sponsors book fairs in the schools and a portion of the sale goes back to help the school. They also match fund-raising efforts for schools.” 3. Media Exposure More and more children have access to their own technology which allows them to be exposed to marketers without supervision. Still, 83% of mothers claim to monitor their activity “frequently” or “all the time.” Some of the ways that they monitor include:
In terms of television viewing, 40% of mothers watch with their children most of the time with only 17% giving their children the ability to watch whatever they want, when they want. Instead, children are given approved shows or timeslots for their viewing. Even with television clearly having the largest impact on children of all media, 69% of mothers feel that their TV choices are age appropriate. 4. The Shopping Experience The efforts of marketers in reaching children directly take on a life of their own when moms bring their kids shopping with them. Clearly some marketing is working as 92% of mothers state that their children ask for specific products and brands when taken on shopping trips, especially in the toy, food, snack, game, and entertainment categories. While the impact of those suggestions varies across categories, most mothers give in at least sometimes saying they try to balance saying yes and no (66%) or say yes as much as they can afford to (17%). As one mother stated “my kids are most involved in picking out clothing, foods, toys and movies but don't always get to buy what they pick out.” Another focused on food and the benefits of letting children have an impact. “They are most involved in the grocery buying decision because they have to eat the food too and it makes it easier and more fun when they are involved in some of the decision as to what we buy. mostly snack food items.” 5. Responsibility: Who Owns It? Even with all of the negativity felt towards marketers and specifically those targeting children with unhealthy snacks and games, mothers still feel strongly that it is parents’ job to protect their children (89% agree) and that the media should play a more proactive role in limiting marketing to children(83% agree), more than they feel that schools and the government need to play a bigger part. In their own words:
If you’d like a transcript of the session or want to view the session dashboard (which includes more about the role of age and gender in mother’s perceptions, shopping habits, and media consumption) contact us at: josh.mendelsohn@invoke.com or visit http://www.invoke.com/index/topic_archive. About Invoke Solutions Invoke Solutions helps leading companies make better, faster decisions about their brands, products, communications, and customer strategies. Unlike traditional, costly research methodologies, Invoke’s Engage Business Solutions and Suite of Applications are specifically designed to provide a more engaging participant experience and give businesses faster, more useful qualitative and quantitative results. Invoke partners with leading global research firms and Fortune 1000 companies to enable faster, smarter decisions throughout the marketing and product innovation lifecycle. From brand exploratory research to final communications testing and product concept tests to in-home use studies, Invoke delivers the insight needed to move forward with confidence, faster. For more information contact: Josh Mendelsohn Director of Marketing Invoke Solutions Josh.Mendelsohn@invoke.com (781) 810-2710 |
