Carmakers are wooing a new kind of consumer: one who’s too young to drive. Many are advertising in child-oriented areas such as gyms that cater to kids, social networking sites where young people hang out, and the Saturday morning cartoons. In Whyville.net, a digital world where nearly two million children aged 8 to 15 hang out, kids can buy virtual Scion xBs if they have enough “clams” (Whyville’s monetary unit). If not, they can meet with Eric, a virtual Toyota Financial Services adviser, to finance an xB replica they can use to tool around while in-world. Why bother pushing cars on kids? That’s easy: About one-third of parents say their children “actively participate” in car-buying decisions.
Young consumers make up three distinct markets:
Primary market—. Kids spend a lot on their own wants and needs that include toys, apparel, movies, and games. When marketers at M&Ms candy figured out who was actually buying a lot of their products, they redesigned vending machines with coin slots lower to the ground to accommodate shorter people, and sales rose dramatically. Most children choose their own brands of toothpaste, shampoo, and adhesive bandage. A large survey of kids aged 6 to 11 also revealed these tidbits:[61]
Seven percent have visited or used MySpace.com in the past month.
Ten percent have downloaded music online in the past month.
Six percent have written or read an online journal or blog in the past month.
Fifty-four percent have televisions in their rooms.
Twenty-six percent have stereos in their rooms.
Nineteen percent have computers in their rooms.
Influence market—. Parental yielding is the polite way to describe what occurs when a parent “surrenders” to a child’s request. Yielding drives many product selections, because about 90 percent of requests to a parent are by brand name. Researchers estimate that children directly influence about $453 billion worth of family purchases in a year. They report that, on average, children weigh in with a purchase request every 2 minutes when they shop with parents.[62] In recognition of this influence, Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup created a $6 million campaign to target kids directly with humorous ads that show the lengths to which adults will go to get the syrup bottle to talk to them. An executive who worked on the campaign explained, “We needed to create the nag factor [where kids demand their parents buy the product].”[63]
Future market—. Kids have a way of growing up to be adults, so savvy marketers try to lock in brand loyalty at an early age. That explains why Kodak encourages kids to become photographers. Currently, only 20 percent of children aged 5 to 12 own cameras, and they shoot an average of only one roll of film a year. The company produces ads that portray photography as a cool pursuit and as a form of rebellion. It packages cameras with an envelope to mail the film directly back so parents can’t see the photos.