VOLUME
11
Heard
on the Playground
What's
New This Month
Tech
Trends
Kids
Tweens
Teens
Trend
Watch
Upcoming
Events in Youth Marketing
Heard
on the Playground
A
Little Dippity Do
A
recent study by the Association for Dressings and Sauces confirms
something that we have observed this year—Americans are eating more
dip than before. One
of the main reasons for taking the plunge is to get their children
to eat more veggies. Twenty-two percent of the parents polled admitted using dips
with the hope of getting their kids to consume more vegetables.
While
the study focused on the use of dips among adults, it was not a
surprise to see the high usage figures amongst the youth market. The continued popularity of Heinz Blastin’ Green and the new
Funky Purple ketchup illustrates that kids view sauces and dips
as another vehicle to make eating more fun.
Kids
don’t just use dipping to make vegetables more bearable.
They also use it to add fun to some of their favorite foods
like french fries, chicken nuggets and hot dogs.
Smooth
dips are the overwhelming favorite of the younger crowd versus chunky
dips. Kids may like
green and purple ketchup, but don’t add any strange lumps or specs
if you hope to gain their favor.
Their sauce has to be smooth.
In
an age where kids seem to do five things at once, they are able to
work in a little playtime while they eat, thanks to dipping.
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What's
New This Month
Teddy Bears
Get a New Type of Stuffing
PEZ
Candy Inc. and Applause LLC, a leading producer of plush animals,
have announced a partnership to create the first-ever PEZ Fuzzy
Friends™ candy dispenser.
The first series of new dispensers that will hit stores this
fall includes four different Teddy Bear designs that all have a
stuffed animal head, hands, feet and body.
The candy itself is still dispensed from under the chin of
each Fuzzy Friend.
The
colorful friends, with such names as Buddy Bear and Jade Bear, all
have movable arms and legs, and a backpack clip.
Similar to Beanie Babies, Fuzzy Friends are unique and come
with their own name, birth date, hometown and personality as well
as two rolls of the candy.
Fuzzy Friends have several attributes that youngsters look
for like collectibility, personality, portability and probably most
important, novelty giving them another way to carry their sweet
treats.
New
PEZ Fuzzy Friends will be released over the next year and additional
designs will also continue to be released.
They will be available at mass merchant outlets, gift and specialty
retailers, grocery and drug stores, and on the official PEZ website.
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Tech
Trends
Hitting
the Mark with Teens
The Target Corporation recently launched Bullseye,
a new online destination “devoted exclusively to teens”. It offers news on “what’s hot” in the ever-important worlds
of fashion, beauty, music and upcoming events.
The site also gets personal with regular horoscopes, advice
and quizzes—all features that teen girls in particular enjoy to
check out in their favorite magazines.
Visitors can scope out the latest trends in teen
clothing and accessories while they listen to the their favorite
music on Target Radio, be it pop, alternative rock or country.
For example, the fashion section gives those unsure of what
will be cool at school this year some pointers.
As always, denim is a staple of any back-to-school
shopping spree. However,
the choices have increased dramatically with flared, waist-less
and hip-hugger styles all getting the nod.
Glitter has relocated from skin to clothing like
shirts, pants, watches and belts.
That was really inevitable since rock bands from the ‘80s
have been anointed as fashion guides for this fall.
Fortunately for everyone, the beauty section of Bullseye
provides tips on make-up and hair so even if they dress like “glam”
bands Poison and Motley Crue, they won’t look too much like them
above the neck.
The interactive experience doesn’t
stop there. The “License
to Drive” sweepstakes gives older teens a chance to win a new car.
As always, free advice is nice, but not nearly as nice as a
free ride.
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Kids
Too
Young for a License?
A
recent article in Retail Merchandiser
examined the evolution of licensing opportunities with children’s
apparel and accessories. One
of the big opportunities is to have no license at all.
Several suppliers have in fact decided to offer a wider assortment
of “generic” non-licensed goods.
The
benefit of selling these generic products is that there are no royalties
and there are none of the rules associated with licensed goods.
Also, they have the ability to be more up to speed with current
fashion trends since there is no time lost waiting for approvals
from the licensor.
This
trend may continue since retail sales of character-licensed apparel
in the U.S. and Canada dropped from $910 million in sales in 1999
to $840 million in 2000. Approximately
seventy percent of character-licensed apparel is comprised of products
for children.
The
other directions that some suppliers are going include emphasizing
more music- and food-oriented products. Of course, children’s book licenses led by the popular Harry
Potter are continuing to do well.
While Harry Potter has proven to have some shelf life, choosing
a music-oriented license can be extremely risky and hard to manage
since products are often released at the same time as a new album.
Music
licenses do have fewer rules to follow which makes them an interesting
area for suppliers to pursue.
The looser rules however can’t change the fact that kids are
very fickle about their music. If an artist loses favor in their eyes, any licensed products
bearing yesterday’s stars will eventually wind up on the clearance
rack.
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Tweens
Making
Tattoos Good, Clean Fun for Tweens
You would be hard pressed to find a mother that would
let their tween get a tattoo, but KidGenics is betting that moms
will change their minds. Tooth
Tat 2’s were recently launched by the same company that makes the
60 Second Time Machine electric toothbrush, the first power toothbrush
specifically designed for children.
The Tooth Tat 2’s are made from water-soluble, food-quality
ingredients and last up to 24 hours.
They require a clean dental surface to stick properly.
The thought is that kids will do a much better job of cleaning
their teeth in order to attach designs like happy faces, hearts
and peace signs. More spooky designs like spiders, eyeballs and
black teeth will be available for Halloween.
The product is expected to reach stores by the fall and will
retail for $2.99 for a pack of 16.
Kids
will also have to brush their teeth to remove them. According to KidGenics, research shows that on average, a 5-year-old
only reaches about 25% of their tooth surfaces while brushing, and
11-year-olds only reach 50%.
KidGenics believes their core target is kids 7-
to 10-years-old. They anticipate tweens showing a lot of interest
as well as younger children who often aspire to emulate their older
siblings and friends.
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Teens
In It to Win
It
The
Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes for Special Surgery
in New York released a recent study on creatine, a performance enhancing
nutritional supplement, last month.
It was the first such study to look at the use of creatine
in middle and high school athletes.
The sample of 1103 student athletes found that 5.6% surveyed
admitted taking the supplement.
Use
was reported from 6th to 12th grade, but the
highest figure was among the oldest grade with 44% of high school
seniors reporting creatine use.
The most common reasons for taking creatine among users were
enhanced performance (74%) and improved physical appearance (61%).
The most common reason given by non-users for not taking
creatine was safety.
Dr.
Jordan Metzl of the institute says that if the study is representative,
there are probably more than two million kids and teens taking creatine.
This is a concern since it is still not known if creatine
is totally safe, plus it may lead to steroid use as young athletes
continue to look for a competitive advantage.
This
also exemplifies many teens’ overriding concern with their bodies
and their self-image.
Many feel that it is just as important to look good at their
sporting events as it is to perform well.
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Trend Watch
YU-GI-OH?!?
Gesundheit.
Want
to know a hot comic book, TV show, movie, card game and video game?
It will only take one guess…Yu-Gi-Oh, a 5-year-old phenomenon from Japan that is gaining
popularity in the United States. It is particularly popular among
tweens and teens since it is darker than Pokémon.
Yu-Gi-Oh,
which means King of Games, is a geeky high school freshman lacking
in both size and self-confidence that gets picked on by bullies.
He turns the tables one day when he solves an ancient Egyptian
puzzle and gains a second personality that allows him to battle
monsters in role-playing games.
Kids
WB is hoping that the $2 billion worth of Yu-Gi-Oh merchandise that
has sold in Japan is a sign of things to come once the animated
series begins in September.
There are also plans for video games to be released for Game
Boy Color in November, game cards to appear next year, and of course,
a whole line of toys and apparel.
4Kids
Entertainment holds the U.S. and European marketing and distribution
rights to the franchise.
The same group that brought Pokémon
to the States started to get the word out about the cartoon series
by sending out 1 million welcome packets to gamers 10 and up.
With
the introduction of this animated series and several licensed properties,
Yu-Gi-Oh will have a strong presence this holiday season.
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Upcoming Events
in Youth Marketing
Teen
Power 2001
September
23-26, 2001 Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Chicago
At the fifth annual
Mega Event, Teen Power 2001, scheduled for September 23-26, 2001,
the Kid Power Xchange will proudly serve as your host for a live
gathering of the best and brightest teen marketers. Thousands of
marketers worldwide have attended Kid Power Xchange events, and
have reaped the benefits of hearing from renowned teen marketing
gurus.
As
a valued colleague of Youth University, you will receive your choice
of a FREE workshop or $400
off the registration fee. To register, please call 800-882-8684,
email info@kidpowerx.com,
or visit www.kidpowerx.com. Be
sure to mention key code C*99WGEM
when registering to receive your choice of a FREE
workshop or $400 off the registration fee!
Kid
Clout: Marketing
to Kids 2001
October 4-5, 2001
Renaissance WorldGate Hotel, Kissimmee, Florida
The
Strategic Research Institute will bring together a range of kid
experts at KIDCLOUT: Marketing to Kids 2001 on October 4-5, 2001
in Florida. At this event, you will receive valuable information
and insights into the kids market. Presenters will take you into
the lives of kids, their friends, families and other influencers
with new insights and research that will expand your knowledge about
marketing to kids. Corporate case studies and new product developments
will help you develop successful marketing strategies for your own
business.
To
register, please call 888-666-8514, email info@srinstitute.com
or visit www.srinstitute.com/cm366.
Licensing
to Kids
December 5 - 7, 2001
New York Marriott East Side, New York
IIR's Consumer Kids and
LIMA present LICENSING
TO KIDS conference, December 5-7, 2001 at New York's Marriott Eastside.
A who's who of the licensing to kids business, including representatives
from: Hasbro, Spencer Gift, Dan River, FAO Schwarz, Infogrames,
Toys R Us, Nickelodeon, Vivendi Interactive, Cartoon Network, Sony
Pictures, Disguise, Lisa Frank, Activision, Marvel, Gullane Entertainment,
Play Along Toys, Shopko, Mead, Fun 4 All...and more! For more
information, visit: www.iirusa.com/licensing/,
call
Wendy Fullem at 212-661-3500 x 3018, or e-mail: wfullem@iirusa.com...Coming
soon:
www.consumerkids.net
Talking
to Teens
January 23-25, 2002
The Roosevelt Hotel, New York City
IIR's Consumer Kids presents
the sixth annual TALKING TO TEENS conference - designed to dig deep
beneath the surface to explore what is motivating, meaningful and
relevant to your prospective teen consumer, and the mediums by which
they are best going to respond to your message. To learn more
about Talking to Teens, please call Wendy Fullem at 212-661-3500
x 3018, or e-mail: wfullem@iirusa.com...Coming
soon:
www.consumerkids.net
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For
more information about WonderGroup please visit our website at www.wondergroup.com
For
advertising, product development, research and more, contact
Greg Livingston at theshadow@wondergroup.com
or (513) 357-2950.
See
you next month!
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