VOLUME
13
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
Looking
for Bigger Cart Corrals
Kids
are well-known for being able to put things in perspective, so when
we recently asked them how grocery shopping could be made better,
many of their initial responses were not a surprise.
“More candy! Free
candy! More free candy!” In fact, the words “candy” and “free” worked their way into
many of their answers. You
can’t blame a kid for trying.
Dentists
shouldn’t worry about an influx of cavities since the chill they
feel in their spine at the mention of candy is similar to the one
store owners feel about the word free.
Not surprisingly, kids overall are looking for more things
to do while they shop with mom and dad.
These activities range from free samples and play areas to
Jetson-esque miniature golf carts and slides.
The
wishes of the kids can be put into two categories, other than realistic
and unfathomable. Overall,
they are looking for either a more active or passive involvement in
grocery shopping. They
either want something to keep them occupied like video games and other
toys, or they want to be involved.
Some of their ideas for this include having smaller carts just
for them, or even better, an entire section of the store dedicated
to younger shoppers. Of
course, what else would this section include but candy, and maybe
some pizza. Some adults
may be looking for a similar section at the store.
Back to
Top
What's
New This Month
It’s
Beginning to Look a Lot Like…
Visions
of bikes and scooters will dance in their heads this holiday season,
according to an October survey by C&R Research’s KidzEyes.com.
The 600 kids, aged 6-14, half boys and half girls, said they
would rather get sports equipment such as a bike, skateboard or
scooter (37 percent) or clothes (36 percent) over a video game system
(28 percent).
However,
when it comes down to kids listing the one present they want most,
game systems hold a slight advantage (15 percent) over sports equipment
(14 percent) and dolls/doll accessories (9 percent).
Boys were much more likely to want video game systems (24
percent vs. 6 percent) and sports equipment (17 percent vs. 10 percent).
While dolls only received 9 percent of the vote, that number
was made up entirely of girls.
While
the popularity of clothing increases as kids get older, many have
not always felt this way.
Half of the kids said clothes were the worst gift they had
received in the past. This held true for both boys (56 percent) and girls (44 percent).
Especially bad were clothes and pajamas, and second worst were underwear
and socks.
Kids
aren’t all greedy gimmes though.
Over half of the kids surveyed plan to give more than 10 presents
to family and friends during the holiday season, and most plan to
buy some presents and make others themselves.
How’s that for the spirit of the holidays?
Back
to Top
Tech
Trends
Duck,
Duck, Goosehead
A recent deal between website Goosehead.com and Micro-Entertainment
Network PocketBoxOffice™ is sure to create a unique
wireless community as it becomes available to teen mobile users.
Goosehead.com is a premiere teen portal that is managed by
its founder Ashley Power, a 16-year-old high school student, who
felt that other sites for teens did not truly relate to them.
Teen webmasters from around the country produce most of the
content on the site.
PocketBoxOffice is also designed to reach this segment,
which is seen as the largest growth market for the wireless industry.
The mobile services they offer include over 13 channels that
include interactive games, Dear Abby columns and daily astrology
readings. PocketBoxOffice
itself was launched last spring.
Programs
on the new Goosehead mobile channel of PocketBoxOffice will include
polls, candid advice, relationship support, music and movie reviews,
and fashion chat, as well as an overall public forum where users can
share their opinions.
This mobile community truly matches up with today’s teens,
an “on-the-go” group that has become accustomed to being connected
with their friends at all times.
Back
to Top
Kids
U-G-L-Y, You
Ain’t Got No Alibi!
Nickelodeon has given kids such unique
characters as SpongeBob SquarePants and CatDog, but now its most
unusual subjects to date are invading it.
This past weekend, Nick began airing the CGI-animated
series Butt-Ugly Martians that launched earlier this year
in the United Kingdom.
After debuting in an evening time slot, it will settle into
its permanent time frame of noon on Sundays.
The
show, set in the year 2053, is about three Martian heroes.
The trio (named Do-Wah-Diddy, B.Bop-A-Lula and 2-T-Fru-T)
are ordered to invade earth by their evil leader Emperor Bog.
Upon their arrival, they become fascinated by Earth’s pop
culture and end up scarfing down hamburgers and watching TV cartoons.
Instead of attacking the planet, they embrace it.
The
real zaniness ensues when the three Martians must demonstrate their
successful conquest to their leader via taped progress reports. As they befriend three Earth friends, they ultimately protect
them from other space invaders.
With
a core audience defined as 4- to 8-years-old, the Just Entertainment
production group hopes Butt-Ugly Martians can successfully
invade pocketbooks as well, thanks to a licensing deal struck up with
Hasbro.
Toys will range from deluxe action figures with space cycles
to collectible figurines.
Back to
Top
Tweens
A
Little Lesson in Licensing
Our
Trend Watch takes a look at some movies that should have a big impact
on youth licensing over the next few years (no skipping ahead).
Of course as the old expression goes, “If you give a marketer
a license, you feed him for a day.
Teach him how to license, and you feed him fat bonuses for
a lifetime.”
There are lessons on the subject of licensing in
The Great Tween Buying Machine: Marketing to Today’s Tweens,
a book on tweens authored by WonderGroup CEO Tim Coffey, President
Dave Siegel and Executive Vice President Greg Livingston.
Based on the image-consciousness of tweens, the right license
can have a positive impact, and conversely, the wrong license can
spell doom for any product aimed toward this fickle market.
Two big positives about choosing the right license
for the right product are:
- A
company’s product can become immediately acceptable to tweens
with little or no up-front spending on brand development.
- A
strong license is especially helpful to newer or smaller companies
vying for increasingly rare shelf space.
One of the major mistakes companies make is that
they often forget what they are paying for in a license.
It should be the primary reason for being and the brand name
should be secondary. If
the brand is strong enough that the licensed property ends up playing
second fiddle, there is no point in paying the big bucks for the
license in the first place.
This does not apply when the license is used as part of a
special promotion.
Simply slapping a popular licensed property on a
product geared toward tweens does not guarantee success. Tweens don’t want to be treated like babies, so while Disney’s
Winnie the Pooh is popular among younger children, it is not the
way to go with them. Tweens
find characters like Bugs Bunny, Taz and Scooby Doo acceptable because
they are seen as older and having attitude.
Making a mistake on a license can be quite costly,
but a strong license can work wonders when used properly.
The key is to choose carefully and to make sure of its longevity
potential and age appeal.
Back
to Top
Teens
Fears
Still Exist
A
new survey released by Euro RSCG Worldwide revealed that there is
still a great deal of uneasiness in the heads and hearts of today’s
teens. This feelings
stem from both the September 11 attacks and the subsequent cases
of bioterrorism involving Anthrax.
The
survey of 300 high school students aged 13-17 found that over half
believe “at least one government leader will be assassinated” before
this crisis is resolved. Also,
50 percent of girls and 49 percent of boys think there is a “good
chance” hundreds or even thousands of people in the U.S. will die
due to bioterrorism.
Many
people believe that the country’s lack of knowledge of current events
feeds these overwhelming fears that people have had over the last
two months. Teens are
doing their part to counteract this by seeking out more information.
While boys and girls are both looking to gain more insight,
the sources they turn to are different.
Boys are more likely to have increased watching TV news,
reading newspapers and using the Internet, while girls are likely
to listen to parents, teachers and spiritual leaders more.
To
help them deal with the crisis, 65 percent of girls and 48 percent
of boys said that listening to music has helped them cope.
Food has also served as an outlet with, 16 percent of boys
and 14 percent of girls eating more “comfort foods.”
Overall, the events have put things in perspective, with half
the teens saying they intend to spend more time with relatives this
holiday season.
While music and food can help, there is no better source of
comfort than family.
Back
to Top
Trend Watch
What Happens
After the Magic?
The
release this weekend of the live-action family adventure film Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone promises to bring a plethora
of licensed products and promotions.
Ever since word of the film based on the wildly popular J.K.
Rowling’s children’s novels became public knowledge, there has been
excitement building among both movie fans and marketing managers.
While
the Harry Potter series (one rumor claims there may eventually be
seven films) should be a success story, one must always keep an
eye, bespectacled or not, on other movies that will appeal to the
youth market.
The film industry is one of the greatest sources of unfounded
rumors and gossip, but that is the exact kind of information from
which many marketing success stories are born.
Some
movies that are already in production and set for release sometime
in 2002 include: the next Harry Potter movie entitled Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets, Scooby Doo, Pokémon
IV, The Powerpuff Girls, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, The Rugrats
Meet the Wild Thornberrys, Return to Neverland, The Country Bears,
Spy Kids II: The Island of Lost Dreams,
Stuart Little II and Treasure Planet.
This list does not even include such adult fare as Star
Wars Episode II, Men in Black II or Spider-Man, which
all figure to attract younger viewers.
So
which ones promise to be the most popular in the theatres and the
checkout lines? A strong
case can be made for just about all of them.
In particular, Pokémon IV is the next installment
in a very successful franchise.
The Powerpuff Girls are one of the latest symbols
of power and femininity for girls to aspire to, kind of like the
Spice Girls, but better actors.
Spy Kids II should follow the lead of its successful
predecessor. Rugrats
is still a very popular part of Nickelodeon.
The Country Bears and Return to Neverland,
an animated sequel to Peter Pan, will have the support of
industry giant Disney.
All
in all, there seems to be a lot of promise in these films, but promise
does not always translate to success.
Besides, there are also plenty of other movies that may slip
under the rumor mill radar to be the surprise hits of 2002.
Back to
Top
Upcoming Events
in Youth Marketing
Teen
Power 2001
December 3-6, 2001 Westin River North, Chicago
At
the 5th annual Mega Event, Teen Power 2001, scheduled for December
3-6, 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!
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.
With a "who's who" of the licensing to kids business speaker
faculty, this is one event you can't afford to miss! Speakers
include senior-level executives 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—researched
and designed to dig deep beneath the surface to explore what is
motivating, meaningful and relevant to your prospective teen consumer,
the mediums by which they are best going to respond to your message,
and how to break through the marketing clutter. This year’s speakers include executives from:
AT&T, Eastman Kodak, ESPN, Fox Family, The National Hockey
League, Pacific Sunwear, Partnership for a Drug Free America, Polaroid,
Procter & Gamble, Sony Electronics, Teenage Research Unlimited,
U.S. Youth Soccer, YM Magazine, and more, including a special performance
by SOLANGE KNOWLES! 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
Consumer
Kids
April 10-12, 2002
Scottsdale, AZ
With a strong emphasis
on implementation strategies, research, and new product development,
IIR’s 14th Annual Consumer Kids Conference is like nothing
you’ve seen before!
This
year’s event boasts the most senior-level speaker faculty of any
youth-marketing event…speakers from the companies making the news…the
organizations from whom YOU WANT TO LEARN.
Just some of the companies already committed to presenting
at Consumer Kids include:
Zany Brainy, Hasbro, The Kellogg Company, World Wrestling
Federation, Chiquita, General Mills, Pearle Vision, ConAgra, Decipher,
The Field Trip Factory, Fun Rise Toy, Arista Records, Ask Jeeves,
Marvel, MGM Consumer Products, KidLeo, WonderGroup, Nancy Overfield-Delmar,
Inc., SpectraCom, C&R Research…and more!!!
For
more information about the 14th Annual Consumer Kids Conference,
please contact Wendy Fullem at 212-661-3500 x 3018, or email her at
wfullem@iirusa.com.
Coming soon: www.consumerkids.net
Back to
Top
Please
feel free to forward Youth University to friends.
If
you have received this message as a forward, and would like to receive
Youth University monthly, please go to www.youthuniversity.com
to sign up for your free subscription.
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!
|
