VOLUME
30
Happy
Halloween
Feature Story
Kids
Tweens
Teens
Moms and Families
Extra
Credit
Happy
Halloween!
WonderGroup would like
to take the time to wish you and all the little goblins in your
life a spooky and safe Halloween. So, before you dive into
the latest edition of Youth University ™, click on the
link below to see our special Halloween greeting. It's a
scream!
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Feature
Story
The Most Wonderful
Time of the Year
Forget
pumpkins, costumes, and candy, it's time to start thinking about
cards, lights and PRESENTS! The holiday season is fast approaching
and to help everyone out with their shopping, Toys “R” Us®
has put together a list of toys it predicts will be at the top
of children's wish lists this holiday season.
To
begin, Toys “R” Us has made a short list of the predicted overall
top 13 (why they chose that number, I have no idea) toys for the
season. Making the list this year was Baby Counting Pal™
from LeapFrog®, Barbie™ as the Princess and the Pauper 2-Pack
from Mattel®, Bratz™ Tokyo A Go Go™ Dolls from MGA Entertainment®,
Corvette® C5-R™ Power Vehicle from Safety 1 st ®, E-L-M-O™
from Fisher-Price®, Laugh & Learn™ Learning Home™ from
Fisher-Price, Operation®: Shrek from Hasbro Games®, Plug
it in & Play TV Games™ -- featuring Ms. Pac-Man from Jakks
Pacific®, Sting-Ray OCC Bicycle from Schwinn®, Trivial
Pursuit® SNL (Saturday Night Live) DVD Edition from Hasbro
Games, Ultimate Big Air™ Ball Tower from K'NEX®, V.Smile™
TV Learning System from V-Tech®, and VideoNow™ Color Personal
Video Player from Hasbro®.
Besides
the list of the overall top 13 toys, Toys “R” Us has also broken
out its predictions for the top toys among several different age
groups.
For
kids aged 0-12 months, Toys “R” Us names Baby Counting Pal from
LeapFrog, Baby Einstein Discover & Play ™ from Kids II®,
Baby Playzone™ Kick & Whirl Carnival™ from Fisher-Price and
Learning Band™ Walker from LeapFrog as the best.
For
kids aged 13 months to 2 years, Dance Along Boobah™ from Hasbro,
Elmo's Sing & Teach® Table from Fisher-Price, Laugh &
Learn Learning Home from Fisher-Price and Peek-A-Blocks™ Incrediblock™
from Fisher-Price all made the list.
When
it comes to 2-4 year olds, Toys “R” Us says these kids will covet
the Corvette C5-R Power Vehicle from Safety 1 st , Dora the Explorer™
Dora's Talking House from Fisher-Price, E-L-M-O from Fisher-Price,
Fold-2-Go™ Tricycles from Radio Flyer®, Sing & Boogie™
Blue (Blue's Clues) from Fisher-Price and V.Smile TV Learning
System from V-Tech.
When
the 5-7-year-olds are making out their lists, they'll probably
check it twice to make sure it includes Barbie as the Princess
and the Pauper from Mattel, Bella Dancerella™ from Spin Master®,
Game Boy® Advance Videos from Majesco Sales, Inc.®, Hot
Wheels® Cyborg Attack™ from Mattel, Operation: Shrek from
Hasbro Games, Tamagotchi Connection™ from Bandai® and VideoNow
Color Personal Video Player from Hasbro.
As
you move toward kids that are a little bit older (8-11), Toys
“R” Us says the top choices will be Bratz Tokyo A Go Go Dolls
from MGA Entertainment, Mall Madness™ from Hasbro Games, Hovercopter™
from Overbreak®, RC Hummer from Fast Lane®, Sting-Ray
OCC Bicycle from Schwinn and Ultimate Big Air Ball Tower from
K'NEX.
Finally,
for the big kids aged 12 and older (yes, if you act like a kid,
you can put yourself in this category), Toys “R” Us expects them
to request Lazer Tag® Team Ops™ from Hasbro, Plug It In &
Play TV Games – Featuring Ms. Pac-Man from Jakks Pacific, Trivial
Pursuit SNL DVD Edition from Hasbro Games and Halo® 2 for
XBox from Microsoft®.
Will
Toys “R” Us' predictions prove true? It's hard to say.
(With so many of their products on the list, Fisher-Price and
Hasbro sure hope so). It's pretty certain that all of the
toys on the list will have successful sales, but it's difficult
to predict how successful. There's such strong competition
and only so much money to go around, not to mention the possibility
of a difficult-to-predict late run by a dark horse a la the Tickle
Me Elmo® incident from a few years back.
While
it isn't magic, to win during the all-important holiday shopping
season, a company must make sure all the stars are in alignment.
To start, there needs to be a detailed understanding of what is
fundamentally motivating and appealing to kids at different ages
and why. There also has to be solid research and new product
development to create and refine a product that will excite the
target group. And, of course, it all doesn't end with a
good product. There is heavy competition and, to truly win,
a product must come in appealing packaging, be paired with the
right strategy and positioning and be supported with the right
mixture of powerful advertising, promotions and PR. If you'd
like to learn more about how WonderGroup can help you achieve
success during the holiday season and all year round, please contact
Greg Livingston at 513.357.2950 or
glivingston@wondergroup.com .
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Kids
This
Election Has Gone to the Kids
On
October 19 th , Nickelodeon® held its “Kids' Vote,” an online
poll that gives kids the chance to vote for president. Nick
has held “Kids' Vote” every election year since 1988 and every
time the winner of the “Kids' Vote” has gone on to win the real
general election. This year over 400,000 votes were
cast by kids from across the country and the final tally shows
that Senator John Kerry has prevailed, winning 53% of the vote
compared to President Bush's 47%. Cyma Zarghami, President
of Nickelodeon Television says, “What really counts, though, is
the fact that kids got interested in the campaign and let their
voices be heard. That's a great habit to develop and hold
onto as they grow into responsible adults.” “Kids' Vote” is the
culmination of the network's year-long Kids Pick the President
Campaign. The campaign was conceived to educate and empower
kids and has included Nick News specials hosted by kid
activists from both parties, the “Speak Up, Rock Out” songwriting
sweepstakes with John Mellencamp, the “Kids' Vote” online election,
Nick magazine features and even a book, “Election Connection:
The Official Nick Guide to Electing the President.” Now
that “Kids' Vote” has ended, Nickelodeon is urging kids to “Nag
the Vote” by motivating adults to get involved with the political
process and vote on Election Day. Nick will support “Nag
the Vote” with various on-air spots featuring kids and celebrities
such as Jack Black.
WonderGroup's
Perspective
Once
again, it's great to see Nick take the lead in educating kids
about important issues. Getting a chance to vote is definitely
exciting and empowering for kids. It's not surprising that
“Kids' Vote” has been such an accurate gauge of the actual presidential
vote because kids of this age tend to share the same opinions
as their parents. However, Cyma Zarghami is right; the results
aren't what matters here. Teaching kids about the political
process and getting them interested at an early age will help
them grow to become responsible adults who will take their rights
and duties seriously and continue to be educated and active in
the political process.
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Tweens
Hello Kitty, Goodbye
Money?
Last
year Visa® introduced a Hilary Duff gift card in five denominations
and urged tween girls to “shop like a star.” Now MasterCard®
has announced that it will introduce a Hello Kitty® debit
card. Unlike the Hilary Duff gift card, the Hello Kitty
debit card can be reloaded. Some users will be young women
who grew up with the property, but the larger target is younger
girls between the ages of 10 and 14. Peter Klamka, president
of Legend Credit Inc.®, which developed the Hello Kitty card,
claims the card is safer than a cash allowance because parents
can keep track of every place kids spend their money and how much
they spend at each location. Both Visa and Sanrio Inc.®,
the owner of the Hello Kitty license, tout the cards as an educational
tool to help teach children how to manage their finances.
Needless to say, many parents, teachers and independent financial
education firms disagree. Whether you believe offering a
debit card to tween girls is a good thing or a bad thing, there
is no doubt that it isn't cheap. There will be a $14.95
activation fee for the Hello Kitty debit card, with another $14.95
if it is renewed after a year. There is also a $2.95 monthly
maintenance fee, a $1.50 ATM-withdrawal fee and a $1-per-minute
fee to talk to a customer service agent. Klamka defends
the fees by saying that the card can't make money the typical
way, by charging interest, because it is not a credit card.
WonderGroup's
Perspective
Only
those 18 and older can sign up for the card, so ultimately parents
must give their okay and sign up for their kids. Because
of this, MasterCard must carefully balance kid appeal with parental
concerns. This will be difficult as most parents won't like
the idea of their little girls having a debit card and they really
won't like all the exorbitant fees. Most parents likely
won't buy the whole “financial education” argument either.
They may even fear the opposite – that the use of debit cards
at an early age will only encourage girls to buy whatever they
want while thinking it's not “real” money, eventually leading
to the abuse of credit cards and early credit card debt.
However, if MasterCard can make the “education” argument at least
somewhat believable to the parents and, at the same time, garner
strong demand from girls, there is the possibility for success.
No matter what happens in this specific case, you can be certain
that the Hello Kitty debit card won't be the last tween-targeted
offering from financial institutions.
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Teens
Where'd
You Get Those Peepers?
In
the ever self-conscious world of teens, image is everything and
many teens feel glasses cramp their style. More and more
teens have been able to convince their parents to let them switch
to contacts. Half of all teens aged 13 to 17 who need vision
correction now wear contacts. That's up from just 25 percent
ten years ago. This trend is extending to younger kids as
well. Of kids under the age of 13 who need vision correction,
13 percent are wearing contacts. Teens aren't just ditching
their glasses to show off the way their eyes look, they're ditching
their glasses so they can change the way their eyes
look. Many teens are choosing colored contacts, which allow
them to customize their eye color. These teens often have
multiple pairs so they can change their eye color on a whim to
match their clothes or their mood. Some teens who don't
even need vision correction are wearing contacts lenses just to
change the appearance of their eyes. Teens opting for colored
lenses have more than just basic eye colors to choose from.
These contact lenses come in every color imaginable including
blood red, gloss black, two tone and pure white. Some lenses
are even designed to show American flags, swirls, animal prints
or NFL® team logos, and others change the design of eyes to
make them appear bloodshot or like cat eyes or wolf eyes.
WonderGroup's
Perspective
Even
though society has seen glasses make a mild resurgence as a sort
of fashion statement, for teenagers, they still aren't exactly
cool. Due to advances in lens technology and the widespread
availability of more affordable contacts, expect general contact
usage among teens to continue to grow. Look for contact
usage among younger kids to rise as well, although at a much more
moderate pace. This is because doctors (and parents) don't
like to mess around when it comes to vision and eye doctors usually
don't recommend contacts for any kids below the age of 8.
Back to teens - among teens that need vision correction, colored/specialty
contact lenses will become more popular and will provide added
motivation for switching from glasses. Usage of specialty
lenses among teens who do not need visual correction will increase,
but more slowly. This is because by U.S. law, these teens
still have to go through the hassle of making an eye appointment
and obtaining a prescription to get the specialty lenses.
Teens will increasingly use specialty contacts as fashion accessories
and one day soon, if they haven't already, schools may have to
address them in the dress code. Makers of contacts will
do well to stay on top of the latest teen fashion trends in order
to achieve success.
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Moms and Families
Restaurant Revolution
Curbside-to-go
dining is quietly beginning to revolutionize casual dining and
the family dinner. It's a simple notion – just call (or,
in some cases fax or email) the restaurant ahead of time, place
your order, let them know when you want to pick up your food and
describe the kind of car you will be driving. Pull into
one of the specially reserved parking spaces and your food, packed
to go, is brought to you. Curbside-to-go dining allows consumers
to eat restaurant quality food in the comfort of their own home.
The popularity of this concept is growing as more and more restaurants
are relying on curbside-to-go dining to boost profits and meet
customer demands for convenience. In fact, industry experts
predict that within two decades, half the casual dining sector's
business will come from outside the restaurant's four walls.
Outback Steakhouse® already attributes 10% of its sales to
curbside-to-go dining and it's 6% of sales at Romano's Macaroni
Grill. Other popular restaurants such as Applebee's®,
Chili's®, Ruby Tuesday® and T.G.I. Friday's® are all
testing curbside delivery and expect to roll it out nationally
in the next year.
WonderGroup's
Perspective
Curbside-to-go
dining will quickly become a greater percentage of casual dining
sales as more restaurants begin to offer (and advertise) this
option and more people become aware of it. Curbside-to-go
dining is attractive to consumers for many reasons. Just
short of doorstep delivery, it's the ultimate in convenience.
There's no waiting for a table or in line at the drive-through.
There's no getting stuck at a noisy booth by the kitchen or suffering
through inattentive service. Plus, because the meal is eaten
at home, parents don't have to worry about how the kids are dressed
or about how they will behave. Importantly, moms feel good
about curbside-to-go dining because they view the food from these
restaurants as a step up from fast food from a drive through.
It also offers a way to make sure that all family members will
eat something because everyone can choose exactly what they like.
Curbside-to-go dining allows moms to give the experience of a
sit-down family dinner at home without having to prepare the food.
Plus, for those busy moms who feel better if they “make” at least
part of dinner, they can get the main entrée from a restaurant
and quickly whip up some home-cooked sides to go with it.
Curbside-to-go dining is attractive to restaurants, as well, because
it allows them to boost the bottom line by getting business from
customers they might normally lose to home-cooking or somewhere
offering drive-through service. Look for consumers to fall
in love with this dining option, forcing restaurants to offer
curbside-to-go dining or be left behind and lose business to competitors.
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Extra
Credit
From the Mouths of
Babes
Do
you ever wonder what's running through kids' heads as they overhear
all this election jargon? Recently a parent at a soccer
game was recounting a conversation between him and his son that
might shed some light on the whole matter. This is a true
story. The son asked, “Dad, is John Kerry fast?” The
dad, a little perplexed, replied, “I'm not really sure.
I guess. He looks like he could be fast.” The son
responds, “Is he faster than George Bush?” The dad, now
even more confused, answers with a little chuckle, “Maybe.
I don't really know. Why?” The son said, “Well, I'm
just trying to figure out who I think is going to win the race.”
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Drop Us a Line
Thanks
for reading! If you have any questions or comments or would like
to submit a possible idea for an article in an upcoming issue
of Youth University , please email Adam Siegel at asiegel@wondergroup.com
.
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We
hope you find Youth University valuable and helpful. WonderGroup,
a full-service youth marketing agency provides services including: Advertising,
New Product Development, Research and Promotions. You
can learn more about WonderGroup by clicking the wondergroup.com
link below, or by
calling Greg Livingston, theshadow@wondergroup.com, at
(513) 357-2950.
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