Brand marketing must begin with children. Even if a child does not buy the product and will not for many yearsthe marketing must begin in childhood.
These days, advertisers are increasingly using kids in their commercials ranging from detergent powders to cars which children hardly need. We may wonder why the trend of using children in the ads is gaining currency, unless we are aware of the terms like tweens and their pester power which marketers term it as tween power.
"Tween" is a short form of in-between. The children who are in-between 8 and 12 years of age are referred to as tweens. They are neither infants nor can they be treated as teenagers. This period is a crucial as well as confusing phase in everyone's life. A research study finds out that tweens don't want to be treated as kids, but as little adults. They want to grow faster. Being aware of this fact, the American toy producers have started producing toys for newly born to 8-year-olds; in the past, their target consumers were newly born to 11-year-olds.
In the infotainment era, tweens are well-informed about the brand, as they spend a significant amount of time watching TV and browsing the Internet. In the US, a media research study has found that American children spend almost four hours a day watching TV. Researchers warn that the TV has occupied the entire mindspace of children whose parents are working; moreover, it can influence the kids' lifestyle in a big way. Kids, who are all alone at home while their working parents are striving hard to realize their career dreams, are obviously attracted towards the commercials that please their eyes, adventurous spirit and fantasy. Advertisers, who are very desperate to find new market segments, have been very happy to discover this growing segment of green tweens as potential consumers and future adult consumers. |
