Striking The Right Note With Children

Children are important to marketers. Striking the right note is very important. Of course that might mean running into the problem of 'pester power'. Children are somewhat susceptible to characters and collectables. They like them and tend to pester parents for the latest addition to the set. The Advertising Code of Practice has issued guidelines to prevent marketers encouraging children to pester. We do not want to lose children to products. The family household has a lot of influence. Parents should not yield to easily to children's wants. Parents exert the most influence over a child's socialisation into the market place. They are in a position to determine what their children are exposed to. Television is also important. It presents children with idealised images of adults which they want to emulate.

Children go through several stages of consumer development in the process of socialisation into the market place. Observation starts immediately. Later requesting begins followed by selecting. When the child is at about school age they begin to make assisted purchases and then eventually at about 8 years old they start making independent purchases. All of the time they are developing purchasing and marketing skills.

There are so many different kinds of household now that the traditional family is not alone. One person, lone parent, multi-person households, unmarried, reconstituted families and marriage and divorce trends suggest the traditional family may be going out of fashion. It is still however the majority grouping. Decision making within the family can be autocratic or syncratic. A one person or group decision. Different purchasing situations will determine which it is at the time. Pester power still has an influence. Avoiding pester producing adverts is one way to get round the problem, another is to avoid the children's department in supermarkets. Children however if they see something they like will pester the parent for it. Inevitably the parent will give in. Thses are the direct influences. Indirect influences from outside the family are also effective and the family has little or no control. Marketers therefore have an important role to play in ensuring the message is right.