THE CONSUMER CONNECTION
Are You Kidding?
Youth marketing expert + author Dan S. Acuff, Ph.D., divulges 4 tips for truly connecting with kids in your business
BY STEPHANIE K. DE LONG
Founder and president of Youth Market Systems in Arcadia, CA, Dan S. Acuff, Ph.D., has also penned and co-authored several books, including “What Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids.”
In his work at YMS, Dr. Acuff has worked with major corporations in product viability assessment, development, marketing, and advertising, with a focus on age-segmentation analysis and character creation. He and his associates, for example, helped conceptualize the original M&M’s characters.
TIP #1
Be Visual + Verbal
Marketing and messaging have to take into consideration not just the age of kids but also whether your communications meet their learning styles. That’s often overlooked.
MAKE THE CONNECTION: If you want to connect with more kids, make sure your message is visual, verbal, and kinesthetic. Many children are more visual—that is, right-brained, although current research warns against too simplistic an approach to right- and left-brain categorization. Other children are more verbal (left-brained), and some respond best to a hands-on approach involving touch (meaning kinesthetic). Think about all three in terms of how you present to and care for kids.
Photo: Nicescene/Shutterstock
TIP #2
Understand the Essence
Whether you’re talking about a product, program, or promotion, this is an exercise that has proved very useful at Youth Market Systems in the development and marketing stages.
MAKE THE CONNECTION: Essence is the core idea, and the exercise is to boil the concept down to as few words as possible. Getting at the core essence assists in maintaining focus on key attributes throughout the development or marketing cycle. It’s especially important with kids. One example: Bugs Bunny = clever cartoon rabbit.
Can you summarize the essence of who your business is or what your promotion is in so few words?
Most companies can’t, and it’s one reason 80% of new products and programs perform below expectations. However, the fact is that, even if you got it right the first time, things change. For example, at Youth Market Systems, we were contracted to analyze the entire Warner Bros. cast of characters—from Batman to Bugs Bunny. The result was a revamp of the “character bibles,” as well as the company’s approach to marketing and merchandising the characters. If Bugs can change, so can you!
TIP #3
Consider Identification Patterns
Whether it’s a real person or—in terms of character identification—an animal or cartoonlike personality, you can understand identification patterns: how a child relates to and interacts with things and people.
MAKE THE CONNECTION: Whether it’s the way a child views you or a cartoon character, there are five identification patterns in kids’ lives. Think about these when considering your business’ or products’ relationship with young children.
1) NURTURING: The child nurtures or expects to be nurtured; 2) LIKE ME: The child sees part of himself in this character or person; 3) EMULATORY: This is extremely powerful, as the human need for control/power is strong; 4) ENTERTAINING: The child expects humor; 5) DIS-IDENTIFICATION: The child is attracted by the negative attributes.
Here are some examples of what a child’s payoff is—that is, how he gets his needs met in a relationship with a character. A four-year-old will feel love and safety from a nurturing character such as Big Bird. Barbie may represent success to a six-year-old girl and she can experience this success vicariously. An eight-year-old boy may find The Joker very entertaining but can dis-identify—he doesn’t have to behave that way to enjoy it.
TIP #4
One Size Won’t Fit All
Whether attempting to market through advertising, print, promotions, or the Internet, certain generalizations are often applied. Some work. Some definitely don’t.
MAKE THE CONNECTION: When it comes to gender, it’s common knowledge among marketers that for dual-gender-targeted programs or products, girls typically accept boy spokespersons, models, actors, and characters, but boys can be turned off by the use of females.
As for character acceptance, below the age of seven, animal characters have more power than human ones. In fact, studies of children below age six have found that as much as 90% of their dreams are of animals. On the other hand, some characters or tie-ins may be appropriate for a 14-and-older audience but not a younger one.
Unfortunately, some marketers toss all children willy-nilly into a single basket labeled “kids.” That’s tricky business. And it won’t work.
ABOUT DAN ACUFF: Dan S. Acuff, Ph.D., is a world-renowned author on selling to kids, as well as a founding partner in Youth Market Systems. He holds a doctorate in education and has served as a marketing consultant to more than 50 major kid-targeting corporations. His landmark book, “What Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids,” is a classic in its field. Dr. Acuff lives and works in Southern California and is an avid golfer, as reflected in his recent book, “GOLF TALK: What to Say to Yourself From and to the Green.”