Advertising to the Youngest Consumers

Abstract

Children represent a large, lucrative market for advertisers in three ways: as future consumers; current consumers with significant direct purchasing power; and influencers in family purchases, large and small, from vacations and schools to automobiles. Their influence has grown enormously over the past several decades. Who are these young consumers, segmented and targeted so precisely by marketers? How do they think, what do they want to buy and why? Research into children and our foundational understanding of children as consumers and advertising subjects is underpinned by psychological, cognitive, social and emotional developmental theories, many of which were initially designed for adults and retrofitted to study children. Children are much more complicated than smaller versions of adult consumers. Developmentally their cognitive abilities grow in stages. When can they recognize and distinguish advertisements from program content? When do they begin to understand the persuasive intent of advertisements and learn to think objectively about claims made in commercials, as an adult would? Can children who are targeted at younger and younger ages be taught to understand advertising as a defense against its persuasive intent? Children today wield more influence in purchase decisions than at any time in history. They are empowered. At the same time, children are not adults. They are vulnerable consumers who need protection from the undue influences of advertisers. It is important to balance this new dynamic. The rapid technological changes brought about by new media, the internet, texting, and on-demand programming, make the subject much more complex than it was only a few years ago, when protecting children from advertisers might have been as simple as restricting the times when they could watch television. Today, children from toddlers to teens use cell phones, tablets and social media to stay perpetually connected. Regulations provide some rules, but the preeminent question in the consideration of advertising to children is one of ethics. Is it even fair to advertise to children? Only 20 years ago, the FTC proposed it was not. While the FTC’s proposal was never enacted, the questions it raised about the fairness and ethics of targeting children with advertising still resonate today. The challenge in considering this question lies in the peculiarities of children as research subjects. While most research into children is based on demographics, age, social status and more, it is important to keep in mind that children are individuals, and no two are exactly alike. Particularly since the late 20th century, researchers have taken up the challenge into understanding children as consumers, and how advertisers target them, in growing volumes of research studies. Building on the findings evident from this relatively recent body of research, specific areas for future research are explored, focused on discovering children’s susceptibilities and ways to protect children from advertisers’ undue influence. As marketers recognize and parents know, there is no more important demographic in the world than children. Understanding them as consumers is crucial for their development and our future.