The children of today have increasingly more involvement in the making of purchase decisions due to more autonomy and the ability to be more vocal about what they want their parents to buy. The term ''pester power'' is the child's ability to effectively nag their parents into buying something that they may not other wise buy. Marketing towards children therefore involves stimulating ''pester power'' through advertising that will create strong desire or want for the product. As children are exposed to more and more advertising the importance of tapping into the phenomenon that is ''pester power'' is even more vital for companies and brands to do. The products don't even have to be the typical newest Barbie or play-ground trend, children are targeted for products starting from food such as the sunny D orange juice product so that even in the super market the parents are unable to avoid being pestered.
According to the Mintel Pocket Money report (2008); children are increasingly adopting adult lifestyles as children are growing older younger, this, in turn, affects what they wish to spend their money on... giving them hefty buyer power. In terms of marketing, if a product can be marketed in such a way where it demonstrates an aspiration to be older and more grown-up the children exposed to the advertisement will be more inclined to take it seriously.
Mintel also notes that the amount of money recieved as pocket money has decreased due to the current financial climate, therefore when marketing a product suitable for the younger aged individual, the price should aim to be as low as possible. The decrease in pocket money may only effect the toy/clothing industries as these tend to be higher priced compared to that of the confectionery industry. However, this does not necessarily mean that more money will be spent on sweets etc as there has been a major shift in the emmergence of a more healthy lifestyle. In terms of pester power, a parent who would supposedly have a little more disposable income coupled with the guilt of maybe not being able to supply all their child's wants and desires (due to the current economy) will supposedly be more effected by the child's ability to pester.
The image above depicts Piaget's four stages of cognitive development. These demonstrate the intellectual abilities of an child and highlight that children are not little adults, in fact, until they reach the age of fifteen they are uncapable of reasoning as an adult. Jean Paiget who derived these different stages was not a psychologist, but a biologist, who observed and recorded the ability of children as they grow older. Therefore, Piaget does not provide any theoretical explanation for the cause of the different behaviours, but simply states the stages of a child's understanding.
If a child is incapable of the reasoning of an adult, they are more likely to be swayed by careful marketing where a strong want is created. This want will not be counter-acted by reasoning such as money constraints or practicality, which puts enormous pressure on the parents as a child will be unable to understand why they are not allowed what they want. It is this pressure, which if applied persistently, results in pester power and the purchasing of the desired good, after all don't we all want an easy life?
1 comment:
excellent job! Blog all finished - what will you do now???
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