Executive Summary:
When products are designed for the youth market, should marketers advertise to parents who might make the purchase decision? Or does it make more sense target children directly? In the latter case, marketers tend to rely on the “nag factor,” reaching children so they will influence their parents’ purchase decisions. For product categories aimed at children, this study observes no difference in response to promotional activities (temporary price cuts, in-store displays, and feature advertisements) between households with children and those without. However, the findings provide indirect evidence that media advertising is effective in driving children’s requests for carbonated beverages and children’s breakfast cereal. Further, households with children show greater sensitivity to price in these product categories than do households without children. Thus, the public policy debate over whether advertising to children is appropriate is shown to be driven by a very real influence on buying. However, because advertising messages cannot be completely stopped from reaching children, if the goal of public policy is to promote healthy eating and reduce child obesity, it may be more effective to implement taxes that activate a price response in children’s food categories.
KEYWORDS: Advertising, Target Marketing, Children, Public Policy |
