Today's children grow up in a world where advertising is present at every step – from TV shows to social networks to toys on the shelves. Marketing strategies are increasingly sophisticated and more precisely targeted at children, who do not recognize when it is advertising and when it is a real need.
Parents must therefore be one step ahead to protect children from pressure that does not serve them, but sales.
Children are the ideal target group, and marketing knows it
Advertising agencies have been talking openly for years about the fact that the child is the most influential consumer in the household.
Reasons why this is so
- children quickly get excited about new things,
- they can't resist colors, sounds and animations,
- they do not distinguish between advertising and reality,
- they often decide what parents “must” buy.
Marketing responds to this by creating products that are tailored to children's psychology.
How Marketing Lures Kids: Techniques That Work All Too Well
Colorful, playful and fairy-tale covers
If the product is in the shape of an animal, with glitter or a favorite character, the child will notice it before anything else. And when asked, the parent is often faced with pleas, tears or negotiation.
Promises that work like charms
“Better sleep”, “more energy”, “better result”, “perfect skin” – marketing uses slogans that promise quick solutions.
The problem? The child does not need them. And often it is just an illusion, not a reality.
Creating the feeling that something is necessary
If a child in an ad “needs” a supplement, new shoes, a special bottle or a “routine”, the child in front of the screen will quickly get the feeling that they need it too. And a parent does not want his child to fall behind.
Positioning the child in the role of an adult
Some campaigns present children as “little adults” with skin that needs to be addressed, with a need for performance, concentration or relaxation. However, that is not the reality. That's it just a sales strategy.
How not to get caught
When the product solves a problem that the child doesn't have
If the product creates a need where there is none, beware.
When the product is too “cute”
The funnier and more playful the packaging, the more aggressive the marketing. Because it relies on the child convincing the parent.
When a product uses too many promises
Rapid improvement of attention, mood or health in children? This is always a sign that marketing speaks louder than science.
When the product looks like a “must-have”
Children do not need:
- masks on the face
- sleep supplements,
- energy rubbers,
- “guaranteed” performance products,
- radiant beauty routines.
They need boundaries, sleep, movement, safety and a healthy environment.
When the goal is to create a feeling of inadequacy
If the product claims that the child will be “better”, “prettier”, “smarter” – it is manipulationnot care.
What can parents do?
Teaching children to recognize advertising
Even small children can understand the sentence: “This is advertising, its goal is to sell something.”
Explaining that not everything nice is necessary
Walking in the store together is an opportunity for conversation.
To be a role model in healthy consumption
If an adult does not follow trends, the child learns it too.
Do not regret the rejection
“No” is not cruelty. It's protection.
Avoid impulse purchases
For children's products, the following applies doubly: think first, then pay.
Children are not a market. Children are children
Marketing has a clear goal – to sell. A child has only one goal and that is to to be a child.
Parents are therefore his most important filter, protection and voice of reason in an environment that increasingly speaks the language of pressure, comparison and “improvement”. And when parents resist, children don't have to.