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Internet Advertising And Children
Did you know?
- Nearly 45% of homes with children ages 12 to 17 have
Internet access. (Horizon Media Research, 1999)
- Children between the ages of five and 18 will spend
an estimated $1.3 billion online by 2002. (U.S. News and
World Report, 1999)
- 67% of online teens (ages 13 to 18) and 37% of online
children (ages five to 12) have researched product items
or bought products online. (eShop Weekly, 1999)
- 52% of those surveyed (between ages of five and 17)
have asked parents to purchase products from the Web.
(eShop Weekly, 1999)
- It is estimated that by 2002, 21.9 million children
(ages five to 12) and 16.6 million teens (ages thirteen
to 18) will be online. (Barron's, 1999)
- Most children and teens use the Internet for e-mailing,
search engines, games, music, and homework. (Barrons,
1999)
What’s Happening
As the numbers of children and teens on the Internet grows
the focus of online marketers intensifies. Children are
attracted to Internet commercial sites because they are
designed to be child friendly. They are colorful and engaging,
offering games, information, and items and products the
child recognizes.
Major companies focus on the teen and younger market to
build brand familiarity. Branding consists of building a
positive impression of a product, linking its name or logo
with a positive image or feeling in the mind of the buyer.
For instance, by placing successful cartoon characters on
a product, companies are able to increase sales whether
they are selling breakfast cereal or shampoo.
Offering free music downloads, chat rooms, or games on
an interactive site snags a child or teen and keeps them
coming back. By focusing site design on what interests teens
and kids, companies build brand loyalty. Gathering information
on children or teens' likes or dislikes also helps companies
to create products and tailor their marketing directly to
this younger group of consumers.
On television guidelines exist for a separation between
advertising and content. (This is not to say that children's
shows sometimes seem like one long advertisement for toy
tie-ins. But the actual product sale advertising is done
in a commercial.) Not so for the Internet. The line between
educational or informational content and advertising on
the Internet is blurred. Online sites use information to
build brand awareness or link favorite brand cartoon characters
to games and education information. Children are drawn to
build a consumer mentality.
Even within schools, companies have provided free computers
with free Internet access as long as the computers are in
use for a certain time period each day. The students are
a captive audience for advertising and links to particular
Web sites with advertising. Often the students online movements
are tracked to gather marketing data. (School Library Journal,
1999)
Given the pressure of advertising on the Internet and
the blurring of the line between content and advertising,
parents should talk to children about the real purpose of
these commercial sites and give them the tools to recognize
when they are being targeted as a consumer.
- Talk about advertising on the Web.
- Point out advertising techniques such as linking logos,
popular brands, and cartoon characters with content and
games.
- Limit children's Internet use and watch where they go
and the sites they visit.
- Instruct children never to give out personal information.
- Use a screen name in a chat room.
- Build a list of sites that children can use that are
advertisement free.
Sources
- Barron's, November 8,1999, p37.
- eShop Weekly, "Online marketers look towards
kids, teens", July 5, 1999.
- Horizon Media Research, 1999.
- School Library Journal, March 1999, p100.
- U.S. News and World Report, November 8, 1999,
p89.
Last revised: 2/17/00
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