Marketing and children

Part of my job is marketing. I contribute to the my business’ marketing plan which forms part of the country plan and so on. I have taken courses. I attend meetings. I interpret and act on segmentation studies. I even know what segmentation study means. I actually like it. So although I am not a marketing genius, I know something about it.

My other job is being a mum. So in my train commute home, I change from one side of the marketing game to the other.

I have to praise Italy for one thing – Italians do tend to prefer quality over quantity. It may be because of space (apartments have limited clutter space) and looking good (Italians are obsessed with looking good and, more the point, looking better than each other). Italy is also very nationalistic. Italians simply think Italian products are better. So combine these and you get people who have not completely succumbed to the American marketing machine and who prefer a select few good items than many things of dubious quality. How does this translate into a child’s life over here? Well, Disney is big but you never see kids decked out head to toe in Disney princess outfits (more likely to see a toddler in Ralph Lauren or Abercrombie – don’t get me started…), no Cars toddler beds and no Toy Story wallpaper. Maybe Hello Kitty but that’s another story…

What is my point? It is that I am already thinking about this even though my kids are 1 and 3. I am worried!

I am very aware of how insidious marketing can be and how companies intentionally target consumers and parents starting from the get go. But I mean really – “According to The New York Times, [Disney] is laying the groundwork to capture a whole new group of potential customers: newborns. By partnering with Our365, a portrait company that pays hospitals in exchange for exclusive rights to take and sell baby pictures, Disney will be able to market its newest line, Disney Baby, directly to new mothers in hospital maternity wards.”

Shudder. The word predatory comes to mind.

From an educator’s point of view I see that it can be less than ideal, from a parent’s point of view I see that it can border on immoral. From a marketing person’s point of view, they’re freakily good at what they do.

I wondered if I am exaggerating in my interest and worry. If you think I am on the other end of the spectrum, with only wooden, educational toys in our living room, exclusively organic wool sweaters keeping my kids warm and countless varieties of organic beans and pulses in my larder then think again! We have some wooden toys, some “educational” toys, no organic wool and a many beans (but my husband is Cuban after all) as well as some seriously sugar-laden cakes, plastic toys with no point to them at all, branded stuff and some average cotton-blend clothing.

So maybe I am just starting to think about these things too early? Well, apparently not. In a fairly blatant acknowledgement that advertising does affect small kids, some places have banned certain forms of advertising to the very young. Some research shows that aggressive marketing and advertising, and the habits these support, can lead to excessive materialism in the very young which may then have a negative effect of kids’ self-image let alone their overall values.

OK that’s enough of that. Reading the following articles was an eye-opener so if you want more, read away:

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/dealing_marketing.cfm

http://parentingsquad.com/forget-the-princess-problem-disney-develops-new-marketing-campaign-aimed-at-newborns

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/issues_kids_marketing.cfm

So my approach is… (drum roll please)…

Moderation. It’s all about moderation.

We have Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 DVDs at home and we have watched them about 6 thousand, 5 hundred and twenty three times. Each. We have Muchacha Pelo Largo No Shoes (Rapunzel) and we would have Cars DVDs too but I think the stories are for older kids. We have Toy Story and Cars Lego, a Cars ball, and some Cars, um, cars. A Bob the Builder shirt and Sesame Street underpants. Oh and the coolest Toy Story hoodie that our friend brought us from Disneyland! A treasured possession! I am sure there will be many, many more Disney/Sesame Street/ whatever clothes and toys in our future too. Is that OK with me? Dang right it is. As long as it doesn’t take over that is. OK firstly, I love Disney Pixar productions. They are genius. They were at the forefront of computer animation with Toy Story 1 and just keep getting better and better. The stories are good too. My only major complaint is that all characters are WASPs, with the exception of Spanish Buzz’s bit part in Toy Story 3, but I give credit for how Jessie is a strong girl who can hold her own.

I get a kick out of certain branded items we have. So does René. Growing up with so many things banned and with such limited resources means that now I think he gets a kick out of being able to watch whatever he wants and buy stuff. That said, 30+ years of anti-capitalist doctrine has had its positive effect and he shuns the idea of going overboard. Thank you Fidel. In Cuba the only “marketing” you see is propaganda. Internet use by your average Cuban is impossible or at best, rare.

The thing is, though, there will come a time when advertising will bite. “Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, you're a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that.” One day will my boys feel inferior because they do not have the latest Disney / Ambercrombie / Nike whatever? Probably. Will I be tempted just to get it for them so that they feel better. Probably. Do I hope and pray that my voice of reason will kick in and say, “Don’t do it?”. Yes.

As parents I think what we need to do is try our damndest to instil as much self-confidence into our kids as possible so that they do not feel entirely defined by the label on their jeans or the type of mobile phone they use. I think giving them abilities, knowledge and experience can compensate for not having the latest “in” thing and can also help them, no matter how young they are, put it all into perspective through example and education. Sure they will have their “look” and their interests, be it preppy, hippy, rocker or nerd and yes, they will have some related items to support their personal style. But what we want to avoid is them feeling they need things in order to feel good and fit in.

So bring on the Grover underpants and long live Woody and Buzz but in moderation and with a touch of healthy cynicism and a large dose of fun. So maybe not this: