Youth Marketing
Values-based characters make debut
Plug and Axel, two characters developed for the Boy Scouts of America debuted this week at the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas. Inherent in each character is a deep and genuine values system. And it’s rather refreshing.
Character marketing is not without its challenges these days. In addition to needing to personify the qualities of the brand being represented, it has to entertain. And youth entertainment often leans to the dark side. Popular today are vampires, witches, evil alien empires and superhero kids who demonstrate refined warfare skill sets. This is not the case for Plug and Axel.
These characters will help educate our youth in understanding the value of doing the right thing at all times, and the importance of our natural resources. They are values marketing at its best.
The Brand Impact … retire an icon?
There’s a movement afoot to retire McDonald’s “Chief Happiness Officer.” Is Ronald the beloved brand ambassador that McDonald’s claims … or the creepy “dealer on the street corner” that the advocacy group Corporate Accountability International is making him out to be?
If you’re so inclined, you can attend one of many events (see photo) or sign the Retire Ronald petition.
As a marketer, I understand t
he reluctance to send a 30+ year mascot to the retirement home. What will be the impact on the McDonald’s brand if they are forced to retire Ronald? McDonald’s to date has defended their fun-loving clown by talking about all the good “he” has done … from being the soul of Ronald McDonald House Charities to sending “him” to schools as a health ambassador (chocolate milk and apple slices with caramel being safer choices … really?).
On the other hand, Corporate Responsibility International seems to think that the absence of Ronald means the demise of McDonald’s and all that they find fault with. But with over 40% of McDonald’s ad budget targeted to kids, surely Ronald would be replaced with something. This could be a “watch out what you ask for” situation. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
What do you think?
We absolutely know what you were thinking about this past year?
What do the Iran election, Michael Jackson, Google Wave, Harry Potter, American Idol, the Superbowl and #musicmonday have in common?
No More Textbooks in Schools?
Quite possibly, Yes! And why not? The latest personal technology rage is Amazon’s Kindle, a portable electronic reader that replaces the typical hardcover or paperback book by wirelessly downloading books and select newspapers. Currently a consumer product, the Kindle’s surface area is similar to the standard hardcover book yet the depth is no larger than a pencil. It provides a great alternative for someone who doesn’t want to lug a heavy book through the airport; needs to conserve on space during their morning commute; or to download a new book on a whim no matter where they are. And the current cost of downloads is cheaper than the real book itself.
Now think about the significance of distributing a single Kindle – a digital textbook – to each student throughout an entire school or school district instead of stacks of hardcover textbooks. The benefits are huge and the applications are limitless.
Oh, to be so Young and Savvy
It’s been a while since I was part of the 20 – 25 year old market segment and I recall having a “devil may care” approach to food buying and consumption. Sure, I cared somewhat about calories, but actually finding caloric content info wasn’t easy. Forget about RDAs and percentage of fat vs. sugar vs. proteins. Fiber? Don’t think so.
I just had lunch with my cousin, a college freshman, who filled me in on her eating habits. She spurned the school meal plan, opting to cook for herself. She shops at Whole Foods almost exclusively, eats organic when she can, doesn’t mix carbs with anything else and has pretty much a hands-off attitude about sugar. Turns out, she fits the profile of the Young Women (20-25 year old) segment of our recent Food Shopping Survey 2009. We asked respondents to rank purchase considerations among 12 criteria; then probed into label-reading. Here are a few highlights:
- The overall #1 criteria is Taste, but for this group Price is a close second. Which, interestingly, often means buying simple, fresh ingredients rather than prepared, packaged foods.
- Young Women were not as concerned about preservatives or fiber as their “more mature” female counterparts.
- More than any other group, Young Women were more influenced by Packaging, yet paid less notice to Brand Name. This comes as an expression of their curiosity in exploring items, general “newness” of shopping independently, and the attendant lack of brand loyalty.
- Young Women (and Young Men) are more interested in organic and fair trade than any other segment.
- A lot of information is derived online as well as through friends, including those on Facebook and other social networks. Some of the favorite online sources cited are: Hungry Girl, fitday, Jillian Michaels, wholefoods, idealist and epicurious. And two favorite magazines are Fitness and Health.
Here are a few verbatim comments which reflect a collective point of view:
- “I’m eating less healthy now that I’m in college and away from my parents. But I’m determined to turn that around.”
- “I just got married and my husband is obsessed with saving money. Still, we buy good, whole foods. No more pre-packaged junk for us.”
- “I buy more ‘real’ food, meaning not processed. If I buy pre-packaged foods, I look for ‘real’ingredients, those I recognize as food.”
-“I’m more aware of the effects that highly processed foods have not only on people, but on the economy and sustainability of the earth.”
- “I just returned from two years living in France, where I learned to shop almost daily for fresh foods … a great habit.”
-“I’m not interested in brand names. I’m reading labels, cutting out things with added sugar.”
-“I’ve given up dairy.”
- “I became a vegetarian.”
-“I’m purchasing from local/smaller grocery stores. Also looking at what is in my food. For things like bread, it’s ridiculous that it would contain HFCS (as an example).”
- “SEO is a great thing. You can Google anything and the information will pop up. I do this the first time I buy just about anything – that is, go online to find what’s in it.”
To sum it up, these are the views of our emerging food buyer, in her first few years of meal planning independence. Maybe she’s in college right now, or newly married, but soon she’s likely to be buying for a family. We know a lot about how she selects food and engages with brands, but few ingredient companies are using this intelligence wisely. There’s a lot of “if we build it, they will come” mentality still rampant in b2b marketing. Ask yourself … do you understand this consumer? And how can you join the conversation?
Notes from CIMA’s Interactive Marketing Survey
There were no real surprises from Chicago Interactive Marketing’s (CIMA) 7th semi-annual marketing survey. 
Our friend, Troy Mastin, former researcher at Blair and new Director of Global Strategy and Operations for the Marketing Store, conducted the research again this year. The responses provided from Chicago area marketers, agencies and media were what I had expected: Continue reading
