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Jim Magay |
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When Mrs. C------ brought her kids in for glasses a few weeks ago, she thought the insurance plan the family was on would take care of everything.
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Wrong! The insurance frames were; in the words of her 12 year old daughter, “Disgusting!” and furthermore, “I’ll never wear any of those - - - ugly glasses!”
At that point two thoughts ran through my mind, “Thank G-- she isn’t my daughter!” and “I’m very glad I invested in some new kid’s and tween’s frames at Vision Expo this year!”
The "tween" shopper -- the buzz word for the population segment comprised of children 7 to 14 years old, which is now around 29 million strong and growing, according to New York-based MarketResearch.com. is a strong force in a “down” economy.
In fact, according to MarketResearch.com. tweens will spend a total of $38 billion, or an estimated $1,294 each (for the last year figures were available).
So how are these kids reached? Corporations capitalize on the age-old insecurities and self-doubts of teens by making them believe that to be truly cool, you need their product.
According to No Logo author Naomi Klein, in the 1990s corporations discovered that the youth market was able and willing to pay top dollar in order to be "cool." The corporations have been chasing the elusive cool factor ever since.
“Cool” hunters, consumer panels, Face book, Twitter, and basic marketing research are all employed to help them figure it out.
This aggressive marketing, besides destroying childhood as most of us know it, borders on insanity – if you doubt me, look at the ads Abercrombie, Calvin, et al run – most would be appropriate in an earlier form of Playboy magazine.
Public cynicism is rising and as a result marketers are moving away from celebrity endorsements (I’m sure Paris and Tiger really used all those products they shilled for – right!). The trend now seems to be the grand merchandizing strategy, the Movie, the Game, the celeb appearances, the merchandise tie-ins, the T-shirts, the dolls, the tons of stuff for Toys “R” Us to push.
What to do? In Canada, there are rules for advertising to children. Except in Quebec, where all advertising to children under the age of 13 is prohibited under the Quebec Consumer Protection Act. I doubt that would fly here in the home of the brave and land of the politically correct but free (but it is an approach).
So we are the good guys, right? Do we promote and pander, like the Disney’s and Warner Brothers, and other entertainment dynasties. Probably not, but only because we don’t have the budgets – I think it is more socially desirable to get involved in community things like sponsoring youth athletics, reading programs, and art shows. We need to foster healthy attitudes towards our clients and their kids and meet them in a spirit of mutual respect and trust.
By the way – Mrs. C------‘s daughter got a modestly priced name brand and her insurance paid for the lenses.
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