Like me, want me, buy me, eat me”: relationship- building marketing communications in children’s magazines Sandra Jones, Nadia Minion and Julia Green 2009 According to the authors, food marketing to children is a multi- million dollar business. It entails different meaning thus food marketing for children requires a lot of effort and money to become perfect and catchy to every kid.
Numerous studies have showed that children are exposed to extensive advertising for products high in fat and sugar; and that marketer’s efforts to tap into the minds and culture of today’s hillier have created an interactive, high speed marketing environment that seems almost inescapable. Therefore, advertising foods that are not healthy is now welcomed to the market and whatever it takes to get the attention is being tapped by the advertisers.
As stated, children are a particularly vulnerable consumer group due to their limited ability to recognize the persuasive intent of advertising, which meaner that they are capable of buying things even they don’t necessarily need it. A good marketing strategy can pull the children to get the product. In addition, children are exposed to billions of dollars of food advertising and marketing in the media each year that makes their buying behavior change from one to another.
According to the study the repetitive exposure to food brands can influence the children’s taste perceptions, with a study showing that children preferred the taste of a hamburger given to them in Mcdonald’s packaging over the same hamburger given to them in unbranded packaging which meaner that likewise in the Philippine setting if the hillier were given Jollied products that Angels burger they will most likely choose Jollied since it provides good image and nice advertisements.
Variations of promotional techniques is used to make unhealthy food products appealing to children, including bright packaging, intensely clouded and flavored ingredient, free gift, puzzles, competitions, collectibles and tie ups with cartoon characters, pop starts, sporting heroes and popular children’s films. The product bundling of giving away toys and food most likely perceived the children today. Food marketing to hillier often integrates non- food mechanisms to increase brand exposure and sale, including premiums, contests and sweepstakes as well as kid’s club and free download in interactive media.
Samples are happy meal of McCoy, Jolly kiddies meal of Jollied and kids meal of Shakes. A premium is a product or service received for free with the purchase of a food product. Promotions enhance the image of the particular brand in the child’s mind, promoting brand awareness and recall. Online media is also host to a multitude of embedded food advertisements with many promotions signed to target children.
The study find out that for children advertisements are not Just to catch their attention rather inform them of what they need to know. According to the writers, “Media literacy refers to the ability to develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature, technique and impact of what we see, hear and read in all torts tot media. ” In a nutshell, a good advertisement or marketing strategy doesn’t goes with the age but with the ability of marketers to inform them of what they should know.
