Marketing to the Four-Eyed, Four-Legged Consumer: Mom & Kid

Editor’s Note: This article is excerpted from Marketing to the New Super Consumer Mom & Kid by Tim Coffey, Dave Siegel and Greg Livingston, principals of WonderGroup.

Moms have changed. They’re largely Gen-X. They’re smarter, college educated. They live for their children, not just their careers. They want to be the best moms ever. But, they’re also time starved; money starved and stressed trying to do it all!

Kids have changed. They’re savvier to marketing. They’re well informed and connected thanks to better schooling and the Internet. And, they’ve become consensual with moms, probably because mom is now pretty “cool” herself.

The inevitable result? Very smart moms, looking to avoid wasting valuable time and money have joined forces with their very savvy consumerized, informed and connected kids to make purchasing decisions as simple and as smart as possible. They have become one single consumer—a four eyed for legged consumer!

The nature of the Four-Eyed, Four-Legged™ consumer, which we'll refer to from now on as 4i4l, changes as the child matures from pre-birth (pregnancy) to teen. Today’s moms and, therefore, their children are substantially different than previous generations in their approach to life and parenting in particular. By examining their life stages, we can better understand how the 4i4l develops and changes over time. Each stage of the 4i4l brings a new relationship between mother and child that significantly affects the mode and nature of how they make decisions together, with each stage informing the next one. Most importantly, each stage requires a different approach to effectively market to the 4i4l consumer.

In relationship terms, we see three stages — Dependence, Conditional and Interdependence — which emerge over the life stages of the mother and child. Each stage is characterized by a different mix and balance of mutual decision-making styles. For the past several decades, the view of this decision-making relationship has been characterized as a nagging child who pesters and cajoles her parent to get what she wants, with the parent (mostly mom) represented as the “gatekeeper” who decides which requests are granted. While we are not saying that there is no truth in these characterizations, we have seen in our own and others’ research that there is much more to the story.

There is far more generational collaboration than once believed, as both mom and kid simultaneously seek to meet their respective needs. In our 2005 study of Mom/Kid Influence, we found clear evidence of this more collaborative relationship, even among moms and children as young as two to four years old, that increases as the child grows older. In fact, if a product or service is purchased for a child, moms tell us that the child is between eighty and ninety percent influential in the decision. Even if a purchase is made for the family (like a car or new home) the child is highly influential!

Ethnic Eating

As families continue to eat out more and more, they are finding more ethnic choices at their favorite dining spots. A recent survey from R&I Magazine determined that 50 percent of menus feature Mexican food. And if “Tex-Mex” had been an included designation, this number would have jumped higher. Even Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Indian cuisines are finding their way onto mainstream menus. There are many reasons for the increased presence of ethnic foods. Restaurateurs use ethnic foods to give patrons greater variety and dishes they usually don’t make for themselves. As an added bonus, many of these items can be prepared at a reasonable cost, with ingredients they already have in their kitchens. Diners perceive ethnic foods as being healthy. And because people are traveling more and they have access to unlimited information at the click of a mouse, they have more familiarity with these types of foods. Kids are also becoming more adventurous with foods because of greater familiarity from school lunches and from friends of different ethnicities.

WonderGroup's Perspective
This is more the continuation of a long-running trend than new, ground-breaking news. That being said, next time you go out to eat, take a close look at the menu and chances are you’ll be surprised at just how big the ethnic influence is – even in good ole American chains. There is something about these foods themselves that Americans like, but ethnic foods’ popularity is also a bit about the “new” factor. Americans’ palates are becoming more adventurous and they crave new taste experiences. Restaurateurs are sure to continue to offer more ethnic cuisine and to give traditional favorites an ethnic spin. While many experts predict most of the activity to happen along the Asian and Hispanic fronts, look for greater excitement and exploration in unchartered ethnic territories such as African and Caribbean cuisine. And consumer packaged goods companies should also take note as grocery stores seem primed for more new products with a greater focus on ethnic foods and flavors.

Well Connected

A recent report by The Center for Media Research® sheds new light on kids’ Internet habits. The survey reveals that nearly 60 percent of American kids between the ages of 6 and 11 go online at least once a month. And over 8 percent go online every day. What are these kids doing when they are online? Almost 43 percent play games and over 23 percent use it to do stuff for school or homework. 10.5 percent of these kids use e-mail, 6.5 percent use Instant Messenger and only about 3 percent visit chat rooms.

WonderGroup's Perspective

With more kids accessing the Internet more often, it presents a golden opportunity for marketers to better target their message in a way that breaks through the clutter and connects with kids in meaningful ways. But it takes work. Just running a banner ad and having a Web site won’t cut it. That being said, the Internet isn’t the new king of the land quite yet. TV is far from dead and is still the best way to reach kids. And although marketers may be better able to aim their communication to specific targets online, TV commercials reach the masses AND have a pretty nice-sized audience. In fact, The Center for Media Research reports that nearly 60 percent of kids aged 6-11 watch television commercials.

Heard on the Playground: Super Bowl Commercials are Super

According to Nielson, an estimated 40 million kids and teens tuned into the Super Bowl broadcast (approximately one-third of the total viewing audience). And what did they have to talk about the next day at the water fountain between classes? The commercials, of course.

In fact, commercials were the big winners of the Super Bowl broadcast for kids between the ages of 5 and 18, according to a timely study by Weekly Reader Research. In fact, many kids preferred the commercials to the game. When asked what was the best part of the broadcast, the commercials were cited as the first choice by over one-third of all respondents, beating out the game 34.9% to 30.8%. Girls went on to say that the commercials are the number one reason to watch the Super Bowl. By an overwhelming margin -- thirty-eight to twenty percent -- girls selected the ads over the game itself as the top reason to tune in.

What was the commercial that hit the strongest cord with the young set? The Federal Express Caveman commercial was their favorite. 15.6% cited the spot and brand on an unaided basis as their favorite ad the day after it aired. The highest rating for this spot was among boys -- aged 11-15 -- registering a 22.2% score.

And what made it connect so well? We believe that the commercial’s layering provided every audience the opportunity to enjoy the spot. The combination of slapstick humor in the unconventional setting of prehistoric time allowed kids to enjoy the commercial and the story, without the need to apply the abstract business message.