Influencers Pave Way for Kids’ Attention: Study
Advertisers focus more of their marketing efforts on people who kids believe are the main influencers behind certain entertainment categories including music, fashion and sports, according to a new study.
The study, by the Nickelodeon cable network, found that the kids’ population is more ethnically diverse than that of the overall U.S. population, and that kids are consuming more media than ever.
Nickelodeon presented details of the study to advertisers and promotional partners last month.
Data from Nickelodeon’s 2005 U.S. multicultural kids study shows that 44% of kids think blacks know the most about the latest music and 34% of kids think whites know the most about the latest movies. Another 34% of kids think blacks know the most about the latest fashions; 35% think whites know the most about computers and the Internet and 37% believe blacks know the most about sports. The study also found that 33% of respondents think whites know the most about video games.
“If white kids believe that African-American kids know more about fashion, that should inform the way that an advertiser creates and targets their messaging,” said Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami in a statement. “This notion of influencers is the most intriguing because I believe as the digital revolution really takes effect it will allow advertisers to get to the influencers in a much more focused and targeted way.”
Perhaps the biggest decision for marketers and advertisers to make is to learn where to target their messages, Zarghami said.
“You can throw that net out and catch the majority of fish in your net and still miss those fish to whom everyone in your net is looking to decide, ‘Am I going to turn left or am I going to turn right,”‘ she said.
Advertisers must pay close attention to the various platforms that exist for entertainment content and how kids access it. According to Nickelodeon research, kids with access to digital cable watch about 24 hours of TV a week, compared to 23 hours a week for kids with satellite TV, 22 hours for kids with analog cable and 15 a week for kids with broadcast TV.
So far this year, kids are watching about one hour more of TV each week than in 2004. Research also shows that kids who have TV sets in their bedrooms not only watch more TV, but use more media overall.
The same holds true for cell phone use. Twenty-eight percent of kids own their own cell phone. Kids who own cell phones make or receive an average of nine calls and send or receive 14 text messages a day, the study found.
