Youth Marketing

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WHY HAVE ADVERTISERS INCREASED THEIR FOCUS ON YOUNGER AGE BRACKETS

Advertisers have increased their focus on younger age brackets during the last 100 years. Marketing to youth began following the Second World War with the introduction of television. We have entered a new era of marketing geared toward youth. Youth have unparalleled access to marketing via television and internet, and marketing pitches are directly targeting youth. We live in an increasingly industrialized world.

In the first half of the 20th century and before, youth were not viewed as a market. In the 1960’s youth culture became a desired culture. Children’s requests to parents became the core of the new marketing focus .Children influence their parents' buying decisions and they are the adult consumers of the future. Advertisers are relying on “Pester power" or the “nag factor” which refers to children's ability to nag their parents into purchasing items they may not otherwise buy. They know that it’s a powerful tool, therefore advertisers target the youth rather than appealing to the parents.

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Parents today are willing to buy more for their kids for various reasons. Guilt can often play a role in how much a parent buys for a child. Parents who have less time to spend with their children substitute buying more gifts in the place of time spent.

It all began with presweetened cereal, which appealed to children. Toys were marketed free within the cereal box in order to sell the cereal. Product appeals were frequently exaggerated to interest children more. Since the start of youth geared marketing, there have been many new additions such as music, technology, ...

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