Branding

After reading the Noel C. Paul article, Branded for Life, I was very intrigued by the statistics it provided. In the article, it mentioned that children begin recognizing characters, colors and symbols in infancy, brands at 18 months and they begin asking for products by name at age 2.

I was aware that companies are beginning to target children much more frequently in their marketing efforts, but I did not realize how effective their efforts actually had become. I began to recognize how influential these brands were when we viewed the Brand Recognition by a Child YouTube video in class. The number of brands the five-year-old child recognized blew my mind.

I took some time to play around with this concept with my cousin’s three-year-old daughter. I was amazed by the amount of brands she was able to name. I was also incredibly impressed when I took the time to watch her as she asked for various things at dinnertime and was able to pick out what she wanted while grocery shopping by referring to the product name.  It is mind-blowing to think how marketers are beginning to just bypass the parents and directly target children.

I believe knowing how to use the product goes hand in hand with recognition of the brand and product. There are several products this is very evident with, but I think the iPhone is the most prominent. Companies are making apps that are targeted towards young children or parents of young children because children know how to iPhones and iPads.

Personally, I do not agree with marketers directly targeting a much younger demographic. I am confident this causes many issues for children as they grow older. By learning the "best" brands at an early age, they almost have a sense of entitlement and a desire for the best of everything. I feel that marketers should cease the targeting of the younger audience, but I do not foresee this happening because it seems to be a very effective marketing strategy.