Teen Advertising Savvy

by Comments are off

  1. savvy
   

Education Feature

Teen Advertising Savvy

By Robert Seith
CWK Network
Senior Producer
 
“It can feel like you’re getting bombarded.”
–

Kenieshia White, 18, who says she isn’t surprised to hear that the average teen receives approximately 400 marketing messages each day. –

Billboards… magazines… the Internet… television…

Teens are bombarded…

“Teenagers watch by the time they graduate high school,” says Mike Steel, who teaches a high school course in marketing. 22-thousand hours of t-v, and exposed to over a quarter of a million messages, advertising messages,”

The message is ‘buy’… often it works.

“The way they show it off really gives off how the product is, so it makes me want to go buy it more,” says Senior Jeremy Kostka.

“I wasted a lot of money,” says Senior Kenieshia White.

“Tons of money wasted on just little items that I didn’t even need,” adds classmate Lyle LeDuff.

But, today, Jeremy, Keneishia, Lyle and the rest of their classmates are learning the art of the sell… how marketers use repetition…

Music…

And exciting images…

To make a product seem to be more than it really is.

Experts say parents could teach their kids these same things well before they’re seniors in high school.

“Talk with their children about what the advertising messages are trying to say,” says Steel, “For them to learn the tactics… the things that aren’t so spoken.”

Explain, for instance, how marketers use celebrities or certain imagery to try to get you to think a product is ‘cool’; to make a soft drink, shoe, or pair of pants seem like it will change your life… when it really won’t.

“And explain that marketers, companies are out to sell products and that’s their underlying reason for doing anything,” says Steel.

It may take time… but some kids will get that message.

Lyle LeDuff says, “I know one thing my mom told me; before I buy it… try it.”
 
Related Information

By Larry Eldridge, Jr.
CWK Network, Inc.

The research is in – advertising plays a huge role in the lives of children. Studies have shown that advertising has a strong influence on children, and that children develop consumer thoughts at a very early age. Consider the following statistics:

  • Children begin forming mental images of corporate logos by the age of six months.
  • “Brand loyalty” may begin as early as two years old.
  • One-in-five children are making specific brand-name requests by the time they are five years old.
  • Parent spending due to the influence of children ages four to 12 has increased 600 percent over the last 20 years — from $50 billion to $300 billion.
  • During a recent year, children ages four to 12 spent nearly $29 billion of their own money on consumer products.
  • Teenagers spent $171 billion in 2001.
 

By Larry Eldridge, Jr.
CWK Network, Inc.

Begin talking to your child about advertising when he/she is very young. By discussing various types of advertisements, you can build a foundation for your child to become a smart shopper and a cautious spender. Experts at the National Toy Council suggest that you and your child view an advertisement on television or in a magazine, and discuss the following questions:

  • What do you notice first when you look at this advertisement?
  • What do you like or dislike about this advertisement?
  • What product is being advertised?
  • How does the advertisement make you feel about the product?
  • What questions should you ask before buying this product?

When it comes to spending, consider the following, developed by The Center for a New American Dream:

  • Teach your child the value of money. Offer an allowance and set up a regular plan with your child for depositing a portion of the allowance in the local bank, and perhaps for donating a portion to a local charity. Let kids spend their own money and live with the consequences of their choices.
  • When your children beg for the latest toy craze, talk about why they want the new object before saying no or giving in. When you talk about the “root cause” of the want — and whether it is really something worth having — you may be able to diffuse your child’s fixation on the object. Learn to say no and set limits.
  • Shopping can be fun – a time to share, laugh and be together. Just don’t turn the mall into your primary destination or shopping into your favorite sport!
  • Bring kids along when you shop for birthday presents for other children and ask them to think about the enduring value of different toys. It’s a good opportunity to teach your kids critical consumer skills.
  • Be a role model. Avoid impulse shopping. Make a shopping list and stick to it.

There are so many fun and imaginative alternatives to commercial entertainment. The Center for a New American Dream offers the following ideas:

  • Help kids learn to enjoy and make music and art. Give gifts of music or art lessons instead of fancy electronic gadgets.
  • Give children a box of crayons and a roll of shelf paper. Supply them with sidewalk chalk, old cardboard boxes and other materials to help encourage creative play.
  • Play pretend! Imagine you live in medieval France. Imagine you’re 90 years old. Imagine you’re president. Collect old clothes or buy some at a thrift store; make a dress-up chest and put on plays. Imagining encourages empathy and communication skills in children.
  • Have an electricity-free night. “Roughing-it” at home by candlelight — without the distractions of electronic gadgets — offers a fun opportunity to bond as a family.
  • Organize a trip to the park for an old-fashioned game of capture the flag or hide and seek.
  • Spend more time in nature. A local park or even your own backyard will do. Nature helps connect children and adults to the larger scheme of life, and offsets the noisiness and rush of daily life. Being outdoors also encourages kids to be physically active.
  • Teach your children to be aware of their health and their choices. Faced with “super-sized” meals and “extra large” sodas, kids have almost no chance of developing realistic food expectations without guidance and support.
  • Grow your own food – even a pumpkin seed in a pot – and involve the kids. Teach your child about the connections within the natural world. Experience the beauty together. Talk about where things come from, who made them, what they are made of.
 

Federal Consumer Education Center
Consumer Action
Center for a New American Dream