Marketers who are drawing up their plans to reach kids for the 2005-06 television season are demanding more meat on the bones from the networks. With the advertising opportunities for companies escalating it is no longer enough for many marketers to buy 30-second spots in order to convince little Johnny or Jill to try their cornflakes.
That’s what cable television network executives and producers of programs for the 2-11 crowd are saying this year in advance of the annual “upfront” sales season.
“Kids are just so submerged in media in general, and every single one of those media is looking for a way to monetize kids,” says producer Buzz Potamkin, the former head of television at Hanna-Barbera, referring to emerging channels such as cell phones and the “podcasting” craze involving iPod players.
Programmers agree, with many noting that the current national obsession over childhood obesity is giving them opportunities to team with packaged goods companies. When Kraft Foods announced in January that it would remove ads for sugar-laden foods from television shows aimed at kids, some observers predicted further fallout from other companies and a subsequent decline in advertising on kids’ shows.
But that doesn’t appear to be happening. Instead food companies such as Kellogg are looking for opportunities to work with cable networks to promote the healthiness of their brands, according to cable network executives.
“We’re having really meaningful conversations with a lot of our partners on how we can together turn the issues facing kids into a positive,” says Nickelodeon president Cyma Zarghami.
Cartoon Network’s partnership with Mattel Toys regarding the latter’s new Hot Wheels AcceleRacers is a typical example. The network is airing an “AcceleRacers” special every quarter and is hosting a series of micro-episodes and associated AcceleRacer activity on its Website.
Another trend is also affecting marketers’ plans: As CHIEF MARKETER reported in February, according to Harris Interactive a growing number of children are abandoned online purchases because of parental vetoes. Other research, too, has pointed to an increased role for parents in making important decisions for their kids. That has permeated television programming, with cable networks and marketers more cognizant than ever that involved parents are watching shows along with their kids. Case in point: Dodge, the Cayman Islands, and Old Navy are now advertising on Nick. “The way families spend time together is different,” Zarghami notes.
Media buyers agree, saying that the conventional wisdom of kids watching television in their room at night alone is a myth. A Magna Global USA study on family viewing released a year ago suggested that 80% of families watching primetime television are doing so as a group.
“If one family member is watching something that doesn’t appeal to others, everyone doesn’t scurry off to other rooms to watch television,” says Steve Sternberg, executive vice president/director of audience analysis for Magna.
For marketers, that means identifying the shows such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” that have both parents and kids laughing when Plankton is again foiled in his quest for a Krabby Patty.
