Kmart is integrating a lesson plan into its back-to-school efforts with workbooks and information that help teachers and parents convey information about money management to kids.
The value retailer points to a survey conducted by Kelton Research for Kmart in late July that found that three in four Americans feel it’s more important to discuss finances with their children than it was a year ago. Nevertheless, Kelton found, more than half the parents polled reported having difficult bringing up budgets, money management or other financial concepts with their kids.
The Kmart “Money Smart” curriculum is designed to fill that need with downloadable content developed in conjunction with Time for Kids, the youth-oriented version of Time magazine. The program, intended for elementary grades, offers worksheets built from educational puzzles, riddles and word scrambles that serve to introduce the topics of saving and budgeting to kids, along with guidance about creating their own spending plans.
A classroom version of Money Smart offers discussion topics and financial word problems as well as tips from veteran teachers on ways to save money in the classroom. The materials can be accessed through either the Kmart Web site or at http://www.timeforkids.com.
“The Kmart survey found that nearly seven in 10 American parents are worried that they won’t be able to instill proper financial knowledge in their children,” CMO mark Snyder said in a release. “Our children need tools to succeed, and Kmart is proud to offer some of those tools.”
Kmart is also working with the National Education Association and teacher social network TheApple.com to promote back-to-school coupons specifically for teachers as they plan for the new school year. The Kmart site also offers a link to a page of discount offers on items that teachers very often purchase from their own savings in the back-to-school run-up—things like binders, marking pens, and crayons. Some of the offers use either coupon codes for online purchase or printable coupons for in-store redemption; others link only to the in-store coupon.
“On average each year, teachers spend $300 of their own money on school supplies,’ Snyder said. “It’s critical for us to give back to these individuals that educate our children.”
“Ready to Rock” is the overall tagline to Kmart’s back-to-school efforts, directed at kids, parents and, with this campaign, teachers. For the first time, Kmart and agency Draftfcb are targeting tweens directly with an interactive back-to-school promotion, “Be a Schoolebrity”, offering entrants a chance to win a shopping spree and a school visit from cast members of the Nickelodeon cable show “iCarly”.
Kelton Research conducted the Kmart Finance Survey July 21-25, 2009, using an e-mail invitation and an online survey.
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