Advertising on Television is still the most common and significant way of transporting messages to people and particularly to children in view of affecting their intent to buy. The Nielsen Media Research found out that, very young children as early as age two, watch television more than three hours per day, (1998, in Singer & Singer, 2001, p.15) which makes the subject of how children understand advertising messages and what they do with these messages an important topic. The producers of advertising campaigns have still noticed the importance of children as a target group and the significant influence on their parents’ purchases. Furthermore children are “consumers of tomorrow”, consequently companies have to create awareness of their products and create preferences as well as brand loyalty in the very early stages of children’s consumerism.
Therefore it is an interesting topic to consider if commercials have an effect on children and if so, what they do with these messages. It is important to focus on the factors which have an influence on building up the mind of children. However, since this topic is very complex and the opinions differ, it is not possible to point out one general point of view. Every child is an individual with a different family background and an individual behaviour.
Firstly it is significant to look at some general properties of a successful campaign and the increasing influence of children on their parents purchase. To find an assertion why children are strongly influenced, it will be briefly looked at how many advertisings an average child watched.
Furthermore, another crucial point is how and to which extent television advertising does influence children on their brand perceptions.
This essay will discuss how children understand television advertising and what they do with the message they get from it.
For that reason it is essential to know and analyse the process of consumer socialization which will be mentioned afterwards. It will be considered how the family, the school, peer groups and the mass media influence a child.
Table of Contents
1. Advertising to Children
2. Influence of Television on Children’s Perception
3. Replay Behavior and Consumer Socialization
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the influence of television advertising on children, specifically exploring how they perceive commercial messages, their ability to distinguish advertisements from regular programs, and the long-term impact of consumer socialization through various social agents.
- The psychological impact of television commercials on young children
- Mechanisms of consumer socialization within families, schools, and peer groups
- The significance of product placement and its non-obvious influence
- The evolution of children's brand perception and "pester power"
- The role of television as a primary source of information and world-building for children
Excerpt from the Book
One way of reacting after watching commercials is that Children try to replay them in the way of imitating ads verbally and act them out physically.
Replays can be verbal, such when kids sing a jingle from an ad which kept them in mind. Physical replays employ when kids act out or imitate an action or scene from a commercial. Physical also means self created paintings, sculptures, of other objects that portray products from a commercial. A third way of replaying advertising is to replay it in a mentally way. When kids begin to think or even dream out commercials, they react mentally. A case study from Gerbner (1996, p.91f.) shows, that the first thing that stays in mind is the jingle of a commercial. Using jargons and brand names is an abbreviated or condensed form of replay and the second important one. Another common one is to adobe an ad star name. Children often imitate actions out of the commercials.
However, in a critical way of considering the activities, information, attitudes, and values that make up replay behaviour out of these, are linked to products or services being sold for profit. In other words, in replays the children independent thinking, as well as their personal, familiar, and community cultures, dissolve into life based on appearances (Gerbner, 1996, p.125).
Summary of Chapters
1. Advertising to Children: This chapter provides an introduction to the research topic, highlighting the importance of children as a key consumer target group and the prevalence of television as a medium for shaping their purchasing intent.
2. Influence of Television on Children’s Perception: This chapter analyzes how children process advertising messages, identifying the age-related shifts in their ability to distinguish between commercials and entertainment content.
3. Replay Behavior and Consumer Socialization: This chapter discusses the practical ways children internalize and mimic commercial content, while examining the influential roles of family, schools, and peer groups in their consumer development.
Keywords
Television Advertising, Consumer Socialization, Brand Perception, Children, Marketing, Peer Groups, Mass Media, Pester Power, Commercial Messages, Consumer Behavior, Social Learning, Product Placement, Child Development, Consumerism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines the relationship between television advertising and children, focusing on how children understand commercial content and the factors that influence their behavior as future consumers.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The main themes include consumer socialization, the influence of television on brand perception, the social impact of advertising within family structures, and the role of schools and peers in shaping consumer identity.
What is the main objective of the research?
The objective is to analyze the process of consumer socialization and understand how mass media, particularly television, impacts children's attitudes and consumption behaviors.
What scientific methods or perspectives are used?
The paper utilizes a literature-based synthesis approach, reviewing various case studies and psychological research on children’s attention patterns and social behavior in relation to marketing.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body addresses the volume of advertising exposure children face, the cognitive development required to understand persuasive intent, and the distinct roles of social institutions like the family and school.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Television Advertising, Consumer Socialization, Brand Perception, Pester Power, and Child Development.
How does "pester power" function according to the author?
The author describes pester power as a successful marketing concept where children are encouraged to influence their parents to purchase specific brands or products for the whole family or for themselves.
What role does the family play in consumer socialization?
The family is presented as the primary institution for socialization, where children learn about consumer behavior through observation and interaction with parents rather than through formal instruction.
- Quote paper
- Miriam Herbst (Author), 2004, Advertising to Children, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/46205
