More on Pester Power, "Agents" and the Parents

It is true that Pester Power targets the earning adults ready to spend their money wherein the main Influencer, Initiator and probably the "Consumer" are only the pestering agents , ie., the Kids. But, then it is very important to Identify the Markets where our Initiators are basically adamant and forceful with their pestering power. With respect to the Indian context, it may be Kids are interested in Toys, Electronic Games, TV, Music Systems, Chocolate, Biscuits, Cakes and other Snacks. Cricket Bats, balls and other tyes of outdoor/indoor playing utilies or in present context even iPods or Mobile Phones!!! This is only a illustrative list and not a conclusive one.
But we need to understand if there is a similarity in their liking for and hence the pestering process to happen.

The fact is that for majority of the products that the child does the pestering, a common theme lies in the fact that:

• Usage of the Product does not require the Parental Guidance or Control.
• In addition the parent has the least involvement with these product purchased.
• The usage is majorly restricted to young or young at Heart.

However, there are also widespread paradigm shifts in the products for which pester power works itself! We shall discuss about them later. As far the marketing goes, this is a huge oppportunity targetting a specific set of Influencers.

One has to look at the success of the electronic games market to understand the importance of kids’ influence on their parents’ spending.Last year games marketers, dominated by the likes of Sony, Nintendo and most recently Microsoft, made more money than the film industry.With the success of markets such as these, kids’ products are today recognised as being big business, and the role children play in purchasing decisions has similarly increased in importance to marketers.

“A quarter of parents in their thirties take their children shopping with them and more than half of this age group take their kids shopping with them at least every second time, so there is a big opportunity for kids to influence brand choices there.”Ingenuity Research’s “Australians Today Consumer Insights” report is based on interviews with Australian kids aged six to 13 and their parents.

This year the report stated kids are most likely to influence the buying of snack foods: chips (56% of parents agreed), biscuits (48%) and other savoury snacks.Almost 30% of parents also said they buy the toothpaste their kids choose and 44% will buy a brand of spread, such as peanut butter, their children select.
But whether kids want a particular brand of peanut butter, or the latest game release, Einsteinz Toy Box MD Steve Quinlan says pester power is as much about the environment children are brought up in, as the kind of advertising to which they are exposed. He says it should not surprise anyone that kids will throw groceries into a shopping trolley, considering they have watched their parents and other shoppers do just that since their first trip to the supermarket. As we see Pester power doesn’t just come from the children—they are being influenced by their parents and their environment. From a marketing perspective, that’s a powerful tool. Researchers say that marketing aimed at children should not be interpreted as a means of forcing kids to drive their parents crazy to buy them a particular product—it is not brainwashing.

There will be trends and fads and things that kids get excited about, but that’s the same as anybody, we all have our cravings. It’s just basic marketing—you have to make a product appeal to kids, else your product will end up on the toy scrap heap. One has got to make the kids want what he is selling.”The same rules can apply to fast-moving consumer goods(FMCG) where kids might have a say in the choice of a particular product.The best way to market for the pestering kids, according to The Marketing Store MD Asia Pacific Christian Roth, is to provide a “rational or emotional benefit” that the parent can see.