1. PESTER POWER.
Parents HATE pester-based marketing. They know what you’re doing and they want you to stop it. Let me ask you this – if your main buyer is a parent, and you want to build a healthy relationship with your main buyer, is it a good idea to piss off parents in your mar-comms? Of course not.

2.  SNEAKY SHELF PLACEMENT
Another marketing tactic parents love to hate. If your product is so unappealing to Mum (your buyer) that you have to sneak it into their child’s eyeline in order to secure purchase consideration… maybe you have a product problem? Just sayin’…

3. OVER-STIMULATING CONSUMPTION
Thankfully, this little gem is going the way of the Dodo, but for many years, marketers leveraged ‘collect and claim’ campaigns to drive hyper-consumption of their product. Breakfast cereals were big on this in the ’70s and ’80s.

Parents hate it when the cost to purchase 20 packets of your product outweighs the value of the ‘FREE gift’ on offer (after they’ve cut and collected all the bar codes and sent them off in the post). All this and often the reward was a plastic widget worth about 50 cents. Way to leave a bad taste in their mouths.

4.OUT-DATED GENDER BIAS
I’ll never be convinced that boys and girls should have the exact same toy options. They generally do play differently to each other – which is fine and even interesting to study – but I draw the line when there’s a social comment like this, suggesting little girls might dream of becoming a janitor, while little boys dream of being a rock star or a superhero or a scientist… ARGH!!

BIC pens caught a lot of flack last year when they released the first ever pen just for ladies (if you haven’t already read the reviews on Amazon, do yourself a favour!) and increasingly parents are concerned with marketers who address their daughters differently to their sons.

And finally…

5. INAPPROPRIATE CHARACTER PLACEMENT
Yep, that’s Hello Kitty WINE. Hello Kitty can be found on everything from lingerie to lollipops, but imagine you’re in a bottle shop on a Saturday morning, picking up supplies for a family barbecue, and the kids are with you. What’s your little miss going to think when she sees this? “Ooh Pink and pretty! That’s for ME!!”. Nope, it’s not. (PS what self-respecting adult wants a glass of Kitty Cabernet anyway?) Just, ew!

Increasingly, marketers like us recognise that there is a science to the way parents decide whether or not to buy a product for their child, and very rarely does it come down to ‘how much my child wants it’. We call it the composite market conundrum and we’ve developed some sophisticated tools to help clients navigate it.

Playground now has a great workshop called Marketing to Today’s Parents. It’s designed for proactive communications pros who want to make a positive impact while marketing kids products to parents. Contact me to find out more –  giorgia@playgroundcommunications.com

Maybe you’ve revisited your own teenage years and re-read old letters or diaries. Maybe you’ve made a conscious effort to keep up with teen trends in entertainment and media. Maybe you’ve asked a young relative or friend for insight, or even brushed up on developmental psychology in an effort to get a deeper understanding.

I have the luxury of being able to do all these things, all the time, and I’m here to share a trick with you:

The single best way to get inside the mind of a teenager
is to read good YA fiction.

I just finished reading the brilliant “Sloppy Firsts” by Megan McCafferty, and was reminded that talented writers can create wonderfully authentic, fully rendered teenage characters, allowing us to connect with the inner workings of the teenage psyche while thoroughly entertaining us at the same time.

McCafferty’s series of 5 novels joins 15-year-old Jessica Darling as she journeys through high school, and the first book turned 10 this year.

I guarantee, whether you’re twenty five or fifty five, you’ll love getting to know Jessica and the world she inhabits, and more importantly, it will help you develop better teen marketing campaigns. I suggest you read it as a team, and next time you review creative, or write a brief, ask yourselves ‘What would Jessica like? Why would Jessica care about this?’

Here’s some other recommended reading (just a short list for now!)

1. NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.
   A must-read for anyone who has a child, knows a child or was once a child. Seriously fascinating and game-changing thinking that you will want to talk about at dinner parties.
2. Literally anything by Judy Blume. Stick with me here… yes these books have been around a long time but nobody writes about teen angst and discovery quite like Judy, PLUS if you recall reading these when you were a teenager, taking another look now might just trigger some memories that will help you reconnect.
3. And to keep up with what the young folks are reading these days, check out these three, which are all being made into films:
   The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (movie currently in pre-production with Shailene Woodley confirmed as lead)
   Divergent: Book 1 in the series of dystopian YA thrillers by Veronica Roth ( also starring Shailene Woodley – clearly a name to watch. Due for release 2014)
   The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (okay so the movie is already out, but please read the book first!)
4. And finally, one for the girls: How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. Just read it – you will thank me!

If you liked this post, we’d love to hear from you! Email giorgia@playgroundcommunications.com with your feedback so we can keep giving you information that helps you do a better job of youth engagement.

It’s just so… elegant – a classic win/win strategy, based on timeless insight. But it’s the delivery that sets it apart for me.

Had the execution been mishandled, it could have been incredibly condescending to the teenager, but for me, it’s just not. Perhaps it’s due to a great bit of casting, or a director who just ‘gets’ this relationship, maybe just because the teenage girl seems to me to be in on the joke too (check her reaction at the end of the spot).

Either way, I think there’s a lot of love in this ad, and a moment of mother/daughter bonding that will resonate with many of us, regardless of which generation we represent.

I know when I was a teenager, I ‘discovered’ The Doors, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder, and not only did my parents embrace my exploration of their music library, it gave them a new way to connect with me and my teenage brothers at a time when I imagine that was difficult to achieve.

Young people care about causes. Somehow we all just intrinsically get this, right?

It’s part of the idealism of youth – the belief that if anyone can change the future, they can. Think about all the seismic cultural changes in world history and you’ll find the driving force behind them is very often student groups. Paris in ’68? Students. Tiananmen Square in 1989? Students. Tahrir Square, Cairo 2012? Students.

But what may surprise you is that their parents also care deeply about the causes that matter most to their adolescent kids – enough to influence their purchase decisions when it comes to your brands. According to research aggregated by our friends at Sunday Lunch, the potential business impact is huge.

• 93% of global consumers would buy a product associated with a cause.
• 65% have already purchased a cause-related product in the last 12 months.
• 69% of Australians think it’s ok for brands to support good causes and make money at the same time.
• 68% are more likely to buy a brand knowing that a portion of the money will go to a good cause.
• 58% would switch brands if a different brand of similar quality supported a good cause.

1. What’s the right cause? (It needs to connect meaningfully to your business and your audience).
2. What’s the most organic way you can integrate your brand objectives with the cause objectives?
3. What are your specific business goals? Are there also social goals?
4. Are you really ready to commit to this? For the long haul? (young consumers hate brands that dabble in cause)
5. How will success be measured?

Then, go to town poking holes in your plan – as many as you can. You may even want to do some qualitative research to really get it right.

Still not sure how to get started? Contact Us.

Sunday Lunch: Driving Profit through Purpose

Sunday Lunch is a creative marketing agency that helps brands drive sales and engage with their consumers, customers and staff.  We specialise in Cause Related Marketing and Local Community Marketing, helping brands develop authentic purpose-driven strategies that deliver on their marketing objectives and contribute to society’s interests at the same time.  From strategy through to execution, we can help you identify your brand’s social purpose and guide you through the tricky balancing act of partnering with a not-for-profit, or help you with simply building your own platform for your brand.

Pinkett-Smith writes: “This last week, I had to really evaluate the communication in regard to our young artists in the media. I was trying to differentiate cyber-bullying from how we attack and ridicule our young stars through media and social networks. It is as if we have forgotten what it means to be young or even how to behave like good ol’ grown folk.”

This tirade got us thinking about the definition of bullying and whether  it’s the right word to use in this context.

According to Australian Anti-Violence organisation, Enough is Enough; ”Bullying is when people repeatedly and intentionally use words or actions against someone or a group of people to cause distress and risk to their wellbeing.”

Under this definition, is the media’s treatment of young celebrities really ‘bullying’? Or is it something else entirely?

There’s no doubt that ‘bullying’ has become a buzzword. The anti-bullying movement may well have sprouted from valid concern for children and adolescents, but now that it’s also a celebrity issue and a workplace issue, have we entered the realm of ‘The Boy who Cried Wolf’? And if we have, what are the repercussions for kids who are truly experiencing bullying behaviour at school and online – what happens when they cry ‘bully’?

The true issue of bullying IS a real concern among our youth. They lack the skill to deal with it when it happens, and many lack the confidence and resilience it takes to bounce back when the world, inevitably, throws them some tough times.

We’ve done our homework on anti-bullying organisations in Australia, in search of the best solutions, and found you can’t go past Enough is Enough’s “Positive Solutions to Bullying” for schools. Here’s why we love this program:

• The entire school community takes part – students, teachers and parents
• It’s a 21 day program because it takes 21 days to create a new habit – and bullying solutions must be adopted as habit
• The focus is on RESILIENCE to bullying, which builds confidence and helps in all areas of child development
• It’s based on real-world experience, including stories from criminal and juvenile justice that get even the most jaded students to sit up straight and pay attention

If you’re a parent or an educator looking to address the issue of bullying, don’t hesitate to contact Enough is Enough and mention Playground Communications to get a special offer for your school!

Today’s young consumers are so savvy when it comes to celebrity endorsement deals. They’ve seen the ‘behind the scenes’ shoots on reality TV, and even been allowed access to negotiations and financial details. The curtain has been drawn back, revealing the wizard, leaving young audiences highly sceptical about the authenticity of brand endorsements.

Both the brand and the celebrity can suffer when a partnership goes badly. Marketers and agents alike need to tread very carefully with endorsement deals…

It’s no longer enough to create proximity to a known face for your brand – now you need to truly partner all the way from the product development stage. You might say it all started with 50Cent acting as a shareholder in Smartwater (followed by Jennifer Aniston etc). Now we see celebrities creating or co-creating their own lines – from clothing (Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani) to make-up (Katie Perry, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and wine (Drew Barrymore, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie)…. and also taking on Creative Director roles with Pepsi (Beyonce), Blackberry (Alicia Keys) and beer (Justin Timberlake).

We’ve worked in the celebrity space over many years and learnt from the best in the business (name drops available on request).

To help Aussie businesses navigate this minefield, we’ve put together a special workshop designed to help businesses think differently about celebrity partnerships and identify what’s right for their business. The workshops also provide a fun inside look at what really happens in those big global partnerships, based on personal experience working in New York alongside artists like Justin Timberlake, Mary J Blige, Beyonce Knowles, Chris Brown, Jay-Z and  Lady Gaga.

If you’re wondering:

- Is a celebrity partnership the right move?

- If ti was, who would we work with?

- How could we work with a partner authentically and innovatively?

- What should we expect along the way?

- How will we measure success?

Why not set up a working lunch or half-day session to get the ball rolling?

Jack made headlines this month because he created a simple test for the identification of pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancer.

Jack’s test is 168 times faster than what is currently available. It’s 26,000 times cheaper - which to me is just mind boggling. And early indications are that it’s almost 100% accurate.

JACK IS FIFTEEN!

It was a DORA party, as Allie loudly announced to every single guest as they arrived, one by one. She couldn’t believe her luck! Dora invitations, Dora serviettes, Dora hats and balloons, Dora CAKE and… (deep breath)

DORA THE EXPLORER HERSELF!! (cue 30 screaming children)

About half an hour into the party, Allie’s Dad (my brother) and her God-Dad (another family member) made a big entry dressed up as Dora The Explorer and Boots (see below). As you may be able to tell from the picture, both blokes are over 6ft tall, broad shouldered, and not particularly light on their feet, so the task of playing an inquisitive 8 year old girl and her monkey sidekick was always going to be a stretch.

To their credit, the boys worked hard. They waved, they danced, they jumped around (sweltering). They played statues and took the kids on a treasure hunt. Occasionally a costume head lolled creepily off to one side or spun around altogether. They constantly bumped into things, and whenever their arms were raised, you could clearly see their t-shirts, shorts and bare bellies underneath. You’d be forgiven for thinking the jig was up.

And yet - judging by the kids’ reaction, you’d have thought One Direction had entered a room full of tween girls.

The kids, aged 2 – 6, were unanimously delighted and above all, convinced! This was REAL! Dora and Boots, in the flesh, at Allie’s birthday party in Sydney on a Sunday afternoon! YAY Dora!

This got me thinking about kids and their ability to suspend disbelief. I recalled this quote from Jim Henson, father of the Muppets:

There’s a lot to be said for suspension of disbelief.

I wonder if our adult lives would be a bit more magical if we just let go of our cynicism every now and again, and chose to believe in the impossible – or the improbable – just for a moment?

For those of us who communicate with kids for a living, let’s remember that their imaginations need to be nurtured and fueled, and it’s okay for them to give in to flights of fancy, because for them it is REAL – there really are fairies in the garden and Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny really do swing by with gifts and cash for teeth.

We are so lucky that in our jobs, we have an opportunity to create magical memories for our audiences.

As Jim said, we just need to give them enough to work with, and let them do the rest.

Happy birthday Allie Boo!  xx

Who is this Eddie Redmayne? And why are the tweens flocking to him?

Les Miserables, of course.

This is not Eddie’s first major film role. He was in “My Week with Marilyn” with Michelle Williams, and “The Other Boleyn Girl” alongside Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen, and he even held his own against Helen Mirren in “Elizabeth I” so why is this new role ruffling so many new feathers?

Eddie plays Marius – a.k.a the hero/prince/Edward Cullen of the piece. Eponine is in love with Marius – madly, passionately and unrequitedly – just the way angst-ridden young girls love it. Eponine sings ‘On My Own’ – practically the catch cry of the teen soul. Anyone who has ever had a youthful crush knows the power of these words:

On my own
Pretending he’s beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me

Rachel Maddux describes Eponine as “the patron saint of square-peg girls in love with their oblivious best friends the world over” in this fabulous article that breaks down our young love affair with Les Miserables.

But back to Eddie Redmayne. This new tween favourite is a former Etonian who studied at Cambridge before pursuing a career in acting. He started out on the stage, performing Dickens and Shakespeare, before graduating to the silver screen where he has performed with some of the world’s most respected actors and directors. He’s 31 years old, and steers clear of tabloids and reality TV. A very different path to stardom than that taken by Justin Bieber who was discovered via YouTube, right? (Redmayne’s full bio is here)

We can’t help but be hopeful that our tweens and teens will latch onto a new hero, however fleetingly. We all hear complaints about the entitled generation. We lament their apparent expectation of overnight success with minimal effort… perhaps the rise of stars like Eddie Redmayne – stars who’ve done the hard yards – will help demonstrate to today’s kids that commitment, hard work, passion and tenacity can also get you there.

Who knows, maybe Eddie will show a generation of followers that taking the long way keeps you at the top for longer?

Also: Check out a very entertaining article from Jezebel: ”You Probably Like Les Mis Because You Have the S***** Tastes of a Tween“.

Guilty!

Photo by Laurie Sparham/Universal Pictures.

Have you made any resolutions?

Stay in touch with your inner big kid!

We have just three:

1. To hula hoop more frequently
2. To take on more ‘elephant in the room’ issues
3. To actively contribute to better health, happiness and resilience among Aussie youth of all ages.

Enjoy your return to the daily routine, and good luck with your resolutions. We’d love to hear what they are!

Giorgia