TARGETED ADVERTISEMENT TO CHILDREN 2

Targeted Advertisement to Children
Part 1: Targeting ads to children (15pts)

1. What are three channels that marketers use to target children? Explain
   each one by providing an example.
   The three channels that marketers use to target children are packaging, product
   placement in television shows, and viral marketing.
   In packaging, marketers pack children’s products using images that are popular with
   kids to attract the children to the products. An example is the use of images of popular cartoon
   characters on children’s products displayed in supermarkets.
   As for product placement in television shows, marketers advertise their products on
   television shows that young ones like to watch. An example is placing advertisement of
   children’s food in a cartoon show.
   Lastly, viral marketing involves marketers requesting consumers to use their social
   networks to promote a product. An example is when food companies set up websites for
   children and then request them to share their email addresses and those of their two or three
   friends in order to promote their products.
2. What are some concerns with advertising to children? Provide enough
   information within at least 2-3 sentences. (2pts).
   One concern about advertising to children is that children are too young to understand the goal
   of the advertisers thus making it easy to manipulate them. Secondly, that most of the
   advertisements tend to promote food products whose nutritional quality is low.
3. What are at least two strategies being taken to alleviate the amount of
   targeted ads to children? Expand on each of those strategies by giving a
   real-life example, and finding a picture online that demonstrates that
   strategy. Include a caption for that picture to provide context (10pts).
   One of the strategies that is being used to alleviate the amount of targeted advertising
   to children is pricing. Under this strategy, taxes are raised on low nutritional value products
   with the goal of discouraging young people from buying the products because of their raised
   prices. An example of application of this strategy in real life is tax hike on junk foods in
   Mexico and Hungary.

Image showing why there is need to tax healthy foods less and junk foods more
Another strategy is the use of government policies and laws to prevent businesses from
directly or indirectly targeting children in their product advertisements. The Federal Trade
Commission, for instance, has banned all advertisements targeted at children on sites such as
YouTube.

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Image showing Federal Trade Commission’s an on advertising targeted at children on

YouTube

Lastly, creating and promoting messages about sound nutrition in the media is another
strategy that has been used to alleviate the amount of targeted advertising to children. An
example of this strategy is media campaign led by the former First Lady, Mitchell Obama
called “Let’s Move” campaign which promoted children’s foods that have high amounts of
nutrients.

Logo for Mitchell Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign showing that playing physical games and
eating healthy foods (apple) improves health of children
Part 2: SEM strategies (10pts)

Choose one of the strategies you mentioned in the last question, and a community
setting/ venue. Using the SEM and theories of behavior change, create an
intervention that focuses on reducing the purchase of foods with empty calories
amongst children.
The strategy chosen is use of media messages promoting high nutrients foods. The
community in which this strategy will be applied is a school. The intervention will involve
placement of multiple billboards near around the school with images of healthy and happy
children taking foods that are low in calories and high in nutrients such as fruits and
vegetables. The goal of these billboards is to encourage school-going children to start buying
nutritious foods instead of junk ones.
The intervention applies SEM model. This model recognizes that there are multiple
influence levels. In this intervention, the influence level targeted is individual. The
intervention seeks to influence behavior by increasing knowledge of children about healthy
foods and shifting their attitudes so that they develop an unfavorable view of junk food.
The intervention also applies social cognitive theory, a behavioral change theory. This
theory holds that people often model their behaviors on what they observe. Thus, with many

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billboards around them having images of children taking healthy food products, the school-
going children are also likely to adopting feeding habits that resemble those of the children on
the billboards.