There’s an interesting article at C-Net about marketing to youth in virtual online worlds. As you may know, virtual worlds such as Habbo Hotel, Webkinz and the like are hugely popular with kids and tweens. Many of them also offer opportunities to market to kids. Sometimes, joining the virtual world requires buying a real-world toy, sometimes these sites include ads, and sometimes, as the article reports
“preteens are driving virtual Toyota Scions on sites such as Whyville.net and Gaia Online, and they’re wearing the latest digital fashions from DKNY at Stardoll.com.”
Of course, there’s always been a fair bit of marketing to kids, such as when a movie effectively promotes an ‘action figure’, or a cartoon has ‘spin-off’ toys, lunchboxes, and the like. How much marketing to kids is appropriate at online worlds? Is it ok as long as it’s up front and honest? Let us know!
While unscrupulous and probably just plain wrong, advertising to kids is far more effective then advertising to parents.
Kids are easy prey (usually) and once you have kids, you don’t need to worry about the parents because the kids will drive their parents crazy until they get what they want. This has been going on for decades and will continue for decades.
When these kids grow up they will be far more accepting and susceptible to advertising, just as my generation is now (i was born in 71).
Overpriced I-pod/I-phone anyone? It’s shiney!
Interesting, Dave. One thing I’ve been thinking about is that now that advertising is emerging as THE business model online (witness the NY Times just having opened up their content, swapping a pay-to-read model for advertising), is there ever a limit to how much advertising we can be exposed to? Sometimes I feel like we are now just totally swamped by ad messages.
Advertisers go to where the markets are. They always have and they always will. With the increasing number of ways to reach us, it’s never long before someone figures out how to advertise on it. I can see the day coming where we have sub-dermal watches, phones, etc, and then we can NEVER get away from ads. Think of the Minority Report…the advertising in there is coming.
Can we ever get away from it? As long as we’re connected 24/7, someone will figure out a way to get their message to us whenever they want. It’s a price we’re starting to pay, and one we’ll have to evaluate down the road. Is it worth it?
I just read the article at C-Net that says "kids don't know how to think critically" about the kinds of marketing and ads they are experiencing in virtual worlds. But kids aren't the only ones unable to analyse the impact of these promotions. Does any of us know what kind of ultimate effect these virtual worlds and attending products will create? There is already speculation that the lines between virtual and real are blurring for wired kids; maybe a virtual Scion will be enough?
I think the best hope for our kids is to physically unplug them and immerse them in real life encounters. Suddenly, it feels very subversive and counter-cultural taking my pre-teen for a walk in the woods.
I find it interesting that we are all so afraid to show ads to kids online but we are ok to sit them infront of the TV and have them exposed to ads there – or the shows that are really in themselves one long ad (Pokemon); or put on a CD and be forced to watch the previews and sales pitch for other CDs ‘coming soon’…
I would argue that kids are actually becoming LESS susceptible to advertising. The media attention has helped raise awareness among adults – forcing many of us to pay attention to what kids see and start the dialogue about ‘what someone is trying to sell you’ even earlier. Also, Media Literacy training in the schools is starting at Grade 2. It has become, and will continue to get harder for advertisers to impact these young and skeptical consumers.
I think this game is one of the best computer games I have playd so far. It is because of the cool visual effects. But unfortunaly no pc game is better than AC 2 on playstation, so I am returning to the sofa now ^^ Maybe I will play this game tomorrow sometime.
Nice, imi place..