With societal changes such as those brought on by the substantial shift from mothers working at home to mothers working outside the home, and the increase in single-parent families, children have had to take on more responsibility. Kids have never before wielded the purchase power that they wield today. Dr. James McNeal, in his book Kids as Customers, has even coined the term filiarchy to describe the burgeoning potency of today's young people in the marketplace. With so much direct purchase power at stake it is critical to understand just who these kids are. Whereas a few years ago there were no conferences on product development on marketing to kids, now there are a variety of these conferences each year attended by hundreds and organized and presented by groups including the International Quality and Productivity Center, the Institute for International Research, and the Marketing to Kids Report.
People targeting kids are thirsty for more knowledge about today's young people.
WKB is a guide to the successful creation, development, and marketing of products and programs targeted to today's youth ages birth through the teen years. In Chapter l, we look at what it takes to be a winner among the proliferation of products and programs aimed at today's youth. It's very important to get our priorities straight in terms of what's good and bad for kids as we develop and launch kid-targeted products and programs. One by one, the important considerations and steps necessary in order to maximize one's chances for success are detailed. Special attention throughout WKB is paid to age segmentation and targeting.