Lifestyle & Socialization Trends in Childhood: Implications for CPG

While kids are becoming a smaller section of society in many countries the money spent on them is growing. There is also much media interest in and parental concern about the commercialization of childhood and the products/brands that target children and the way they are advertised. Marketers must consider these concerns in order to instil faith and maintain the confidence of parents and kids.

Report Highlights
Rather than being discouraged by the aging of society, CPG players can acknowledge the revenue potential of appealing to powerful kids demographic. A successful company may not necessarily increase the number of kids who are interested in its products, but instead give their existing consumer base good reason to spend more money on products.

Children are maturing more quickly due to stress and energy-dense foods. This is not common knowledge among parents. Creating awareness about this issue and promoting a healthier lifestyle will therefore appeal to large numbers of parents who are concerned that their kids are undergoing this process of maturation prematurely.

The social pressure of having to be seen with the ""correct"" brands is enormous. This can lead to kids being bullied and outcast, and also results in pressure on parents. As kids age, they become more aware of the wrongs of materialism and brand-obsession, but this does not seem to have the effect of lowering their desire for these same products.
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Table of Contents 2
Table of figures 3
Table of tables 4
THE FUTURE DECODED 5
INTRODUCTION: The lifestyles and 'socialization' of kids as consumers have emerged as a topical issues, particularly within the context of pester power 5
TREND: Most societies are getting older, making children less numerous 7
Asia Pacific as a whole has a substantial young population irrespective of wider demographic trends 7
'Little Emperor Syndrome' began in China and is likely to spread elsewhere 8
Child and Tween populations are declining as a share of the whole across Asia Pacific 9
European society is aging significantly as the proportion of kids relative to the population as a whole declines 10
European consumers are having fewer children who may become more spoilt/cherished 12
Kids are one of the more numerous demographic groups in the US 13
However, low population growth in younger age groups means marketing methods must change 13
Fewer children in Europe and the US could mean the arrival of a 'Little Emperor' syndrome in the west 14
Takeouts and implications: the aging of society will have future consequences but will also affect the lives of children and their parents now 15
INSIGHT: Kids appear to be growing up more quickly 16
KGOY (Kids Grow Older Younger) is a prominent concept among marketers 16
Some critics have argues that KGOY is an over-hyped idea 16
Kids are becoming more technologically aware, desiring goods traditionally viewed as adult orientated 16
Children are physically growing up faster 17
Many parents and experts believe that children are starting school too early 18
Stress may play a role in early onset of puberty, especially among girls 19
Famous children's author Jacqueline Wilson feels kids are growing up quicker (under much pressure) 20
Children wanting to grow up quickly is not a new phenomenon 20
Misinterpreting the implications of KGOY can result in the wrath of parents 21
Ultimately, there are still differences in the way that children and Tweens identify with marketing concepts 22
Takeouts and implications: the fact that kids are growing up young presents the industry with some important issues to address 23
INSIGHT: The commercialization of childhood is a growing concern among important stakeholders 24
Materialism is perceived to be growing among contemporary kids 24
Materialism is thought to be most prevalent among Tweenagers 25
Materialism is also related to low self-esteem 25
The threat of materialism may not hamper CPG brands 25
Pester Power is an important concept for marketers 26
However, some kids pester their parents for positive reasons 27
There is also an emergent sub-trend of kids and parents making more collaborative product choices 28
Kids still draw some comfort from familiarity in a material world 28
Peer pressure is an enormous issue when it comes to consumption 29
Kids have differing attitudes towards materialism than other demographics 30
Kids are subjected to a lot of advertising about unhealthy snack foods 31
Kids, especially children, are intrinsically interested in price promotions 32
There is a 'generation gap' between parental perceptions and actual brand awareness shown by kids 33
Case study: there are differences between perceptions of branding in urban and rural China, which will be significant to marketers looking at this area 35
Branding can have positive effects on kids 35
Takeouts and implications: becoming exposed to commercial norms earlier in life is a popular theme in mainstream media and has several powerful effects on kids 37
INSIGHT: Media usage and consumption is affecting children's behaviors 37
Children are still watching television despite its risks and competition from digital media 38
However, US children are exposed to fewer paid adverts on television 38
Television is a crucial media for kids in China but its impact decreases as they get older 39
Children have grown up with the web and are using it heavily 39
Kids combine the use of television and the internet 40
Tweens use the internet to make more informed consumption choices 41
Mobile phone ownership has increased dramatically and is forecasted to continue at a rapid rate 42
Magazines are an important form of media to kids, especially girls, but may not be using role models effectively 44
Takeouts and implications: kids are avid consumers of information and media and are becoming slightly more media aware over time with each passing generation 45
INSIGHT: Children's lives appear to have become more stressful on many grounds 46
Child happiness, well-being and motivating factors vary widely by country 46
In Asia Pacific, children's happiness drivers vary significantly 46
In Europe and the US (OECD countries) children in Northern Europe have good well-being 47
Dutch children are contented because of well-managed expectations 48
Many children are becoming stressed by school work 48
Cramming classes in Asia (Japan, China and Singapore) are causing stress for many children 48
Increasing news coverage is an often unconsidered source of stress for kids 49
Kids cope with stress in a variety of different ways 51
Parents do not always understand when a child is stressed, and sometimes exacerbate the problem 52
Takeouts and implications: kids live in a stressful society, and this drives a need to achieve happiness through consumption 53
ACTION POINTS 54
ACTION: Leverage the growing trend of collaborative product selection by marketing to parents as well as children 54
Use timeless values and themes to attract parents as well as children 55
ACTION: Act responsibly to avoid future bans and wasted resource 56
Avoid confusing marketing claims to maintain parental trust 57
ACTION: Engage with children using appropriate media and interactive content 58
Understanding subtle differences in how Children and Tweens respond to marketing is crucial 59
APPENDIX 60
Definitions 60
Methodology 60
Further reading 61
Ask the analyst 63
Datamonitor consulting 64
Disclaimer 64
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Table 1: European and US 5-9 year old Children's sources of discretionary income (US$ per week), by country, 2002-2012 6
Table 2: European and US 10-13 year old Tweens' sources of discretionary income (US$ per week), by country, 2002-2012 7
Table 3: Overall population of 5-9 year olds and 10-14 year olds in the Asia Pacific region, by age group and as proportion of overall population, by country, 2002-2012 10
Table 4: Overall population of 5-9 year olds and 10-14 year olds in Europe and the US, by age group and as proportion of overall population, by country, 2002-2012 12
Table 5: Total fertility rate, Europe, 1997-2007 13
Table 6: The maximum legal age at which children are required to begin primary education, by country 19
Table 7: Survey responses regarding the amount gratitude displayed by teens and tweens 31
Table 8: Regulations directly related to the advertisement of unhealthy foods to children, by country 32
Table 9: The number of brands correctly identified by children when prompted and unprompted, by class 34
Table 10: The action taken by firstborn children in order to influence parental buying habits 35
Table 11: Online brand/channels with the highest unique viewer composition (%), children age 2-11, April 2008 40
Table 12: Online brand/channels with the highest number of unique viewers, children age 2-11, April 2008 40
Table 13: Children who visited a website they saw or heard about in a television advert 41
Table 14: Mobile phone ownership rate (%) for Children in Europe, the US, Russia, Brazil and Asia Pacific, 2002-2012 43
Table 15: Mobile phone ownership rate (%) for Tweens in Europe, the US, Russia, Brazil and Asia Pacific, 2002-2012 44
Table 16: Selected drivers of childhood happiness in selected countries, Asia Pacific 46
Table 17: The most popular ways in which kids aged 9-13 deal with stressful situations 51
Figure 1: Kids are made up of two demographics: Children (5-9 year olds) and Tweens (10-13 year olds) 5
Figure 2: In Asia Pacific, population pyramids show a relatively young population in 2007* 8
Figure 3: Little Emperor syndrome may spread far beyond China 9
Figure 4: Society in Europe shows a decreasing proportion of kids in 2007 11
Figure 5: US society has many children but its population structure is slowly aging (2007)* 14
Figure 6: Little Emperor syndrome will have an impact wherever it occurs 15
Figure 7: The toys kids want for Christmas have become more electronic-based and more expensive 17
Figure 8: Children's changing aspirations and preferences make targeting difficult 21
Figure 9: Companies have received much criticism for the 'sexualization' of kids 22
Figure 10: Firefly has designed two new mobile phones with kids specifically in mind 23
Figure 11: Pester power is an important factor in childhood market dynamics 27
Figure 12: Kids are encouraged to consume copious amounts of junk food through marketing promotions 31
Figure 13: Studies show that price promotions are appealing to kids, even when they lack an understanding of money 33
Figure 14: Teachers have cited the good influences that celebrities can have on kids, like displaying public emotion and eating healthily 36
Figure 15: Kids are now supplementing or even replacing TV viewing time with internet usage 41
Figure 16: Children in Asia Pacific are happiest when with family and friends 47
Figure 17: The pressures of school and exams can cause large amounts of stress for kids 49
Figure 18: Kids deal with stress in several ways, some of which involve publicly managing the problem, and other which involve a more private approach 52
Figure 19: Munch Bunch seeks to blend nutrition to appeal to parents, with fun for kids 54
Figure 20: Müller's Little Stars is leveraging natural attributes and timeless values 56
Figure 21: Bubbilicious will no longer actively target the under 12s 57
Figure 22: Degree Girl's OMG campaign shows the potential multi-media campaigns 59
Figure 23: Marketing to kids in rural China is a question of resonating with the audience using national heroes 59
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