The Lorax is visiting selected elementary schools around the U.S. and encouraging students to ask their parents and guardians to test drive the new Mazda SUV. Why on earth would a car company pair up with the icon from an upcoming children's movie? Simple. The nag factor.
Numerous studies, like this one, have shown that children are able to recognize logos and express brand preferences at an early age (as early as age 3) -- including for products not targeted to them. Marketers have realized just how powerful and profitable the nag factor can be and early marketing can be.
Recently I came across a little video that's great for exploring marketing and branding with students, or just for reminding us adults about how powerful and omnipresent marketing is and how much influence it can hold over even the youngest child. A father showed his five-year-old daughter a series of logos and recorded her description of them. Take a look:
The young girl can easily identify some of the most popular brands targeted to her age group, but she also can identify by name or description ("that is the coffee logo") several brands targeted to adults. Even when she can't identify a logo, it's instructive about her developmental level to hear how she describes them (and how, for example, she lumps all the cat-looking logos -- including Greyhound's logo -- into the "cheetah" category).
With or without our permission, marketers are diligently working to influence children and encourage them toward materialism and brand loyalty at even earlier ages. As parents and humane educators, it's important that we maintain an awareness about what our youth are exposed to and help them to become critical thinkers about media and advertising and healthy citizens whose self-image doesn't rely on a particular brand, product, or lifestyle.
~ Marsha
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