A recent survey revealed that 65 per cent parents today, involve children in major purchasing decisions and 75 per cent parents spend time watching Kids Specific Channels. This has opened avenues for unconventional advertisers who want to place their brands in Pogo, Cartoon Network and others to get maximum mileage. Deebashree Mohanty reports
If you have been watching the Flipkart advertisement on TV which involves children in a newsroom and have wondered that the time has come when advertisements have become child-centric, you have guessed it. But these days there is another upcoming trend — of unconventional brands advertising on ‘kids’ specific channels’. Sample this — toothpastes, soaps, mosquito repellents, floor cleaners and even laptops and other hardware products have made inroads to children channels like Pogo, Cartoon Network and the works.
“Traditionally, kids’ channels are perceived to cater to just one audience — kids. But over time advertisers realised there was a huge secondary TG in parents that kids channels delivered. Categories like toothpastes, soaps, etc have started coming on the genre. It is a positive trend and we are hoping that they reap in the benefits,” Juhi Ravindranath, network head, ad sales, South Asia, Turner International India, says.
From the brand perspective, they are more than happy to have a presence in a kid-specific zone. “We are working with this theory that most times there is joint viewing where the parent is also watching a show with their child on Pogo or Cartoon Network. So, our brand makes an impression. We also believe that nowadays, children are involved in purchasing related decision-making. Keeping these key points in mind brands want to feature on kid’s channels for maximum mileage. It works for them,” Bhavna Mittal, head of media, GlaxoSmithKline consumer healthcare, says. She adds that this is just the beginning.
“Give it a few years and you will see more and more brands entering this route. It is a safe bet in many ways,” Mittal asserts. But will this new trend of unconventional advertisers on kids channels mean that more and more children will be seen endorsing the productsIJ
“A child in an advertisement means 100 per cent viewership guarantee. If you see a cute child making some funny noises no one is going to surf the channel. One reason is because the audience is assured that there will be no gyan coming out from the baby! That acts as a big plus for any brand campaign. The child as a protagonist works wonders,” adman Prahalad Kakkar tells you. He adds that most advertisements on Pogo and other children channels capitalise on this aspect.
So, hypothetically, is Salman Khan losing out to Chotta Bheem vis-a-vis brand endorsingIJ “It depends on the brand category and the demand for it. With animated cartoon characters the brand positioning is safe. There is very little chance of any controversy. So many brands prefer animation or even a small baby because that brings high value to the product,” Mittal says.
While Ravindranath agrees that brands like Cadbury, Unilever, ITC, GSK, Perfetti, Kelloggs, Colgate etc are top spenders, she tells you that there have been FMCG categories that target mothers like mosquito repellents (which have growth their secondage by over 50 per cent) and completely new categories like automobiles (Maruti/Honda motorbikes/Hero Motorcorp), mobile handsets (Micromax, lG, MTS, Samsung Galaxy Tab) and consumer electronics (like lG, Hitachi and Samsung) players that have shown keen interest in placing their advertisements in kids specific channels.
So, what is in it for the brandsIJ “Cartoon Network New Generations 2012 survey shows that a majority of parents watch television with their kids. After serials, cartoons are their most preferred genre. Even amongst adults, Pogo and Cartoon Network, for instance, would be within the top 15 most watched channels (All India, TAM). Kids form key influencers on other categories too.
“They have a say on almost all household purchase decisions be it televisions, computers, mobiles, automobiles etc. This is apart from regular household consumption items so it’s a win-win situation for our advertisers as well,” Ravindranath says.