Parents pay the GBP 31bn price of 'pester power'

EVER FIND yourself buying something just to keep the kids quiet? You are not alone. Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi estimates that "pester power" influences more than GBP 31 billion of spending by adults in Britain and that it is at its strongest in the run up to Christmas.

Kids not only determine which toys and clothes are bought for them but also have a say in which brands go into the shopping trolley. They also influence much more significant purchases such as holidays, cars and computers.

Stefano Tiratelli, group account director at Saatchi & Saatchi's children's marketing division, Kid Connection, says: "In research we have carried out, 44% of parents said that their children influence holiday choices - that is equivalent to GBP 3.29 billion a year - a third said that they influenced which computer brand was bought for the family and 22% said that kids helped to decide which TV or hi-fi to buy." Britain has more advertising per hour during children's TV pro- grammes than any other European country and only the US and Australia show more. In Finland, ads are banned during children's TV programmes, Germany and Spain ban ads for "war toys" and in the Netherlands those for confectionery must include a shot of a toothbrush. Given the amount of advertising they are exposed to, children are aware of the differences between brands at an increasingly early age. Dr Brian Young of the department of psychology at, Exeter University says: "Recent research has shown that not only can children recognise brands at an early age but that brand loyalty is well established by two years of age. This is encouraged by parental examples of brand loyalty and is strongly reinforced by TV advertising." It is hardly surprising that companies are keen to target children, nor that an increasing number of ad agencies are setting up specialist units to reach this fickle but lucrative market. McCann-Erickson, whose clients include NestlE and Cereal Partners, this week launched Junior. It runs monthly research groups with London children aged from five to 11 to find out how they think, how they behave, what they want and how they are influenced by advertising. "Kids are an increasing consumer power, both as a buying pressure on parents and as consumers in their own right, yet they are perhaps more elusive than any other consumer group. We are trying to get into the minds of kids and, most importantly, reminding ourselves of what it is like to be an eight-year-old again," says McCann-Erickson managing director Ben Langdon. He says that mothers find it increasingly difficult to refuse pester power. "From as young as eight, children demand labelled clothing and mums feel compelled to buy such items in pursuit of a quiet life." However, targeting kids through advertising can be a difficult business. "It is vital that advertisers understand how to communicate with them if they are to succeed in reaching them. Too often advertisers will put in some slang, slap on a jingle and assume it will work. Nine times out of 10 it won't. You cannot patronise them," says Tiratelli.

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