The spirit of a new generation

As every parent knows, the older children get the harder it is to hold their attention. For marketers too, the years between eight and 14-years-old, or tweens, are a difficult time to communicate with children as media habits evolve in the years that bridge childhood and adolescence.

"The multi-tasking abilities of teens are just starting to bloom in the tween years," states a new report from eMarketer in the US. "The more tweens multi-task the less attention they can devote to any one activity, and that has implications for marketing."

Another key factor in Asia is schoolwork restricting how much time is spent watching TV and surfing the internet. "Fragmented media habits mean that the amount of time devoted to each media is reduced," says Belinda Yee, an account manager with Initiative Singapore. "Anything too subtle would just become wallpaper."

Successful campaigns, therefore, usually seek to lead children to explore different media, such as online competitions promoted on TV shows. Media owners are following suit too, with kids broadcaster Nickelodeon revamping its Nicksplat.com website to include more interactive elements tied to its shows. With media habits and media itself in flux, coming up with a media plan to get the attention of this easily-distracted group is not easy. Media looks at how brands in five markets are rising to the challenge.

AUSTRALIA
Brand Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Brief Launch the latest Nintendo Pokemon game connecting with Australian children aged 5 to 12
Media used Television, magazines, online
Media budget US$200,000

This campaign sought to maximise sell for the latest installment in the Pokemon franchise, the Nintendo DS 'Pokemon Mystery Dungeon' game.

The media solution was based around globally-produced Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon 10th Anniversary cartoons. Free-to-air station Channel Ten was approached to create a Pokemon '90 Minute Special Event' on launch day in its Toasted TV daily cartoon programme. 

A 'watch and win' promotion was created around the screening to build hype around the launch, with a competition housed at the nintendo.com.au website. The competition and special-event screening were pre-promoted by a 15-second Toasted TV Pokemon Mystery Dungeon promotional spot, produced by Channel Ten. The push was also supported by a Toasted TV product review segment, with the hosts reviewing the game and demonstrating game play on a big screen.

Magazine and online activity was also used to drive kids to the website, with premium placements in children's magazines and rich media on websites. The campaign delivered significant exposure for the game launch, with the special-event screening attracting the highest ratings of any Toasted TV episode on record.
Contributed by Carat

MEDIA FAST FACTS: AUSTRALIA
- Just under a quarter of 10 to 12-year-olds have their own desktop PC
-  Over half of this age group have their own CD player, while 17 per cent have an MP3
Source: Youthscan 2003 and 2005

CHINA
Brand KFC
Brief Enhance KFC's image among males under 14
Media used Television, PR, OOH, online
Media budget Undisclosed

In China, children under 14 are under pressure to study hard, making regular TV advertising usually ineffective.
Chinese kids spend long hours in front of the TV during the summer holiday, however, presenting KFC with an opportunity to become part of their holiday by sponsoring a summer camp in conjunction with specialist children's channel, Shanghai Oriental Children TV (OTSE).

KFC's chicken mascot Qiqi got together with one of the station's most popular animal characters, Haha, to front the campaign. This included a special 20-minute playlet OTSE devised for KFC called Qiqi Garden, which ran over July and August featuring comic stories of Qiqi in KFC outlets. Besides the playlet, OTSE also produced five-second billboards and 30-second ads for KFC.

OTSE helped stage the summer camp's opening ceremony, which used Qiqi's image in both above the line media and the press release, camping booklet and camping shirt, specially produced for the event. The camp was also reported on TV and in local print.
Contributed by MindShare

MEDIA FAST FACTS: CHINA
- On an average day, eight to 14-year-olds from well-off families read magazines 24 minutes and newspapers18 minutes  
-  35 per cent of this segment owns an MP3 player, second only to Hong Kong  (39 per cent)
Source: Synovate 'Young Asians 2006'

INDIA
Brand Toon Disney
Brief Drive sampling on the channel to increase reach to 30 per cent in Hindi-speaking markets
Media used Outdoor, television, mall activation, off-screen in cinemas,                   in-restaurant branding
Media budget Around US$330,000

With action-packed shows like Power Rangers and Dragon Booster, Jetix is a slot on Toon Disney that caters to a boys' audience. This campaign was designed to increase reach for Toon Disney to 30 per cent in Hindi-speaking markets, which make up 70 per cent of the universe of four- to 14-year-old viewers in cable and satellite homes.
The first steps were defining an audience of non-Jetix viewers, understanding how they watch television and then identifying buyable slots.

The biggest shifts from a standard media schedule were a higher intensity of viewing at weekends and in non-prime slots. Hindi movies were also generally preferred over general entertainment content in prime-time slots.
This led to a greater targeting into slots preferred by the kids rather than general family viewing, allowing a higher frequency, longer campaign. With television viewing restricted because of pre-Diwali exam preparations, there was all the more reason to ensure visibility in relevant genres and time slots.

Outdoor in key areas within the cities was identified along with static branding in high-traffic areas for children in the pre-festival season such as multiplexes, cinema halls and malls. A tie-up with McDonald's completed the gamut of key touchpoints for the four- to 14-year-olds.

At McDonald's, all the tray mats carried Jetix messages that kids could interact with. This was carried forward in food courts in malls — these hold higher leisure time and attention compared with gaming zones — along with danglers and tent cards, floor stickers and table stickers.

The 'Power Rangers' campaign showcased exciting visuals capturing the essence of the show — action, adventure and excitement.In the first week after the campaign, viewership for the slot went up by 40 per cent in the week of activity.

The numbers in the second week of activity saw only an 11 per cent drop as compared to non-activity week, and was still managing to sustain the growth achieved in the first week at press time.
Contributed by Maxus

MEDIA FAST FACTS: INDIA
P Indian eight to 14-year-olds from affluent households are Asia's largest email users
P Of the 41 per cent of affluent eight to14-year-olds with a mobile, 73 per cent had played games on it in the past month
Source: Synovate 'Young Asians 2006'

SINGAPORE
Brand Lego
Brief To increase Lego sales in an increasingly competitive market
Media used Cable TV, internet, on-ground
Media budget Undisclosed

Nickelodeon stood out as the ideal platform for Lego's target. Cable penetration is strong in Singapore and pay-TV tends to be more flexible for campaigns with more than spot buys. With kids into surfing the web and blogging, online also had to be tapped.

Moving away from basic spot buys and regular title sponsorships, Initiative worked on a movie sponsorship, with an end tag on the customised billboard to encourage kids to go to Nicksplat.com, to answer simple questions about the movie for a chance to win a Lego collectors item. Three different title sponsorships specially selected for relevant Lego SKUs also had the end tag directing kids to the website. 

Initiative also got Nickelodeon to cover Lego's annual Creator Exhibition at Raffles City on their website, with a flashing icon enabling kids to add the announcement article onto their own blogs, creating a viral effect as more kids added the link to their blog after seeing it on someone else's.

Sales for Lego's Clikits, Bionicles and Knights Kingdom increased by 18.6 per cent, an integrated package with Nickelodeon delivering 300 per cent cost savings to Lego.
Contributed by Initiative

MEDIA FAST FACTS: SINGAPORE
P Singapore kids from affluent families are more likely to use the web for education
P  95 per cent had sent an SMS in the past month, the highest proportion in Asia
Source: Synovate 'Young Asians 2006'

TAIWAN
Brand Frosties
Brief Get kids to choose Frosties as their preferred breakfast cereal
Media used Television, online
Media budget Less than US$31,000

Children love to have a say in decision-making for household purchases and are increasingly consulted by hard-working parents who may not be as media or brand-savvy as their kids.

In Tony Tiger, brand icon for Frosties, Kellogg's had an unexploited but valuable ally. Kids relate to cartoon characters as close, trustworthy friends. Tony Tiger was familiar, but only as a rather distant TVC character.

Working closely with Cartoon Network, MEC created vignettes under a 'Secrets of Energy' umbrella, using familiar cartoons to tell kids how to get energy to fuel their day. A Tony Tiger animated billboard tied in Kellogg's with the toons and nutrition message. 

Kellogg's also gave kids the chance to go online to pick their favourite cartoon movie or programme, with the chance to win Kellogg's goodies. While on the site, kids would be exposed to Kellogg's and Tony Tiger branding. After voting, they could take part in a nutrition quiz and win more prizes.

Nearly 4,500 kids entered the voting contest and sales for Frosties that had been flat rose six per cent year on year.
Contributed by MEC

MEDIA FAST FACTS: TAIWAN
- 70 per cent of affluent youth played an online game in the last month, the highest number in Asia
- Instant messaging is more popular than email with this group
Source: Synovate 'Young Asians 2006'