Marketing to Kids Through Interactive & Experiential Marketing: World Children's Day Special

Marketing to kids can be tricky and sensitive especially when there are growing concerns over children’s health and safety. But experiential marketing can win over parents while marketing children’s products. Additionally, interactive marketing can better engage kids and make them your loyal customers.

Marketing to kids is tricky because young minds are impressionable, and you must ensure you are sending the right message. Moreover, children’s health and safety are paramount while marketing children’s products, hence it is essential to get parents’ approval when you plan a marketing campaign for kids.

It is important to note that many millennials are parents or primary caregivers of children now, who have grown up in an era of exploration (search engines), connectedness (social networking), and digitization. So, when it comes to making decisions for their kids, they are pretty hands-on parents and more aware (and sometimes less trusting).

And today’s kids – the Generation Alpha, are widely exposed to the use of technologies like voice search, hyper-personalized experiences, artificial intelligence, and social media as a way of life. This exposure makes them expect more from their day-to-day experiences. Also, this generation tends to have a strong influence over their parents’ buying decisions – the millennial caregivers who are more willing to spend on their children.

So how do you engage kids and caregivers alike?

While marketing to kids, you need to be ethical and empowering to win the loyalty of children and the trust of caregivers.

Interactive and experiential marketing can help engage the kids better and let caregivers experience your product for themselves, making it a win-win for everyone. Let’s see how interactive and experiential marketing of children’s products can do the trick for you.

Learn More: Interactive Marketing: 5 Key Takeaways from Leading BrandsOpens a new window

Marketing to Kids through Interactive and Experiential Marketing

While reaching out to kids through YouTube or other video platforms can be a quicker and easier option for marketers, you won’t be able to win the trust of care-givers (like me) who are figuring out ways to limit their child’s screen time. In that case, devising ideas that can make kids learn, enjoy, and play will have far-reaching effects and make today’s caregiver trust your brand even more.

Let’s look at what top brands are doing right.

1. Interactive Play Zones
 

Many brands plan interactive play zones for children to have fun and caregivers to sit back and relax while their kids enjoy. This not only boosts everyone’s happiness quotient but also helps children and caregivers form a positive association with the brand.

Example: McDonald’sOpens a new window has been an early pioneer when it rolled out 150 interactive Happy Meals Play Zones in the UK (back in 2012), to encourage children who ate at the restaurant to be more active. They also have a digitized activity area happymeal.com, where children can download various coloring and drawing activities, and parents can also download interactive, skill-based McPlay App, and participate in activities that spark imagination and creativity.

McDonald’s Interactive Activity on HappyMeal.comOpens a new window

2. Entertainment Centers and Theme Parks
 

The only thing my three-year-old wishes for is to grow-up and do things on her own and this is something you probably hear from kids of all ages.

So many brands have now started collaborating with entertainment centers that combine fun, learning, and role-play activities. This helps children learn more about how the product is created, which helps them value it even more since they get to ‘work’ to make it.

Example: KidZaniaOpens a new window is an interactive city with entertainment centers across 21 countries. It encourages experiential learning in kids through various activities where children get to play and learn by performing activities. Brands like NutellaOpens a new window , WalmartOpens a new window , SonyOpens a new window , and many more have teamed up with KidZania to create authentic and immersive experiences for kids. So a child could pretend to work for Nutella and see how the products are made and sample them too.
 

Video Showcasing KidZania’s Immersive Experiences for Kids

3. Activities to Promote Bonding
 

Caregivers and children recall brands that help them enjoy and bond better. If you can create and contribute to powerful family moments, you will win a special place in their homes and hearts.

CastoramaOpens a new window a French retailer of DIY and home-improvement tools, made bed-time special for children and their care providers. They created ‘The Magic WallPaper’, an accessible, fun, and innovative wallpaper was covered with characters that helped caregivers tell bed-time stories to their children.

Video of How Castorama’s Magic WallPaper Works

Learn More: 5 Storytelling Ideas for the Age of Interactive MarketingOpens a new window

4. Encourage Health and Happiness
 

I don’t appreciate guests gifting my little one candies and chocolates. But, I happily give her nutrition bars rolled in chocolate flavor, occasionally.

Today’s generation is more aware and proactive when it comes to health. And if you can pack your brand message around kids’ health; it is could appeal to kids and adults alike. Helping the caregiver impart a positive, healthy message to their kids can make them associate better with your brand values.

DisneyOpens a new window has been a leader in offering exceptional experiences to everyone through their movies, campaigns, and DisneylandOpens a new window . But, they are also careful to choose partners that fit nutritional guidelines. Their ‘’ campaign in 2016 inspired families to eat healthy and exercise regularly.

Disney’s Healthy Living Campaign

5. A ‘Safe’ Experience
 

Caregivers are concerned about their children’s safety, and if a brand can reassure kids’ safety or help them protect their loved ones, it has a far-reaching effect.

As a part of their experiential marketing campaign for children’s sunscreen lotion, ‘Helps Keep Your Children Safe’, NiveaOpens a new window distributed RFID bracelets; which parents could strap around their child’s wrist as they relaxed on the beach. They could download an app on their phones and set geographical boundaries for kids. If the kids ventured too far away, an alarm would go off, notifying the parents and hence keeping them safe.

Nivea’s Summer Campaign to Keep Children Safe on Beaches

6. Back to School
 

Branded content in school does raise some eyebrows. But, brands can partner with schools to supporting children’s talent or enhancing their skills. Organizing competitions, offering scholarships, motivating kids to think out-of-the-box, will only boost their talent but also nurture their exploratory and experimental thinking.

Example: BarclaysOpens a new window recently partnered with UK schools to fund FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships to help provide equal opportunity (as boys) to girls in football.

Video Introducing Barclays FA Women’s Super League #AllToPlayFor

Learn More: Boost Your Holiday Marketing Strategy With Experiential MarketingOpens a new window

Key Takeaways for Marketing To Kids

Kids love magic, experiences that are larger than life, and ones that make them feel in control. While adults too love to see the happiness and joy in kids’ eyes, they are more concerned about their health, safety, and education.

While marketing children’s products, it becomes imperative to let kids run freely, explore the outdoors, have fun playing, and enjoy family moments. Packing your brand message in line with children’s expectations along-with adults’ ideas of safety and responsibility can help you make them your loyal customers.

As a ‘hyper-concerned mom’ I would not appreciate brands advertising fast-food or candy to my child. But if you motivate my child to clock a 15 minute run daily for a week and then a discount on her favorite burger on the weekend; it would surely cheer me up and yes even motivate me to clock weekday runs!

How are you winning over kids this Children’s Day? Do let us know on TwitterOpens a new window or LinkedInOpens a new window or FacebookOpens a new window ; we’re always listening!