Critique of Targeting Children in Marketing: Consumer Behavior Essay

This essay critically examines the practice of targeting children in marketing, taking a consumer behavior perspective. It begins by highlighting the vulnerability of children as a target audience due to their psychological immaturity and the evolving dynamics in child-rearing practices. The essay then delves into the arguments for and against this practice, acknowledging the increasing influence of children (kid-fluence) on purchasing decisions and the potential for marketing to shape their consumption habits and values. It explores the ethical concerns related to the promotion of gender and social stereotypes, materialistic views, and the creation of tensions between parents and children. The essay also presents arguments supporting the practice, such as its role in consumer socialization and the potential for self-regulation. The essay concludes with a call for marketers to prioritize informed consumerism and ethical content marketing aimed at fostering thoughtful purchasing behaviors in children. This analysis is based on the assignment brief which required a critique of the statement that targeting children is a sound business practice.

Running head: MARKETING
MARKETING
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Introduction
One of the most debatable practices in advertising business is the targeting
children in their business. The range of the views of consumers who see this
problem is reflected by the variances in terms of the parameters of this of practice.
The disagreements which describe the argument regarding the role as well as the
effect of marketing communication, on the distinct as well as on society in general
turn out to be even more intense when the target is symbolized by children (Smithers
et al. 2018). The thesis statement of the essay is “From consumer perspective, the
fact that children signify a category of customers tends to be exceedingly susceptible
to marketing targets.”
Discussion
Children represent a vital part of the large grouping that is called the
vulnerable audiences. They also take along other consumers who are susceptible to
marketing as well as advertising approaches (Pettigrew and Davies 2015).
Moreover, children are the most vulnerable and exposed entities who are being
targeted to advertising messages. Such susceptibility tends to occur due to the
psychological immaturity of children. Furthermore, the current development in the
sphere of child-rearing, which recognize children with greater level of freedom in
addition to a more controlling expression in the family thoughts regarding the
attainments and investments, add to the growth of the advertise of merchandises for
children (Thomas et al. 2018). These aspects in consequence lead to the delineation
of the classification of the ‘consumer-child’ wherein children are turning out to be vital
target for the advertising and marketing businesses.
In the setting of increasing level of procurement which children nowadays are
doing, they involve not only the money of their allowances but also indirectly the
money which is paid by their parents in order to purchase products which are
advertised for children. In this manner children tend to become an easy target and a
crucial element in the marketing world (Smithers et al. 2018). The recent term in the
world of advertising 'kid-fluence' specifically implies the increasing rate of power
children are attaining and their influence on parents during the whole procedure of
desiring for the products and purchasing them (Grad 2015). This trend is considered
to be a consequence of the paradigm modification in parenting which further
facilitates a child with greater level of influence and freedom within the family.

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Marketing agents in recent times are indulging in development of destructive and
undesirable habits of children particular in relation to their patterns of food
consumption and food choices. These advertising which are targeting children in the
business practice contribute to the spreading of gender and social stereotypes in
addition to a superficial materialistic vision of life (Kelly et al. 2015). Furthermore, the
content given in advertisements, aggravates tensions and disagreements between
parents as well as children vis-à-vis the products acquired by family.
Lucan et al (2017) argue that targeting children in advertising business
practice must be forbidden due to its detrimental effects on them. These effects
further result in unwelcome habits amid children who are innocent customers and fall
into the deception of the ‘urbane’ and creative marketing approaches. On the
contrary, Smithers et al (2018) claimed that advertising targeting children can be
seen as an acceptable practice, if it defers to distinctive regulations. For example,
the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) safeguards child consumers through a national
product safety law in addition to regulatory framework for purchaser products and
facilities. The Australian Parliament has planned several of its consumer product
guidelines by keeping into consideration the safety of young children (Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission 2020).
Furthermore, it has been noted that marketing is a central part of current
beliefs that cannot be left suddenly. Thus, by targeting children, advertisers help
children to gather understanding and achieve the connection with commercials as
part of the procedure of socialization of the customer. Hence, through self-regulation
at this juncture, help them to institute the agendas in which the practice of promotion
and marketing to children must be executed.
The social realm of children is gradually put together around consumption of
vibrant, eye-catching ‘cool’ items endorsed by commercials. According to Andrews
and Shimp (2017), the trend of the term “cool” is established by a number of people,
who have a tendency to exemplify the example of coolness, which is supposed to set
trends. For the targeted children, the casual merchandises are endorsed using age
solidity, importance of the merchandises usage as well as marketing messages
which are primarily created for grown-up kids and targeting them for younger
children (Kelly et al. 2015). For instance, sponsoring branded clothes amongst pre-
schoolers (Lucan et al. 2017). This practice has undesirable effects which are

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endorsed by the ones who disapprove advertising addressed to children. Since, it
reassures wrong behaviour, age compression applied in advertising and marketing
strategies which indicates the hyper-sexualisation of youngsters. These factors tend
to create confusion and upset self-esteem of children.
The misuse and encouragement of marketing approaches primarily is to
detach the sphere of children and grown-ups. However, this tends to be challenging
from an ethical perspective (Thomas et al. 2018). The major aspect on which
children’s real are created by advertising functions as per the rules and
understandings of children. Moreover, the chief disagreement which defends this
practice is that of the individuality and independence of the child, by elevating his
power of influencing the buying choices on parents. These arguments, on the other
hand, are not undeniable, as the obtaining of goods cannot establish the foundation
for a strong image of a child. Additionally, at several contexts, the products targeted
for children do not reach their expectations. Thus, they develop high discontentment
for the choices they made and end up enquiring their personal ability of decision-
making (Pettigrew and Davies 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, since children are the future, marketers must stop targeting
them in their business practices. The future of marketing must be targeted towards
obtaining more informed customers. Rather than reassuring children to make
obtaining decisions on the basis on emotions such as advertising with deep-rooted
values and benefit them in becoming thoughtful purchasers. This will help them draw
comparisons between products and do necessary enquiries of products. If marketers
develop strong content marketing intended for children, not only will they obtain
upgraded sales and thus improve the world.

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References
Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A., 2017. Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of
integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2020. The Australian Consumer
Law And Young Consumers. [online] Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission. Available at: <https://www.accc.gov.au/speech/the-australian-
consumer-law-and-young-consumers> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
Grad, I., 2015. Ethical considerations on advertising to children. Postmodern
Openings, 6(2), pp.43-57.
Kelly, B., Vandevijvere, S., Freeman, B. and Jenkin, G., 2015. New media but same
old tricks: food marketing to children in the digital age. Current obesity reports, 4(1),
pp.37-45.
Lucan, S.C., Maroko, A.R., Sanon, O.C. and Schechter, C.B., 2017. Unhealthful
food-and-beverage advertising in subway stations: targeted marketing, vulnerable
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Pettigrew, S. and Davies, S., 2015. Advertising to Children in Schools: The Case of
‘Book’Clubs. Alternative Law Journal, 40(1), pp.33-35.
Smithers, L.G., Haag, D.G., Agnew, B., Lynch, J. and Sorell, M., 2018. Food
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advertising from a commercial network (four channels) for the entire 2016. Journal of
paediatrics and child health, 54(9), pp.962-967.
Thomas, S.L., Bestman, A., Pitt, H., Cassidy, R., McCarthy, S., Nyemcsok, C.,
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