We are delighted to announce that Dave Lawrence, Head of The Value Engineers Kids Practice, has been quoted in this week’s Marketing Week main feature article ‘Brand awareness comes as part of growing up’ by MaryLou Costa.

The article discusses that children today are reacting to brands with a sophisticated awareness and strong opinions about their ‘coolness’.

Dave comments on kids marketing:

“Kids are important as consumers in their own right, but the worry is that brand owners are going to exclude them from the marketing process out of a fear of being labelled irresponsible.”

Product integrity is key when addressing children, Lawrence says. This might involve creating new products, reformulating existing lines or simply doing more marketing around healthier brands. PepsiCo took this route in March when it announced it would put more focus on its healthier brands, such as Pepsi Raw, Pepsi Max, Tropicana and Walkers Baked.

Lawrence says the most constructive marketing initiatives for young people allow “kids to be kids” through appropriate activities for their age group or sponsorship of youth events.

For those that get it wrong, Lawrence says it will hit them where it hurts – sales. “Parents are becoming more discerning about what they buy for their children,” he warns.

Read the full article on Marketing Week online.