Over the last few years kids marketing has received increasing attention from lobby groups, politicians and the media and as we build towards the general election it is clear that it will become a big hot potato as witnessed by David Cameron’s latest comments. Whilst his statement today is laced with headline-grabbing sound bites, much of what he says is actually well grounded common sense given that his central demand is that kids should not be exposed to brand marketing that causes ‘….inappropriate commercialisation and sexualisation too young.’

This philosophy is implicit in the ‘Constructive Kids Marketing’ proposition of The Value Engineers Kids practice, highlighting the need to responsibly cater to the needs of children whilst recognizing the necessity to earn and keep parental trust.

With kids marketing universally being lambasted by politicians however, there is a distinct danger that brands over-compensate and revert their marketing focus too far towards mums at the exclusion of children (who, it must be remembered, are still the primary consumers of child / family products and services). We highlight this balancing act as a brand pendulum and with our needs convergence model we can demonstrate that the needs of kids and their mums are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

It is also interesting to note that the parental blog responses to such political initiatives largely reflect a growing frustration with ’top down’ directives from government. Parents are growing tired of being preached to about how they should bring up their children and largely take a more balanced view of the situation, willing to accept that ‘Kids should be Kids’ and that they should be allowed to have a bit of fun, albeit it in moderation and as part of a balanced lifestyle.

As any follower of our Blog will have seen The Value Engineers has recently added another string to its bow with the launch of its very first dedicated Kids practice. This obviously represents exciting times for all at The Value Engineers as we begin to reminisce over our favourite kids brands (mine being Merlin Premier League Football Stickers).

No wonder then it was with the Kids practice that sprung to mind as soon as I saw these whilst on holiday in Austria last week:

Spar is the brand bringing these to market, which I can only imagine are positioned as such to get children to eat eggs from a young age. What made the discovery more polarizing was the fact that a friend in my ski party is an adamant egg-hater, he can’t even bare to touch them! When asked why he doesn’t like them his only explanation is as follows…”never had them when I was younger”. This little discovery took me full circle.

If it is upon this consumer insight that the brand made a decision to to engage young targets with egg eating then I salute them. And to be honest even if they didn’t and just decided to paint the eggs and stick a cartoon bunny on the pack to tempt the little ones then I salute them as well because really they’re just a lovely, fun product.

Two of the many favourite kids  brands as nominated by the team at The Value Engineers serve to demonstrate the power of brands to unite both peers and family members. Football stickers have been a central part of social currency for boys in playgrounds up and down the country and their popularity remains as high today as it has ever been. This continuity of appeal is delivered through a natural annual refreshment of new players and teams, whilst meeting the natural desires of boys in providing collectability, competition and peer inclusion.

The successful relaunch of Doctor Who has been well documented and the programme has re-established Saturday evening family viewing both on and behind the sofa! A new generation of Doctor Who fans have been recruited, all of whom will be watching with interest as Matt Smith takes on the challenge of picking up where David Tennant left off.

“Merlin stickers – the ones that got me as a youngster were of course Premier League Football Stickers. Like most of my friends at the time I was obsessed and vividly remember that the first person in my primary school to complete their album got a mention in the school assembly! I even remember the last sticker they needed – the Norwich kit on a glitter background. These stickers went beyond simple enjoyment – they took me, my friends and most of the　school playground to a level of social fanaticism never experienced before. Even today when I’m at the newsagent I still occasionally buy a pack or two…” Will Butterworth, Marketing Analyst.

“Dr Who: The ritual of the family sitting down together and excitement of the theme tune (on full blast). It takes your imagination on a journey. It’s not scared to deal with fear, loneliness and loss. However the meek always inherit the earth and so good always triumphs over evil, with a little help from The Doctor (who has also wrestled with his conscience).” Amelia Boothman, Senior Consultant.