Posts Tagged ‘advertising’
Someone’s Target Audience
January 7th, 2010
by Jennifer
The first time I remember being really aware of target marketing, I was in the movie theater. It was a few years ago, and a friend and I had gone to a teeny-bopper movie. (OK, I admit it: my taste in movies is the opposite of high-brow.) The previews started, and that’s when it happened:
“Why is it so loud?”
“You call this music? It’s just noise!”
That was us. The actual teenagers around us were just enjoying themselves. However, our thirty-something selves reacted like we were our grandmothers. Clearly, we were not the demographic the advertisers were after.
For anyone who’s had a similar experience (seriously, are you sometimes offended by the ads that show up on your Facebook page?)
, you know you’re someone’s target audience. But kids (and, oh, others) haven’t always figured that out.
That’s where a trip to the FTC’s online mall is in order. YouAreHere teaches kids 8-12 about being smarter consumers, covering subjects like protecting their privacy (online and off), why competition among businesses matters to them, spotting and avoiding frauds and scams – and understanding advertising.
In the West Terrace of the mall, animated guides Isaac and Emily introduce kids to advertising. In Shuman’s Shoes, they can design an ad (and learn about ad claims). In Gr8 Gadgets, the Chopper Dan experience shows what happens when the cool toy on TV isn’t so cool in real life. The Nutritional Emporium teaches kids to check out ad claims. (Does “Doctor Approved” mean it’s automatically good? Short answer: no.) And perky Claire at the wireless kiosk gives a quick but thorough lesson on targeting.
I should have played it before I went to that movie.
Tags: advertising, children, kids, mall, marketing, movies
Posted in For Kids | 2 Comments »