The key to a child's heart

By Siti Arimbi Pulungan

JAKARTA (JP): One hot afternoon in front of a salon in a mall in South Jakarta, a mother was trying to persuade her four-year- old boy to have a haircut.

The boy firmly said no and stood stubbornly outside the salon.

A few minutes later, a young female hairdresser approached the mother and son, and greeted them warmly.

She had a purple toy in her hand and thoughtfully handed it to the boy. Then the girl and the boy stated talking.

Several minutes later, the boy was sitting on a tall chair ready to have his hair cut.

Children are naive and can be easily persuaded if you know how to grab their interests. Marketers are aware of this and as such are constantly developing so strategies to win children's hearts.

Different types of strategies have been used by marketers from giving away gifts to something educational.

Nonetheless, there are very few marketers who really understand children. A good marketing strategy is one that is generated from an in-depth understanding of what motivates and drives children and at the same time ethical.

Marketing is basically finding a need that has not been fulfilled and creating a product that can satisfy it.

The concept of marketing to children is still in the embryonic stage as we are still learning its basics.

Even with the limited research conducted by several domestic companies, marketers have begun to realize how big an influence children have on a lot of products and services. A considerable amount of money has been spent on children products.

Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) classifies children into three age groups: zero to four, five to nine and 10 - 14 years old. The three groups represent 30 percent of the entire population. Each group has its own characteristics. There are even different characteristics within an age group. These differences are shaped by different motivations.

Children's motivation is influenced by internal and external factors.

The story mentioned earlier shows us how a little gift can change a young boy's mind.

The hairdresser uncovered the hidden need of the boy through a nice gift. The gift was a symbol of friendliness, which made the boy more comfortable with the place and people.

He became less apprehensive and eventually accepted the suggestion of the hairdresser. That was one of many cases.

Nevertheless, children's motivation is not always easily understood as it is strongly influenced by demographic, geographic as well as psychographic factors.

Children are subtle individuals.

Those who come from well-educated families and live in big cities are more complex and intelligent.

The lifestyle of Indonesian families living in urban areas have changed. They are increasingly moving from single-income households to double-income households.

This has a dramatic impact on the relationship between parents and children. Double-income families are more likely to involve children in decision-making.

Although parents still have the upper hand in making purchases, the influence of their children cannot be underestimated.

As a group of consumers, children are no less complex than adults. They are segmented by age, sex, region and lifestyle. To attract their attention, marketers must know how to position their products in their targets' minds.

A positioning strategy is deciding how a product should be perceived by prospective consumers.

The positioning strategy for one segment may not be the same as another. It becomes even more difficult knowing that children's perception toward a product is volatile and unpredictable. However, their perception can be easily manipulated if marketers understand their desires.

Children's basic desire is to play and be amused. Young children also love to see familiar things around them.

They love music. They love to watch other children. And very young children prefer live action to animation. They love colorful things.

You might still be wondering what the hairdresser gave the boy as mentioned in the beginning of this article. It was a small Barney toy.

Barney and Friends is an example of a successful product from the United States. It is a television show for children under six. It made its debut in April 1992 and fast became the number one TV show in the U.S.

In addition to the TV show, Barney Music is the third largest children's music label in the industry. Twenty-seven Barney books have made the Publishers Weekly best seller list among 103 Barney titles, which have sold 80 million copies.

Barney himself is a dinosaur. Its inventor Sheryl Leach learned from her own son that children loved dinosaurs. It is not just a trend or fad. It is a classic.

Having known it, she created a dinosaur with a big smile, big friendly eyes, and no claws or sharp teeth.

Barney was colored purple because purple works well with both boys and girls. Spots were added to spice him up a little bit and the green tummy for a warm touch.

Barney and Friends are full of joy, friendliness and imagination. The trick was to make something snugly come to life and able to sing, dance and play with both boys and girls. How did the Barney business become so successful? What makes children like the TV show?

Barney's success story shows there are certain basic ingredients that a product must have to win the target' hearts.

First, the product should be attractive enough to play with for the first, second, third and even 100th time.

To be attractive, children's product should relate to their interests. A daughter of a friend fell in love with Barney. She watches the video again and again, singing and dancing along with the smiling dinosaur.

Second, the product should be durable and still be intact after it is played for the hundredth time.

Last but not least, the product must have undergone quality control checks and is child safe so as not to neglect parents' concerns.

Barney's quality control team comprise educational researchers who work closely with Barney's producers and writers to ensure Barney helps preschoolers enjoy themselves while learning about good health and safety habits, friendship, good manners, self- esteem and concern for others.

To win children's hearts, marketers must have an in-depth understanding of children's motivations and never take too lightly parents' concerns.

That's what Barney has done.