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Foodservice Marketing to Kids
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Recent reports show that in 2000, there were 61MM children between the ages of 5-19 in the United States. This statistic is expected to reach $81MM in the year 2050. This age group represents almost 28% of the US population.
As the preceding graph shows, the number of children between the ages of 5-19 will continue to increase in the coming years. The following information will indicate why it is important to market to this growing population segment, and how to successfully market to this group.
Researchers tend to classify kids in four different age groups:
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Toddlers, ages 0-3
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Kids, Ages 4-8
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Tweens, Ages 9-12
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Teens, Ages 13-16
For ease of reference, the remainder of this report will classify kids as ages 4-16 years of age, unless otherwise noted.
In 2006 kids spent about $18 billion and influenced approximately four times that amount in spending by their parents. Families spend more than $115 billion per year on kids, with the majority of this total being spent on food and beverages.
In 2007, restaurant sales are expected to reach over $537 billion. The toddlers and kids groups frequently influence restaurant visits, while the tweens and teens groups only influence those visits occasionally.
Even toddlers know what they want and frequently provide gestures like pointing to a commercial or an advertisement to tell parents what they want. When it comes to value or healthfulness, they are no match for kids’ food preferences. Approximately 80 percent of the reason why parents order off kids’ menus is driven by kids. Kid-friendly (FUN!!!) restaurants help drive repeat customers.
More than half of the time, kids are the deciding factor on where families eat out and kids are very much affected by marketing. Nearly four out of 10 parents or 39 percent take their kids out to eat once a week or more. Of those heavy users, 26 percent visit only limited-service restaurants, while 4 percent dine solely at full-service restaurants. Parents’ decisions for dining-out are often times based on their schedules, value and entertainment that may be provided.
The reverse is that some parents appreciate that restaurants aren’t just giving out toys, but are trying to help their children learn. Parents are focusing more on bringing their family together again for meal time, while strengthening the family bond through family-focused experiences while eating out.
Approximately $2 billion is spent per year on advertising to kids. Marketing is ever-changing and is not an easy task due to the changes in attitudes, interests, and age. Today’s kids—and their families—are inundated with advertising, in attempt by advertisers to tap into the huge buying power of this group. Kids are more sophisticated today than ever before due to the changes in culture, media and technology and it is increasingly difficult to create a connection and building a brand relationship.
To market effectively, it is important to remember that each kid is a customer, with his/her own opinions and ability to drive and/or impact the decision-making process either for themselves or their parents. Creative advertising that fosters seeing things from both a kid and a parent’s perspective—after all, the parent ultimately pays the bill--involves thinking spontaneously, playfully and impractically.