NewsLine Column: Tackling Ad Angst As Kids TV Grows Up
class=”article”>
The UK’s children now have more choice of entertainment channels than ever before. Mel Alcock, executive director of commercial sales and development at kids channel Jetix, formerly Fox Kids, explains the challenges facing advertisers in reaching this lucrative demographic…
The kids broadcast entertainment business has developed rapidly over the last few years. In the UK the number of dedicated kids channels has grown dramatically, with seven additions in the last four years. Add to this the terrestrial programming blocks for kids and it is easy to see why the UK is Europe’s most competitive market. This competitive environment is quickly being replicated across Europe as kids channels expand and increase their distribution.
The fact that kids have more choice than ever before isn’t just restricted to which TV channel they watch but extends to their lives in general. Kids have all kind of options for their leisure time – choosing between terrestrial or satellite TV, interactive TV, games, magazines, the internet, after school clubs and increasingly their mobile phones.
As a result the kids’ entertainment arena is a complex one. All across Europe the cluttered kids marketplace is evolving and developing to meet the ever-changing needs of its audience; an audience that has increased spending power, better access to technology – in the home and at school – and is incredibly media savvy.
With a wider choice of channels comes audience fragmentation and a need for media companies to establish a clear positioning and have a real understanding of their audiences, to ensure they can compete with the numerous entertainment demands on kids’ time. As Fox Kids renames to Jetix it is reinforcing its positioning as a boy-skewed entertainment brand that offers action adventure with a dose of cheeky humour to a core audience of kids aged 6-12.
For advertisers the challenges are similar. Kids are being bombarded with messages from first thing in the morning until last thing at night. In targeting this audience, a cross platform solution, incorporating several different media and playing to their sophisticated media awareness, is often the best way for brands to communicate a message.
It is vital to capture their imagination and create a connection with them as quickly as possible. Whatever the medium, kids are looking for content that will engage them and that they can both identify and interact with.
To really make an impact, advertisers must understand the media consumption patterns of kids. What has worked in the past doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in the future. When rolling out a campaign across Europe it is more complicated still. The subtleties in each different market have be taken into account to ensure that messages are communicated effectively.
To this end, Jetix Europe has developed Quest to help provide the little and big details required to steer through the minefield of pan-European kids TV, containing information on kids TV viewing including favourite TV programmes and lifestyle snapshots. More information on Quest can be found at www.jetixeurope.com.
Subscribers can access previous articles by NewsLine columnists in the Columnist Archive – click button on left.