We’re quickly approaching 3 months of school closures, half of the world’s children are stuck at home and a full reopening is still months away. There has never been a better time to talk to kids tech experts SuperAwesome and we did, at this week’s IAB Canada Community Uninterrupted webinar. Ben Zagorski, CRO at SuperAwesome, took our members through the findings of their ground-breaking report “Everyone is a Kids and Family Brand Now” which provided no shortage of inspiration on how all brands should be rethinking their approach and response to kids and families today and beyond.
With the onset of COVID, kid’s daily screen time has doubled across all devices and they are now spending more time online doing everything from streaming services to games and chatting with friends and family. This new generation aptly named after the pandemic, “Generation C” is apparently, willingly to take on more responsibility at home and is clearly spending more time on play and exercise, leading to more interaction with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, cooking channels, e-learning, toys, games and sports retailers. The research shows that by default, every consumer-facing product has now become a kids and family brand and that marketers urgently need to shift focus to create appropriate marketing strategies that address the younger cohorts’ online behaviors and needs.
Here are some key take-aways for brands looking to build out kid and family friendly strategies for the future:
- Almost 50% of kids are missing their friends. Successful brands will enable community and connections. Think community learning experiences.
- Think about whole-family dynamics: Kids are in control, and their parents agree. Kids are making their own lunches, creating grocery lists etc. – it’s time to speak to them and meet them in this new reality as active participants in the purchase decisions.
- Build Trust – in everything: Content placement matters as does the sense of relief it can provide. Content is a powerful conduit towards reassurance – a valuable asset at this moment. Parents, in their quest for help in education and safety need to know that brands are providing credible and smart content. Make it so.
Find the full version of this report here as well as two other SuperAwesome studies “Does Covid-19 Mean the end of Movie Theatres for Kids and Families?” and “A Day in the Life of a Kid during Covid-19: Meet Generation C”