Problem Child: The Ethical Issues of Children as a Market

Children are seen as one of the most profitable yet fragile markets available in the global marketplace. Profitable because the group not only has a high population, but it is highly influential and easily shaped because children in general are exceptionally susceptible to advertisements and marketing messages. Therein lies the fragility of the market. Children are not an exceptionally loyal market because they are so easily swayed, but because they are so profitable as a market sometimes marketers use aggressive advertisement schemes to keep children's attention on their product. The kinds of marketing schemes used can become an ethical issue when it comes to children because they aren't seen as having enough knowledge to properly decipher and distinguish between persuasion and bias when it comes to aggressive advertising. Children as a market has been a constant debate in business and these issues should be recognized by advertisers when deciding on marketing strategies while keeping in mind the compromising position of the child as a consumer.

Children, kids from the ages 8 and below, have not always been seen as a market for advertisers to target. About 30 years ago children were still seen as being an extension of their parent's spending; children were given money every once in a while, not to spend as they pleased and make conscious decisions about their spending habits, but to save or spend on simple purchases such as candy or small toys. Most purchases were made by parents and few decisions were made by children because parents were given the majority of the decision making power about products.

Today, children are a highly valued market by advertisers for several reasons. The most important reason being that they are actually 3 markets in one; a market unto themselves, a future market, and they play a large part in their parent's market. Kids are their own market in that there are advertisements and marketing plans made to in order to influence their desires. This 15 billion dollar/year market is quite valuable to companies and about 100 million dollars is spent per year on marketing campaigns especially geared toward children. Children as a market have developed their own general needs and marketers have caught on to this market and have developed special marketing formulas especially for kids. Not only are they a market to be utilized now, but they can be shaped into a future market for companies by familiarizing children with their products at a young age so that they will be more inclined to buy a certain brand when they get older and are old enough to be in the company's targeted marketing segment. The average American child sees about 100 commercials daily and these commercials are not only those that are directed toward them, but also those that are made for adults catch their eye from time to time, and this overlap of target markets is not a mistake on the advertiser's part.

The markets of children and adults may overlap at times, but the way that advertisers go about their advertising campaigns has to differ in some ways and take into consideration the fact that adults and children understand commercials and advertisements in differently. The American Psychological Association, APA, has said that children under the age of 8 years old are not able to tell when ads are "truthful, accurate, and unbiased". Kids are not always able to understand the concept of persuasion and because of this they need to be treated carefully and with respect to their position as a child. Comparative advertising and aggressive techniques should be called into question when used to direct the children's market because not only are children easily persuaded, but the company should practice some kind of ethical boundary and limit the aggression when it comes to kids. Some will argue that kids should not be seen as a market at all because of their inability to decipher the true meaning of an advertisement, and others may argue that in the business world it is only fair to be able to market to whomever in order to maximize sales. Being that children are such a valuable market, they should have their own advertisements because as a market they have their own needs for goods and companies should be able to fulfill those needs with their products. But because this market is so valuable, it should also be respected and should not be taken advantage of with unethical and overly aggressive advertisements.

Advertising directly to children has its advantages for kids as their own market. When kids are given their own money, they gain buying power and have great influence over what is produced for them and they can impact the success or failure of a company. They can learn basic skills that will help them as they age on how to be a responsible consumer; "parent-blessed mini-consumers" are those children who have parents who encourage them to go out and spend their money responsibly. These children will learn how to properly read advertisements and learn how, when and where to spend their allowance and what to buy in order to satisfy their needs.

On the other hand, because children are easily influenced by advertisements they can become attached to brands and products that may not be beneficial to them, such as fast food products. Some parents see advertising as big business's way to mold their children into materialistic consumers at a young age. This in turn creates a parent-child conflict because children demand what they want and parents deny them because they know better than to buy into persuasive advertising.

Marketing to children is still highly debated today and the guidelines aren't clear to all companies, so this dispute will most likely continue for years to come. Basic ethics and moral values should always be exercised by companies in any endeavor, but especially when it comes to children because they are not old enough to be fully aware of what influences their decisions.