SAN FRANCISCO -- Kids are the latest target for Internet marketers as an army of start-ups and old hands leverage the "Mom, will you buy me a ...?" selling technique.
Monday at Jupiter Communication's Digital Kids conference, companies compared and debated their wildly different approaches toward marketing to kids online, and to protecting them from the lurking evils of the Net.
The number of kids online has increased by 50 percent in a single year, while time spent online has doubled to four-and-a-half hours per week, according to a survey by NFO Interactive, and released Monday by Jupiter Communications. The study also found that kids in low-income households have surpassed those in high-income homes to become the heaviest Net users.
To cater to this relatively new market, start-ups such as JuniorNet are fighting for the child market share with children's entertainment and edu-tainment stalwarts such Disney and the Children's Television Workshop. Meanwhile, companies such as Zapme are providing thousands of US schools with free computer systems and broadband Internet connectivity, in order to provide public schools with the same technological advantages as private ones.
Kiddie commerce has increased along with children's content. The NFO survey concluded that 54 percent of children asked their parents to buy an item they had seen online, and nearly 20 percent had purchased goods online. That is why Jupiter is urging kid-centric sites to employ responsible marketing techniques.
"The danger is that the Internet is a two-way medium," said Anya Sacharow, a Jupiter analyst. "So we are advising online companies to use new techniques such as learn-and-grow marketing rather than providing immediate buyer gratification."
This technique uses ad banners that encourage kids to learn how to evaluate products online before making a purchase, rather than pushing for a quick sale.
Not surprisingly, the term "responsible marketing" means different things to different companies. For JuniorNet, whose target audience is 3-to-12-year olds, any e-commerce is irresponsible e-commerce. Instead, it's relying on its US$9.95 monthly membership to provide income for the company.
But the same business model will not work for Zapme. Its charter is to provide 15 Pentium II PCs, high-speed satellite-based Net access, software, and support to public schools. This costs $9,500 per month, per school. Zapme has over 7,000 schools on its waiting list, so the company (which raised $50 million in venture capital last week) will rely on product promotion, advertising, and student and teacher electronic commerce to survive.
President Frank Vigil believes Zapme can balance its need for income with the public good of free Net connectivity to schools that cannot otherwise afford it.
"We don't accept canned content or ad banners," he said. "Instead, we work with companies to make their marketing educational."
For instance, an ad for Gap Khakis may include a history of swing music, or an ad for Gatorade may give a detailed description of what minerals the popular power drink provides to replenish the body's electrolytes.
While some insist that the only good e-commerce is no e-commerce, others reckon that educational advertisements provide a healthy compromise.
"Increasingly, sophisticated marketers are getting in front of children on the Net, so parents need to be aware of their kids' buying activities," said Lee Smith, NFO Interactive's vice president.
