MUMBAI: With kids commanding a market of one third of the country’s population, it becomes increasingly important to understand what they want and what drives their consumption pattern. With that in mind, Turner’s New Generations report 2016 did a comprehensive study of its target audience through a thorough survey. The New Generations report surveyed over 6,690 respondents, which included kids ranging from the age of 7-14 years and parents of 4-14 years old kids.
While the report clearly pointed at the rapid adoption of the digital media by kids through mobile phones and other smart devices, the primary mode of consumption of media is still television with a staggering 97 percent preference. Going deeper the television viewing data revealed that 50 percent of parents enjoy watching television with their kids daily and 80 percent of them closely monitor what their kids are viewing.
When it comes to digital, 90 percent of kids are growing up in homes with mobile, though the numbers are still behind compared to more mature markets like the US, Europe and Southeast Asia, which is mainly due to the much developed multiscreen set up in other countries, which is still catching up in India.
In spite of their increased activity on the social media, targeting kids online can be a tricky business, said Turner International India MD Siddharth Jain.
“Only kids above the age of 13 are allowed to set up an account in Facebook, but our findings show that 25 percent of the kids are on Facebook, while 5 percent of the parents are aware of that. Regardless of our findings, as a responsible broadcaster, we can’t encourage kids to be on the social media platform just to market our channel better. Instead we urge kids to check out our website. We also have apps, like the recently launched CN Anything that grabs kids attention through short and snacky content that they can consume through their smart phones,” Jain explained.
When asked how these findings will help the network in shaping its content strategy for the kids, Turner International India executive director and Network dead – Kids, Krishna Desai shared, “Over the years we have seen how kids behave in their households and schools, and the New Generations report helps us identify little nuances of the kids that are relevant to the time we are in. There are many cues from understanding how a typical day in the life of a child is like, what their preferences are segregated in age gender and market that help us determine trends and build content for them.”
Though technology has brought about a huge change in the ever evolving life of kids and how they perceive the world and society around them, the biggest shift since the 2012 report has been in the purchasing power that an average kid commands currently. Average pocket money for an Indian kid has increased from Rs. 275 in 2012 to Rs. 555 in 2015.
This is a 100 percent increase in pocket money since 2012. 52 percent kids receive pocket money out of which 50 percent save it (majority being girls), and the balance 50 percent spend their money on buying clothes, shoes, junk food and toys. “At an annual spending potential of Rs. 22,594 crore, Indian Kids have more money to spend than the GDP of 50 smaller countries of the world including Bhutan, Aruba and Maldives,” shared Turner International India Director and South Asia Research Head Rahul Sachdev.
Not only that, kids also have a considerable influence in what consumer goods should be bought in the household, which hints at brands to seriously target kids in their marketing initiatives.
“We look beyond television content through this report. We have partners in the broadcast industry as well as advertisers, marketers, and other affiliates who can make great use of this data. A fact like ‘67 percent of purchases at home is influenced by children’ is very important for a good brand advertising with us to find out ways to convince the kids to buy their products,” Jain added.
When it comes to advertisement, kids are easily won over by the presence of their favourite cartoon characters or superheroes. “Children from the East region love ads with cartoon characters and animations while those in the west region prefers ads with humour; children in the north and south region behave in a similar manner- taking a cue from humour and cartoon characters. Over 65 percent children and parents are attracted towards character based product packaging,” the report says.
Other highlights from the report included:
Education: 40 percent parents are seen saving in child specific plans and schemes for a bright future and better education from their child’s tender age
New Technology: Use of technology amplified exceptionally as kids live in connected homes. Gaming– the number one online activity for children
Purchasing power: Pocket money given to kids in 2015 has grown by a 100 percent
Kids & their environment: Kids chose to eliminate poverty and promote peace. 64 percent kids are aware of the government’s Swachch Baharat Abhiyaan and an equal percentage of kids open to participate in the move towards a cleaner India.
Icons: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sachin Tendulkar and Sania Mirza rule the hearts of the kids.
