<font color="#FF0033"><b>FICCI Frames ’05:</b></font> Pester Power unraveled

India, very often, is described as a nation of young people, and it isn’t without reason. The population of children between the ages of 5-14 is estimated to be in the region of 800-900 million-odd (80-90 crore), according to the United Nations’ population survey. This means that a huge potential exists for marketers, broadcasters etc, which explains the explosion of kids’ channels over the last year or so in the country.

“The genre has definitely grown, but there is room for more,” says Zarina Mehta, head of programming, Hungama TV.

Mehta was speaking during a session titled ‘Kidology’ on the third day (April 6) of the FICCI Frames seminar in Mumbai. She emphasised that the current crop of channels in the kids’ space (including Cartoon Network, POGO, Nick, Hungama, Animax, The Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney) accounted for revenues of approximately Rs 150 crore out of the total TV market of Rs 13,000 crore last year. “By 2010, we should see an exponential growth in revenues from advertising and subscription in the kids’ space” she said.

20 dedicated kids’ channels would beam into C&S homes by 2010 coupled with interactive gaming channels and exclusive radio stations for children. “These entities would cater to different age-groups, gender and languages,” said Mehta.

Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, maintained that the key element required when broadcasting to kids was to give them a sense of ownership. “They are intelligent, and it makes sense to listen to them.”

Prasun Basu, vice-president & head, South Asia, Millward Brown Services, IMRB International, on the other hand, focused on the relationship kids share with brands. His emphasis mainly was on the tweenager segment or kids in the age-group of 8-14 years. “This is a critical transition phase for a child and they are more receptive to brands during this period,” he said.

What basically drives brand loyalty among tweenagers is peer pressure, said Basu. “This is a time when kids want to be a part of a group, and it reflects in their brand choices.”

Sanjai Srivastava, vice-president, Lowe, meanwhile, had some simple pointers to provide when communicating with kids. “It is better to be visual when addressing children. Secondly, they help you cut across demographics & psychographics with their presence, and help simplify communication too.” © 2005 agencyfaqs!