Marketing to Children: Key Strategies for Success
Let’s face it – children see the world differently than we do. Their eyes light up at vibrant colors, they’re drawn to playful characters, and they process information in unique ways. That’s why how to market to children requires a special approach that honors both their distinctive psychology and the ethical responsibilities we have toward them.
When done right, children’s marketing isn’t just about selling products – it’s about creating meaningful connections that resonate with both kids and their parents. Here’s what successful children’s marketing looks like in practice:
| Key Strategy | Implementation |
|---|---|
| 1. Use bright colors and fun designs | Apply to packaging, websites, and marketing materials |
| 2. Speak their language | Keep messaging simple, age-appropriate, and jargon-free |
| 3. Make it interactive | Incorporate games, quizzes, samples, and hands-on experiences |
| 4. Include parents | Create dual-audience content that addresses parental concerns |
| 5. Follow regulations | Comply with COPPA, FTC guidelines, and age-appropriate standards |
The numbers tell a compelling story about why this audience matters. Children aren’t just future consumers – they’re economic powerhouses right now. They spend over $11 billion of their own money annually while influencing family purchasing decisions worth an additional $165 billion across categories from breakfast cereals to family vacations.
What’s particularly fascinating is how early brand relationships form. By ages 3-4, most children can already recognize and recall brand names, and by age 8, they’ve developed brand loyalties that often persist throughout their lives. This early connection creates an opportunity – and responsibility – for marketers to establish positive, ethical relationships from the start.
The digital landscape has transformed how we reach this audience. Today’s children spend approximately 44.5 hours weekly using media devices – that’s more time than many adults spend at work! They encounter over 40,000 commercials yearly across these platforms, with companies investing more than $17 billion annually to capture their attention.
Hi there! I’m Nicole Farber, founder of ENX2 Marketing. Throughout my career, I’ve helped numerous clients steer the unique challenges of marketing to children. I believe the most successful campaigns balance creativity with ethics, ensuring we engage young audiences while respecting their developmental needs and following industry regulations.
If you’re looking to deepen your understanding of children’s marketing, we’ve compiled some helpful resources:
– Do standards exist for marketing food and beverages to children
– Advertising family
– How does advertising affect children’s behavior
Why This Guide Matters
The children’s market isn’t just big – it’s transformative for brands that approach it thoughtfully. American children and teens collectively spend almost $200 billion annually, while influencing hundreds of billions more in family purchasing decisions. That’s a tremendous opportunity, but it comes with equally significant responsibility.
In today’s media-saturated environment, children encounter approximately 4,000 advertisements daily across various platforms. Companies clearly recognize this potential, investing more than $17 billion yearly specifically targeting young audiences. These numbers highlight why understanding the unique dynamics of children’s marketing matters so much.
What makes this topic particularly fascinating is how differently today’s kids consume media compared to previous generations. As digital natives, they effortlessly steer between traditional channels and emerging platforms, creating both new opportunities and challenges for marketers who want to connect with them authentically.
As Sharon Beder, an expert in children’s marketing, points out: “Children 12 and under spend more than $11 billion of their own money and influence family spending decisions worth another $165 billion on food, household items like furniture, electrical appliances and computers, vacations, the family car, and other spending.”
This reality makes understanding how to market to children both a business imperative and an ethical responsibility – one that requires specialized knowledge and a thoughtful approach.
Why Kids Matter: Market Size, Psychology & Digital Habits
When we talk about marketing to children, we’re not just discussing a small corner of consumer spending. We’re exploring a powerful economic force that shapes family buying decisions and creates lifelong brand relationships.
Kids today influence an incredible 97% of breakfast choices, 95% of lunch selections, and 98% of where families eat out. They sway 95% of clothing purchases, 60% of computer buys, and 98% of family entertainment choices. This “pester power” – that persistent “please, please, please” that every parent knows well – is a market force that smart brands recognize and respect.
Today’s children are true digital natives, spending over 44.5 hours weekly in front of screens – often more time than they spend in school! This immersion in digital media has completely transformed their expectations. Traditional passive advertising often falls flat compared to the interactive experiences they crave.
This digital immersion has serious implications. Research from the American Psychological Association has found strong connections between increased advertising for non-nutritious foods and rising childhood obesity rates. This highlights the responsibility that comes with knowing how to market to children ethically.
The Three Markets: Spend, Influence, Future Loyalty
When you’re marketing to children, you’re actually targeting three distinct markets at once:
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Direct Spenders: Children under 12 spend over $11 billion of their own money annually. That’s a lot of allowance money going toward toys, games, snacks, and small entertainment purchases.
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Family Influencers: Kids influence an additional $165 billion in family spending. From everyday groceries to major purchases like cars and vacation destinations, children’s opinions carry serious weight in household decisions.
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Future Loyal Consumers: Perhaps most valuable of all, children who form positive brand connections before age 8 often maintain those preferences into adulthood. That represents decades of potential customer loyalty – a marketer’s dream!
As James McNeal, a pioneer in children’s consumer behavior research, beautifully puts it: “By the time a child can sit erect, he or she is placed in their culturally defined observation post high atop a shopping cart. From this vantage point the child stays safely in proximity to parents but can see for the first time the wonderland of marketing.”
These early brand exposures create powerful, lasting impressions. One retail executive candidly admitted the industry perspective: “If you own this child at an early age… you can own this child for years to come.” This statement perfectly captures the long-term value of successfully connecting with young consumers.
Cognitive Development & Persuasive Intent
Understanding children’s cognitive development is crucial when learning how to market to children ethically. Research consistently shows that kids under 8 generally can’t distinguish between entertainment content and advertising or understand the persuasive intent behind marketing messages.
Josh Golin from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood frames this ethical challenge perfectly: “It is fundamentally unfair to manipulate a young child who doesn’t know what’s happening.” This perspective highlights why ethics must be at the forefront of any children’s marketing strategy.
Children’s cognitive development follows predictable stages that directly impact how they process marketing:
- Ages 2-3: They recognize brand logos and characters but can’t tell the difference between shows and commercials.
- Ages 4-6: They begin separating ads from content but believe ads are just providing helpful information.
- Ages 7-8: They start understanding persuasive intent but remain highly susceptible to emotional appeals.
- Ages 9-11: They develop more critical thinking about ads but are strongly influenced by peer opinions.
- Ages 12+: They can critically evaluate marketing claims but are highly susceptible to social influence.
This developmental progression explains why “pester power” works so effectively – children respond emotionally to marketing messages long before they can rationally evaluate them.
Media Diet & Top Touchpoints
The way children consume media has changed dramatically in recent years. While traditional TV remains important, digital platforms now dominate most children’s media diets, creating new opportunities for marketers to connect.
| Age Group | Primary Channels | Secondary Channels | Content Preferences | Parental Oversight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-5 years | YouTube Kids, PBS Kids, Netflix | Streaming TV, tablets | Character-driven, educational | High (co-viewing common) |
| 6-8 years | Gaming apps, YouTube, streaming TV | Social media (limited), educational sites | Games, unboxing videos, cartoons | Moderate to high |
| 9-12 years | TikTok, YouTube, gaming platforms | Instagram, Snapchat, streaming services | Influencer content, gaming, music | Moderate |
| 13-17 years | TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat | YouTube, streaming services, gaming | Peer-created content, influencers | Limited |
The lines between content and advertising have become increasingly blurred with the rise of product placement, advergames (branded games), and influencer marketing. A study of 135 kids’ apps found that every single free app contained advertising, as did 88% of paid apps.
As one director from Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive noted, “This is a medium for advertisers that is unprecedented… there’s probably no other product or service that we can think of that is like it in terms of capturing kids’ interest.”
Understanding the scientific research on childhood obesity and its connection to marketing is essential for brands that want to engage children responsibly. The most successful marketers balance business objectives with genuine concern for children’s wellbeing – creating engaging content that entertains and informs without exploiting developmental vulnerabilities.
How to Market to Children: Proven Strategies + Compliance Tips
Successfully marketing to children is like walking a tightrope – you need creativity and imagination balanced with responsibility and respect. At ENX2 Legal Marketing, we’ve seen that the most effective campaigns capture children’s attention while honoring their developmental stage and addressing what parents care about.
We’ve developed a thoughtful approach to how to market to children that maintains this delicate balance through research-backed strategies, creative engagement, and strict regulatory compliance.
Step 1: Research & Segment – the Core of “how to market to children”
Think of research as your treasure map – without it, you’re just guessing. Children aren’t one big market; they’re incredibly diverse with rapidly changing interests, abilities, and influences as they grow.
Pop culture tracking is your secret weapon. What shows are kids obsessed with right now? Which games can’t they stop playing? Which YouTube channels do they watch religiously? These cultural touchpoints give you the context to create messages that actually resonate.
We’ve found that focus groups offer insights you simply can’t get any other way. Watching how children naturally interact with products reveals truths they might not be able to articulate, especially with younger kids who might not have the vocabulary to explain their preferences.
Creating age-appropriate personas makes all the difference. A 5-year-old and a 10-year-old might as well be from different planets in terms of cognitive abilities, social development, media habits, and vocabulary. Your marketing needs to reflect these differences.
When collecting data, ethics must come first. We always prioritize privacy and parental consent, preferring anonymous, aggregate data rather than individual tracking – especially for children under 13.
As one car dealer candidly shared with us: “Sometimes, the child literally is our customer. I have watched the child pick out the car.” This reality highlights exactly why understanding your specific age group’s influence patterns matters tremendously.
Step 2: Design Kid-Friendly Creative
With solid research as your foundation, it’s time to create marketing that truly speaks to children. Kids respond to visual and storytelling elements that are worlds apart from what works for adults.
Bright colors and engaging design naturally draw children in. Younger kids gravitate toward primary colors, while older ones appreciate more sophisticated palettes. Make sure your visual hierarchy is crystal clear – the most important elements should be the largest and most colorful.
Character development creates emotional connections that last. Children as young as 3-4 can recognize and form attachments to brand characters. The most effective characters are visually distinctive, consistent across all touchpoints, relatable to the target age, and represent positive qualities children aspire to.
Storytelling is your superpower when marketing to kids. Children process information through narratives much more effectively than through direct product claims. The best children’s marketing embeds products within stories featuring relatable characters, simple conflicts and resolutions, age-appropriate humor, and worlds children want to be part of.
Gamification can boost engagement dramatically – increasing conversions by up to 30% in many cases. Consider incorporating collectible elements that encourage repeat purchases, achievement systems with meaningful rewards, interactive digital experiences, or physical play components in packaging.
As one toy company CEO told us: “My budget for TV this year is zero. Last year I only used influencers, and this year only influencers, and I don’t see myself going back.” This shift perfectly illustrates how creative approaches continue evolving alongside children’s media habits.
Step 3: Make It Interactive & Rewarding
Today’s children expect to participate, not just passively consume. Interactive marketing creates deeper connections and more memorable brand experiences.
Advergames and apps can generate hours of engagement with your brand – if they offer genuine entertainment value. The most successful ones are free to download and play, offer immediate satisfaction alongside progressive challenges, include social components for older children, and maintain appropriate data collection practices.
Augmented reality experiences create those magical “wow” moments that children can’t wait to share. AR filters, scavenger hunts, and interactive packaging blend physical and digital worlds – just look at how McDonald’s Happy Meal Play Zones and digital activities have evolved to create these blended experiences.
Loyalty programs and clubs tap into children’s love of belonging to something special. Effective kid-focused loyalty programs often include collectible items that build over time, exclusive member-only content, recognition elements, and physical credentials like membership cards or badges that children can proudly display.
Contests and user-generated content invite children to become co-creators with your brand (with appropriate parental consent, of course). Pizza Hut’s Book It! program brilliantly exemplifies this approach by rewarding children with free pizza for completing reading challenges – creating positive associations while encouraging valuable skills.
As one marketing executive explained to us: “If the right story has the right ingredients and it becomes worthwhile for sharing, it doesn’t come across as an intrusive bit of advertising. It feels much more like a natural part of our lives.”
Step 4: Partner With Parents – Dual-Audience Approach
Smart marketers recognize that parents are the gatekeepers, decision-makers, and influential co-consumers. The most effective campaigns speak simultaneously to children and their parents, addressing both sets of needs and concerns.
Parent gatekeepers control access to media, spending, and product usage. Your marketing should be transparent about product benefits and limitations, address safety concerns proactively, respect parental authority, and support family values and positive development.
Safety messaging creates powerful marketing opportunities while addressing what parents care about most. Nivea’s beach campaign using RFID bracelets for child safety geo-fencing alerts is a perfect example. Similarly effective approaches include clear age-grading on products, durability assurances, content controls, and highlighting educational value.
Family-centered events build goodwill with both audiences simultaneously. KidZania’s global interactive city partnerships with consumer brands create environments where children and parents participate together – forming positive associations with every brand involved.
Co-viewing opportunities design marketing that encourages parent-child interaction. Castorama’s Magic Wallpaper enables bedtime storytelling and parent-child bonding – creating positive feelings about the brand while strengthening family relationships.
At ENX2 Legal Marketing, we’ve consistently found that the most successful children’s marketing campaigns create value for the entire family rather than driving wedges between children and parents through pester power alone.
Step 5: Stay Legal & Ethical – Non-negotiable in “how to market to children”
The final and most critical component of how to market to children is ensuring your marketing practices comply with legal requirements and ethical standards. This isn’t just about avoiding penalties—it’s about building sustainable, responsible relationships with young consumers and their families.
COPPA compliance is non-negotiable for websites and online services directed at children under 13. This means obtaining verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information, maintaining clear privacy policies, implementing solid data security practices, and limiting data retention to what’s actually necessary.
Children’s Television Act limits advertising during children’s programming and requires educational content. While primarily affecting broadcasters, it establishes important principles for all children’s marketing: clear separation between content and advertising, restrictions on program characters promoting products, and requirements for educational value.
FTC Truth in Advertising requirements apply to all marketing, including children’s. Everything must be truthful and non-deceptive, backed by evidence for any claims made, and fair in its overall impression.
School marketing guidelines require special consideration. Any marketing in educational settings should provide genuine educational value, maintain transparency about commercial nature, respect school policies and parental preferences, and support rather than exploit educational missions.
Child psychologist Richard Freed offers this sobering assessment: “There’s too much money to be made.” This reality makes ethical self-regulation all the more important. At ENX2 Legal Marketing, we help clients steer these complex requirements while maintaining effective campaigns that respect children and their families.
Conclusion
Marketing to children represents both an extraordinary opportunity and a significant responsibility. The strategies outlined in this guide provide a roadmap for creating campaigns that engage young consumers while respecting their developmental needs and the concerns of their parents.
When you’re figuring out how to market to children, this isn’t just about making a sale today—it’s about building relationships that can last decades. Children who form positive associations with your brand before age 8 often carry those preferences into adulthood.
Let’s recap the five key principles we’ve explored:
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Research thoroughly to understand the specific developmental stage, interests, and influences of your target age group. Kids at different ages process information differently, and what works for an 8-year-old might completely miss the mark with a 5-year-old.
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Design creative assets that capture attention through color, character, story, and play. Children are naturally drawn to vibrant visuals and compelling characters that speak their language.
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Make marketing interactive through games, experiences, clubs, and user participation. Today’s kids expect to be participants, not just passive consumers of content.
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Partner with parents by addressing their concerns and creating family value. The most successful children’s marketing creates positive experiences for the entire family unit.
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Maintain strict compliance with legal requirements and ethical standards. This isn’t just about avoiding penalties—it’s about doing right by children and building trust with families.
The children’s marketing landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed. We’re seeing increased personalization in digital experiences, more immersive technologies like AR and VR, and a growing emphasis on user-generated content where kids become co-creators rather than just consumers.
At ENX2 Legal Marketing, we stay at the forefront of these developments. Our team understands the delicate balance required when marketing to young audiences—being engaging without being manipulative, capturing attention without exploiting vulnerabilities.
We help our clients steer this complex landscape with strategies that are both effective and responsible. We believe the most successful children’s marketing doesn’t just sell products—it creates positive experiences that benefit children, support parents, and build long-term brand relationships.
The payoff for getting this right is substantial. Children today influence nearly $200 billion in annual household purchases and will eventually become adult consumers with decades of purchasing power ahead of them. But the approach matters just as much as the outcome.
For more information about our children’s marketing services or to discuss how we can help your brand connect with young consumers ethically and effectively, contact ENX2 Legal Marketing today. We’d love to help you develop campaigns that achieve meaningful business results while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and compliance.
