Synopses & Reviews
Teens are a new type of audience. An increasingly powerful and smart consumer group, they spent US$1 trillion across the globe last year. $25 billion was spent on advertising aimed at them. They are different in every way. They are more likely to have a friend on the other side of the world than in their own street, they think the TV remote is broken when they canbt find the cursor on the screen, and they drop from existence when the battery in their cell phone is flat.This is a generation who spend more hours in front of a screen than outside the home, whose attention span is shorter than the break between commercials, who have lost creativity but have amazing capabilities of thinking and reacting fast.And they know current brand images better than any advertising expert.BRANDChild is the first book ever to look at the phenomena behind global kids and their relationship to brands. It is a unique exploration undertaken from a global perspective, comparing behaviors across the US, Europe and Asia.The book is based on a study undertaken by Millward Brown, the leading global market research agency, in ten countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, India, Britain, Germany, France and in Scandinavia, augmented by data from internal research from Nickelodeon USA and Europe. Interviews were conducted with the experts behind brands like Mattel, Sony, Disney and LEGO as well as the inventors behind BoyZone and Nsync.BRANDChild summarizes this research as well as decades of experience from a variety of other sources on how to market to kids. It looks at their life priorities and hopes and dreams but also dives behind the scenes to determine the true drivers of kidsb trends byanalyzing teen-minority groups, communities and clubs.It looks at trends and changing perspectives and proposes a new way of marketing to this young audience. The book is packed with useful advice on how to create kidsb brands and includes case studies presented in an accessible format.
Review
""Unless there are issues, parents usually stop reading parenting books long before their children hit the middle-single digits. The desire wanes with confidence - or they're just too worn out. But ""Brandchild"" (Kogan Page Ltd., London, 316 pages, $39.95) isn't for parents. Martin Lindstrom's book, which he wrote with Patricia B. Seybold, is for companies targeting tweens. As I read it, I realized it held my interest because I'm a parent of a tween. The 8-to-14 generation, which the author says is the richest in history, gets to choose from ""an endless variety of disposable goods and leisure products designed specifically for them."" The book explains the motivation behind the $150 billion spent each year by U.S. tweens and the additional $150 billion a year they influence by picking restaurants, adding brands to the grocery list or suggesting what car their parents buy or where they go on vacation. That's not an overestimation. Tweens are driven by versions of things that we just didn't have. We might buy a game. They can't wait for the next version to come out. This is also the first generation to consider the Internet, e-mail and cellphones as routine and required. Mr. Lindstrom shows how ""they think in an interactive dimension"" and explains how that makes this generation so global. ""Brandchild"" will open your eyes to why Legos had no choice but to add computer integration to a line of products that we thought was perfectly fine, thank you. Here are some basic findings that marketers need to understand and parents could use, too, for communicating effectively with tweens: Being 110 percent direct and totally honest is the new trend. And deliver more than 110 percent - in short, surprise the kids. This is a generation that keeps upgrading. Mr. Lindstrom is a branding guru who has advised companies on top brands such as Mars, Pepsi, Lego, Cartoon Network, Visa, Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft. (He) uses the Internet to extend the pages of ""Brandchild."" He says one of the facts of life that authors face is that their books will eventually be out of date. So he included a six-digit code on the back cover of the book that allows readers to register for e-mail updates from Mr. Lindstrom at Dualbook.com."" -- Dallas Morning News ""Today's 9- to 13-year-olds have grown up faster with more disposable income than any previous generation.Interactive and demanding, these kids were born with a mouse in their hand and a computer screen as a window on the world.The book is based on a study of 2,000 tweens in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Spain and the USA, a cross-section of economies and Western and non-Western cultures. One conclusion: Tweens spend about $150 billion a year, and influence their parents to spend another $150 billion. ""BRANDchild"" presents a fascinating portrait of these kids, with insights for global marketers, as well as tweens, their families and teachers."" -- USA Today ""Although the book is aimed at marketers, parents and educators -- and tweens themselves -- will find much fascinating information here."" -- Booklist ""This is a must-read book if you want to communicate with and market to young people. Lindstrom provides fascinating data and stories taking you into the mental and emotional life of this new generation, who are distinctly different from us Baby Boomers."" -- Philip Kotler, S C Jonhson & Sons Distinguished Professor of InternationalMarketing, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management 'BRANDchild will be a valuable addition to our industry's literature."" -- Lester Wunderman, Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Wunderman Cato Johnson ""Martin Lindstrom's fascinating tour-de-force may have you staying awake for 60 hours in order to mine this kids-focused marketing wisdom."" -- Stan Rapp, Chairman, MRM Partners Worldwide, Co-Founder of Rapp Collins and Co-Author of 'The MaxiMarketing Trilogy' ""A real thought-provoker for marketing and business people. 'BRANDchild' is a wonderful tool if you are marketing to kids and teens."" -- Stan Davis, Author of 'Blur' and 'It's Alive' ""When someone qualified challenges the conventional thinking, it will result in a fresh perspective and give food for thought about the way children behave. Martin Lindstrom does this in his new book BRANDchild.' -- Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, President and CEO, The LEGO Company
Synopsis
Tweens (8- to 14-year-olds) comprise a new type of audience. An increasingly powerful and smart consumer group, they spent US$300 billion but influenced an astounding US$1.88 trillion spent across the globe last year. They are different from previous generations in every way. They are more likely to have a friend on the other side of the world than in their own street, they think the TV remote is broken when they can't find the cursor on the screen, they drop from existence when the battery in their cell phone is flat, and they know current brand images better than any advertising expert. Based on the world's most extensive study of tween attitudes and behaviors ever conducted, 'BRANDChild' is the first book to look in-depth at the phenomena behind global kids and their relationships with brands. Conducted by Millward Brown, the leading global market research agency, the BRANDchild survey involved several thousand kids from more than 70 cities in 15 countries (throughout Europe, Asia, the United States and South America). Several renowned experts including best-selling author Patricia B. Seybold ('Customers.com') share their unique views on kids' trends and fascinating marketing techniques. 'BRANDChild' summarizes this research, as well as decades of experience from a variety of other sources on how to market to kids. It looks at their life priorities, hopes and dreams and reveals the true drivers of kids' trends by analyzing teen-minority groups, communities and clubs. Packed with practical advice on how to create kids' brands, including more than 50 previously unpublished case studies, 'BRANDchild' proposes new innovative ways of marketing to this young audience. It is requiredreading for anyone wanting a fresh insight into this increasingly influential and demanding consumer group.
About the Author
Lindstrom is recognized as one of the world's primary online branding gurus. He developed some of Australia's, Asia's and Europe's most successful websites. He was co-founder of Europe's largest Internet company, BBDO Interactive (now Fremfab), in 1995, founder of Australia/Asia's largest Internet solution company, ZIVO, in 1997 and in 1999 International Chief Operating Officer for BTLookSmart.ess strategies.