VitaBubble

Background, Expectations, Problems and the VitaBubble Solution

Diana Dvorkin
BS3108 Consumer Behaviour Individual Assessment of Exchange Students Prof. Stephanie Feiereisen

 VitaBubble: Background, Expectations, Problem & Solution

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The Digital Generation: Ages 5-8 Background & Expectations Advertising and what peers have, strongly influence children ages five to nine (Beharrell & Gelperowic 1994) In this new age of consumerism, children are exposed to a larger volume of products and advertisements than ever before. Children are actually able to obtain these products, as parents are more willing to buy more for their children, than previous generations (Mediasmarts, 2008). Trends that have led to this include, postponement of children, dual incomes, smaller family size, and divorce (Beharrell & Gelperowic, 1994). Since parents are waiting longer to have children, stable incomes and savings are usually established, leading to a more stable monetary focus towards children. With incomes from both the mother and the father, children also have twice the monetary resources than in the past. This further works to their advantage as smaller family sizes lead to a higher allocation of resources to children. A greater allocation of resources is linked to a higher quality of life, prompting parents to provide more for their children (Gruber, 2004). Another strong component that is emerging, is the presence of divorce and the effect on children. Since divorce rates are rising, XX family dynamics are shifting. Parents know that they are putting their children through emotional hardship, thus they try to make it up to children through materialistically. As this is a budding trend, it is not one to depend on, however it may become more apparent in the future (Gruber, 2004). This background is important to take into consideration with children, as children do not physically make money, yet they have strong power influencing buying decisions. Another emerging factor for children, is a lack of proper nutrients. Poor food options and choices have lead to children being overweight, and even obese, seen in Appendix 1 & 2. Lack of nutrition is a major problem in children, and is directly linked to food as children gravitate towards unhealthier foods (Charlene, 2011). Junk food availability increases with age, leading to poorer health habits for the future. This leads to a physical need of more nutrients. This is a trend seen worldwide with generation, as children have also become less active (Agante & Pries, 2011). This new generation of children is also exposed to technology more than previous generations before them. This exposure influences expectations on products and marketing itself. Children expect even bigger and greater things, such as interactivity and marketing on all mediums. Children have more screen time or time in front a screen, such as computer, video game, etc. than before. For both boys and girls, more than two hours of screen time were recorded a day (Anderson et al, 2008). In order to effectively market, increased engagement, over many mediums, such as tv, film and print, must be utilized (Bradley et al, 2010). Children want a more social experience with their products, both through social media and peer-to-peer interactions (Cuddeford-Jones, 2012).

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Since children are constantly exposed to advertisements, children expect the fun and social experience to be conveyed through products and their advertising. Children themselves have higher expectations on products, as they look to find a balance between design, individuality and being a part of the group. In design, there are many components children, both males and females are drawn to (Cuddeford-Jones, 2012). Children are attracted to entertainment factors, such as colors, characters, symbols, shapes; conveyed without too much of an information overload (Agante & Pries, 2011). Children are also drawn to cross-promotion, which uses established products, characters or athletes as a part of their branding. This increases familiarity, as it utilizes Law of Similarity, strengthening the brand image (Brownell et al, 2010). A surprise dimension, or interactivity such as games on packaging also heightens the childs chance of remembering the product (Brady et al, 2010). This needs to fall in line with childrens ideals on what they believe is supercool, seen in Appendix 3, which survived 1,000 children ages eight to fourteen (Cuddeford-Jones, 2012). While this is a slightly higher age range, in order to build brand loyalty, some components should be utilized to strengthen lifetime loyalty (Agante & Pries, 2011). Peer influence is another important component to children, and has the power to effect their decisions, as children lean towards brands that are seen as cool, and convey a positive social experience. Since children are not given as much credit as they believe they deserve, a light positive representation is essential. Top brands that have utilized this, and achieved being seen as Cool according to British students, can be seen in Appendix 4 (Cuddeford-Jones, 2012). Brand representation has grown in importance, as it can even effect eating decisions (Charlene, 2011). Nutrition Problem and VitaBubble Solution: With the trend of negative food habits in children, a new product can be utilized, to help motivate children to be healthier, while still giving them a sense of the junk food perception that they are familiar with. VitaBubble is a new vitamin soda brand, just for kids, introduced by Coca-Cola. Children see Coca-Cola as a cool brand, giving VitaBubble a positive brand attitude association even before its release. VitaBubble takes the vitamins that are lacking in British childrens diets, such as calcium and Vitamin A, and puts them in fun flavors, resulting in a soda just for kids (Thane et al, 2000). This helps children gain need nutrients, while giving them the entertainment of soda, and being encouraged to drink it. Soft drinks have replaced childrens traditional consumption of milk (Thane et al, 2000) However for each additional serving of sugar-sweetened drink consumed, both BMI and frequency of obesity ration increases (Ludwig et al, 2001). In addition to a risk in weight, switching from the nutrients in milk to the emptiness of soda has risks. Not drinking milk

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leads to multiple nutrient deficiencies, including Vitamin A, Foliate, Calcium, Phosphorus and Magnesium (Bowman, 2002). This is particularly risky since childhood is a period of rapid growth and development. The most commonly reported nutritional disorder in early childhood in the UK is iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can lead to multiple health defects during this sensitive time in growth, such as, loss of appetite, anemia, increased susceptibility to infection, delay psychomotor and cognitive development (Thane et al, 2000). Since changes in dietary patterns primarily occur in the transition from childhood to adolescence, it is important to establish healthy habits (Bowman, 2002) Since children have a strong influence in food decision, almost to an extreme, the product will be marketed mainly to them. The power children have in food decision is almost extreme, influencing breakfast choices 97% of the time, and lunch choices 95% of the time (Mediasmarts, 2008). Childrens pickiness even accounts to an 80% control over the familys general food budget, making VitaBubble essential to have in stores (Agante & Pries, 2011). There are two main components of shopping with children, attracting children, and having parents agree to buy the product. It has been established that it is effective to attract childrens attention through bright colors and characters, as it has increased by 78% in the past few years. Children gravitate to towards junk food, as they see it as kids food (Charlene, 2011). VitaBubble will attract children with its vibrant colors. The appeal of junk food is strong enough, that children would even sacrifice taste for a cool product that was unhealthy. For instance, Kool Aid was proven to be preferred for its vibrant color instead of its taste (Klara, 2012). This will be used to form and attract visual perception. If theres a lack of child appeal, there is a smaller chance that children will even want to product (Beharrell & Gelperowic, 1994). VitaBubble will utilize this. The packaging effects childrens perception of taste, so VitaBubble will be sure use both colors and characters (Brownell et al, 2010). More research would need to be conducted to see the most effective characters that could be used towards British children specifically (potentially characters from Cool brands displayed in Exhibit 4), but each flavor of VitaBubble would have a distinctive color and character. Each character would have its own theme, such as Surfer Blue Raspberry character, or Space Green Apple offering children a wide variety of characters to relate and connect to while offered the needed vitamins. This relates to safe individuality which comes from finding the balance between the individual and the group. Children want follow group trends, yet they also want to be individuals. By picking a flavor, they get to feel a sense of uniqueness (Cuddeford-Jones, 2012). Since most food choices are made at point of sale, it is important to analyze children while food shopping (Brownell et al, 2010) There are two categories of children when food shopping, trolley loaders and naggers. Trolley loaders fill the trolley with products, while naggers beg their parents for products. In a study, it was found that if the parent perceives the product as a healthy food product, they are more likely to buy it. (Beharrell &

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Gelperowic, 1994). Children are actually more likely to pick a healthier product if it has naturally grabbed their attention, since they know they are more likely to convince their family to buy it. The importance is to have the child be attracted to the product, and then be encouraged to buy it, once healthiness is discovered (Brownell et al, 2010). This healthiness cannot be associated with adult food since children have a negative perception of adult food. They can see it as boring and plain, the opposite of what children are aspiring to be (Charlene, 2011). VitaBubble would be able to primarily cater to children, and then use the health aspect to reinforce parents decisions when they buy it. VitaBubbles Campaign & Appeal to Children In order to even grasp childrens attention, since they are so highly marketed to, an effective campaign must be interactive, over many marketing mediums. Brand loyalty beings building at age 2, so the advertisement must stand out (Brady et al, 2010) The core of the campaign will be interactive. In order to influence consumers perception VitaBubble will be utilizing the Law of Closure and the Law of Similarity. For its primary Bubble campaign, VitaBubble will have interactive LED floor projections that will display interactive bubbles, representing the soda bubbles. Since children are naturally more attracted to junk food and see it as kids food the playfulness of the bubbles will attract them, and be reinforced by the representation of soda. The relationship between the bubbles and connecting them with soda bubbles represents the Law of Closure, as children will need to make that connection. In addition, children will be able to play with the bubbles, and form shapes, engaging them in a fun activity, giving them a positive association with the brand. Physically forming the VitaBubble bottle will result physically represent the Law of Closure, as children will actually form the product. Throughout this process, the brands characters will be available to guide them along the way. This floor will be high-tech enough to understand where the children are, and appoint these characters to help them form different shapes, specifically the bottle. Their guidance will be accompanied by light music, possibly a jingle, to attract the children and utilize the auditory stimulation. The characters will follow the Law of Similarity, as the children will have a positive outlook on the characters, which will reflect well on the brand. By having the interactive bubbles, it follows the new effective trend of concealing the ads, making them fun, yet still have the brand message be apparent (Calvert, 2008.). Since the characters are such an integral part of the campaign, they could be used to draw attention to the Bubbles campaign. In order to add a viral aspect to the campaign, actual characters could come to the Bubbles sites and perform a demonstration or another fun attention grabbing act, which could then be streamed on their social media (Calvert 2008). This would encourage the social media aspect of the campaign, while advertising the Bubbles and the brand in a fun positive light.

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As children also want a brand that is creative and does new stuff all of the time, each character will have its own social media stream. A general website for all the characters will be created in which lead maters, that children can download and print will be available, as well as links to individual characters posts. There will be Facebook, Youtube, Instagram posts and more, allowing children to get involved in the brand outside of just consuming the product. Since repetition increases the likelihood of purchasing and using a product, there are multiple places that the character would lead the consumer to the product, primarily social media, as demonstrated in Exhibit 1 (Brady et al, 2010). Exhibit 1: Brand Characters Presence
Social Media Bottle
Youtube Twitter Facebook Instagram

VitaBubbles Character Online Virtual World

Viral Campaigns

Bubbles Campaign

Components of the social media will involve humor and creativity, constantly engaging the customer, and keeping the experience interactive. This allows children to be a part of the brand, increasing engagement, as they become co-creators (Ideas, 2008). It has been proven that online interactive worlds build brand loyalty, which can translate over to Coca- Cola as the children age (Calvert, 2008). This reinforces childrens lengthened screen time, while giving them a healthier nutrient alternative when food shopping. More research would need to be done on where to effectively place these Bubbles campaigns, an in-depth study on children in the target geographical markets would be an

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effective tool. However, since children affect family entertainment choices 98% of the time, and family trips and excursions 94% of the time, the study would be well worth it (Mediasmarts, 2008). Wherever it is found that children would like to go, it would be effective to put these interactive Bubble floors near the restaurant and food areas, attracting the childrens attention in time so children could begin to ask their parents for the product before their meal. This would also be effective in supermarkets, as food choices are typically made at point of sale (Brownell et al, 2010). Children usually go with their parents to supermarkets, and have the power to influence 80% of the food budget, placing these floor campaigns in front of soda, juice or snack aisles could draw attention to the floor, and then the product, refer to Exhibit 2 (Mediasmarts, 2008). This would highlight VitaBubble from the start, physically drawing attention away from other competitors that are on the shelves. Exhibit 2: Bubbles Campaign Opportunity

Using key elements of perception will build a multiple pronged campaign that would promote a product that effectively fulfills the needs of the digital generation. This campaign will utilize interactivity and build a brand community that children can interact with online. This will only support the brand from the childrens point of view, while benefiting their nutrition, a health element that parents will be sure to support

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References Agante, L. and Pries, C. (2011) Encouraging children to eat more healthily: The influence of packaging.. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 10 (3), p.161-168. Anderson, S. et al. (2008) Active play and screen time in US children aged 4 to 11 years in relation to sociodemographic and weight status characteristics: a nationally representative cross-sectional analysis. BMC Public Health, 8 (366). Beharrell, B. and Gelperowic, R. (1994) Children; Consumer behaviour; Decision making; Diet; Food; Health; Marketing; Packaging.. British Food Journal, 96 (11), p.4-8. Bowman, S. (2002) Beverage Choices of Young Females: Changes and Impact on Nutrient Intakes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102 (9), p.1234-1239. Brady, J. et al. (2010) Online Marketing of Food and Beverages to Children: A Content Analysis. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 71 (4), p.166-171. Brownell, K. et al. (2010) Marketing foods to children and adolescents: licensed characters and other promotions on packaged foods in the supermarket. Public Health Nutrition, 13 (3), p.409-417. Calvert, S. (2008) Children as Consumers: Advertising and Marketing. Future of Children, 18 (1), p.205-234. Charlene, E. (2011) It's junk food and chicken nuggets: Children's perspectives on kids' food and the question of food classification. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 10 (3), p.133-140. Cuddeford-Jones, M. (2012) Cool for Kids. MarketingWeek. Gruber, J. (2004) Is Making Divorce Easier Bad for Children? The Long-Run Implications of Unilateral Divorce. Journal of Labor Economics, 22 (4), p.799-833. Ideas (2008) Interactive Food and Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. [report] St. Lous: Federal Reserve Bank: Research Division. Klara, R. (2012) Perspective: Color Me Thirsty. AdWeek. Ludwig, D. et al. (2001) Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis.. [report] London: Lancet Publishing Group Country , p.505-8. Thane, C. et al. (2000) Risk factors for poor iron status in British toddlers: further analysis of data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of children aged 1.5-4.5 years.. Human Nutrition Research, 4 p.433-40. Unknown. (2008) How Marketers Target Kids. MediaSmarts.

 Appendix 1: Obesity in Boys

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Appendix 2: Obesity in Girls

 Appendix 3: British Childrens Criteria of a Cool Brand

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Cuddeford-Jones, 2012

 Appendix 4: British Childrens Top Cool Brands

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Cuddeford-Jones, 2012