1、Children and Consumer CultureNew Perspectives, New Issues,Professor David BuckinghamInstitute of Education, London University,Children and Consumer CultureOverview,1. The history of childrens consumer culture 2. The current state of play; new marketing tactics3. Public debates - lobbyists versus mar
2、keters4. Case study - advertising and obesity5. Issues for investigation: the role of parents, peers and schools; inequalities6. Towards new policies?,Children and Consumer CultureThe child consumer in history,Children and Consumer CultureThe child consumer in history,Mass production: creating new m
3、arkets Separating children from the adult worldThe symbolic valorization of childhoodPlay as learning and a rehearsal for adulthoodRising affluence, and changes in family life,Children and Consumer CultureThe contemporary child consumer,2.2 billion children in the world (1.9 bn in developing countri
4、es)Childrens annual expenditure (4-12, US): $36 billionDirect influence on family expenditure: $187 billionIndirect influence on family expenditure: $300 billionMarketing spend: $1bn advertising; $4.5bn promotion; $2bn PR; $3bn child-targeted packaging (2000)Around 3% of TV advertising, 1% of all ad
5、vertisingUK childrens pocket money averages 32 pm; up 600% in 20 years; 70 million p.a.; around 60% of childrens incomeSweets and food (30%); toys; clothing; electronic goods and media; adult brands and servicesThe cost of bringing up a child is currently estimated at 180,000,Children and Consumer C
6、ultureThe contemporary child consumer,A growing marketChildren as consumers; as influences on family purchasing; as market potentialTargeting children at an ever- younger ageA volatile marketSegmentation by age and genderGlobalisation,Children and Consumer CultureNew marketing tactics,Traditional ad
7、vertising is in decline: a move towards less visible, more participatory, personalised tacticsIntegrated 360o marketing: media tie-ins and licensingBranding - and self-brandingEmbedding, product placementOnline: online worlds, advergaming, social networksData mining, recommendationPeer-to-peer: vira
8、l marketing, brand championsFan culture, collecting, shortages,Children and Consumer CultureConstructing the child consumer v.1,Child welfare campaigners meet the moral majorityCapitalisms war on kidsThe litany of media effects:sex, violence, addiction, playThe child as incompetent victimParents spe
9、aking on behalf of children,Children and Consumer CultureConstructing the child consumer v.2,The marketersConstructing the tweenNew media savvy and competent - but insecureInvisible marketing strategiesThe child as sovereign consumerAnti-adultism and empowerment,Children and Consumer CultureConstruc
10、ting the child consumer,The critics: children as powerless, as other peopleThe marketers: empowering childrenThe academics: competent childrenWhat assumptions about childhood are made here?Competent child - incompetent childKnowing child - innocent childNatural childhood - consumer childhood,Childre
11、n and Consumer CultureAdvertising and obesity: the debate,Blaming the mediaOther causes of obesityThe responsibility of governmentThe unanticipated consequences of regulationDecontextualising problems,Children and Consumer CultureAdvertising and obesity: the evidence,Media effects research - a conte
12、sted fieldDisputes about: brand effects and consumption effects; the age and influence of media literacyBy any estimate, effects are smallNeed to consider food choice in contextThe limitations of evidence,Children and Consumer CultureThe role of parents,Whose culture?Changes in family life: time, sp
13、ace and money Parents emotional investments - the cute and the coolThe trophy childA dual market: fun food, fun books and edutainment,Children and Consumer CulturePeer-group identities,Age as a symbolic markerGetting older younger and sexualisationAspiration and regressionGender: still just pink and
14、 blue?,Children and Consumer CultureSelling learning,The edutainment marketOut-of-school learning - tutoring and franchisesIn-school marketing: materials, vouchers, awards, technologyServices: meals, uniforms, diariesSchool management,Children and Consumer CultureClass and inequality,Other peoples c
15、onsumption: a question of taste?Participation in the market is not equally available to allMarketisation of public services may exacerbate existing inequalitiesInclusion in the peer group is related to the ability to buy: although peer pressure and cool work in complex ways,Children and Consumer Cul
16、tureThe impact of the commercial world on childrens well-being,UK Government assessment: reports March 2009Call for evidence; public consultations; reviews of research; new researchAn assessment, not a reviewThe commercial world - broadly definedChildrens well-being - broadly defined Positives and negatives - resisting the toxic childhood narrative,
