Your FAQs answered by experts

Our 2024 Industry Impact Report provides valuable insights into the evolving kids, teens, parents and family landscape across key business disciplines including Advertising & Media, Brand Management, Content, Licensing, Marketing, Product Development & Management, and Sales & Category Management.

We posed your pressing questions to our industry experts, gathering their expert advice to help you navigate these complex industry challenges more effectively.

Advertising & Media

A staggering 71% of industry professionals in our Industry Impact 2024 survey stated that the media landscape is now more fragmented than ever.

With regards to the media landscape becoming increasingly fragmented, how should brands adapt their strategies to effectively reach kids and families?

“The traditional model of reaching both children and parents through television has evolved significantly due to digital access and technology. The fragmentation of media consumption presents challenges, but also new opportunities, such as leveraging platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney Plus, which are now adopting ad-supported models. While the ability to reach audiences remains, the real challenge lies in engaging them and driving action, especially with fewer opportunities to convey messages effectively. Marketers need to be strategic, using data to target specific behaviours and interests rather than relying on broad demographics. Understanding the nuances between different audience segments, particularly in children’s markets, is crucial for effective marketing in today’s digital landscape.”Tristan Brooks, Managing Partner, Havas Entertainment

Brand Management

78% of surveyed professionals feel that today’s kids hold greater expectations for brands to live up to. Additionally, three quarters (74%) say that this generation of kids enjoy new, challenging and disruptive brands.

How can brands appeal to kids as they become more empowered?

“Whether it’s them selling products or whether it’s them getting money from their parents as pocket money, getting money from parents from doing tasks — that continues to grow, and brands should treat those children as adults as well. From a branded perspective, business decisions and engagement programmes need to reflect that. Don’t belittle what a child can now do. They are a young adult, but much younger than they used to be, so treat them that way.”Ian Wickham, Director, Licensing Global

Content

Kids’ attitudes, behaviours and consumption habits are changing at a faster pace than ever before; a notion that 84% of industry professionals share.

Within a competitive content space, it’s difficult for new IP to gain traction. What’s your advice for creating and distributing content that cuts through the noise?

“If you keep changing and if you keep switching because of the feedback that you’re getting, you’ll end up working on something that you no longer believe in. And then the kids won’t believe in it. Yes, you’ve got to follow the data, you’ve got to follow the feedback to a point. But if you can stay true to what you want to do and what your idea is enough that you still believe in it, then that’s your best hope.”Danielle Davies, Content Distribution Strategist, Meon Media

Licensing

The prevailing preference for licensed products amongst kids, as reported by nearly 3 in 5 industry professionals, underscores the evolving dynamics of consumer preferences in the modern marketplace.

In terms of licensed content and IP that’s gaining traction within the kids’ market, what advice might you have for brands to take advantage of it?

“Persevere and look at your business firmly in terms of structure and operation; traditional businesses can’t necessarily afford to function in the same way that they’ve always done. They need to reflect internally on how to future-proof their business in a way that allows them to perform in the categories they want to continue to excel in or where they see new opportunities. This might involve broadening the depths of where they’re focusing their attention in products.”Ian Wickham, Director, Licensing Global

Marketing

Adapting to market conditions is not easy though, as over one-third (39%) of industry professionals in large organisations claim that their business is finding it difficult to do so.

“It’s important for your brand to understand what the key areas are that you feel are right for you to engage with your brand. A good example is Peppa Kids audibles and Stranger Things-themed upside-down LEGO — understand how new types of content can be released to fandoms.”Ian Wickham, Director, Licensing Global

How do you think brands can capitalise on the opportunity of fandom?

“The product mix, overall, is hugely important. And I don’t mean just toy lines: it’s about live events, it’s about taking the kids and letting them see those characters live. Immersive events are huge at the moment.”Ian Wickham, Director, Licensing Global

Product Development

How can traditional brand owners leverage their product mix to stay relevant and appeal to kids who might steer towards new, disruptive brands?

“Make sure that your targeting and your campaigning is 100% delivering your ethos and what you’re all about. In terms of product development and product life cycle, keeping things fresh is important too. I come from a background of toys, so one of the things that we used to say within the product mix to keep your brand fresh was that 60% of your range every season needed to churn to keep the same positioning in the marketplace. That’s a lot of product development to come through, which means there’s a whole thing within your data in terms of resource and finance — you know how to spend the money, where to spend the money, when you know the pockets are getting tighter. But product development for me is absolutely, absolutely crucial to product.”Ian Wickham, Director, Licensing Global

Sales & Category Management

Three-quarters (74%) of industry experts note that kids are increasingly empowered to spend their money as they see fit, a significant shift in the purchasing power and influence of kids.

How has the purchasing power of kids changed?

“Kids’ entrepreneurism is on the rise. The number of kids earning their own money has increased by over half in the past two years, with nearly one in two kids aged 10 to 12 making money through selling things in Germany, which goes to show this whole new landscape we have and how children are now adjusting to it. As kids become more financially independent, sales strategies should be catering to them directly, as they are becoming a primary consumer segment rather than an intermediary one.”Nick Richardson, Founder, The Insights Family

To gain further insights from our expert panellists, watch the on-demandIndustry Impact 2024 Webinarand download your free copy of theIndustry Impact 2024 Reportnow.

First published August 2024, drawing on The Insights Family’s Industry Impact 2024 survey and expert panel.