“(Have you heard people
talk about foods high in fat?)
That’s a hard question.”
2nd Grade Girl (C)
“We haven’t learned about
that in school yet.”
1st Grade Girl (C)
“(Do you know anything
about low-fat food?) Are
you talking if you’re fat and
then you get skinny?”
1st Grade Girl (AA)
“Low fat is like if you eat
something that’s less food
you get more skinny and
you start getting skinny.”
2nd Grade Boy (L)
“Don’t eat fat”
“Don’t eat too much fat. Because
it’s bad for your heart.”
2nd Grade Boy (C)
“It looks like it’s all white. It’s
sort of like when you push
down on it, it’s bouncy. I’ve
seen it on meat.”
2nd Grade Boy (C)
“It’s not Grease”
“It’s shiny. It doesn’t really
look like anything, but it’s on
your french fries if you got
them from fast food places.”
1st Grade Girl (C)
“It comes from food. It gets
on your pan. And if you rub
on it, it feels kind of
slippery.”
2nd Grade Boy (C)
How Kids Think
How kids think
• More Healthy
• Less Healthy
• In-between
• Banana
• Ice cream with
sprinkles
• Vegetable Pizza
• Cheeseburger
• Rice
Banana
“Because it’s like a fruit and it
helps you. Like a carrot helps
you see. I don’t know what a
banana does, but it’s healthy.
Because my mom says ‘Eat
fruits instead of junk.’”
1st Grade Girl (C)
Ice Cream with Sprinkles
“Because milk is good for you. It
makes you big and strong and it’s not
bad for your heart. In this one the
chocolate is not healthy. I don’t know
what else, but it’s kind of a candy.”
2nd Grade Boy (L)
Vegetable pizza
“Pizza, that’s sort of not healthy.
Except if you put the vegetables
on it, it’s going to be good because
it has the vegetables. But if you
just have it, it’s sort of more
junky maybe.”
1st Grade Girl (C)
Cheeseburger
“Anything that has meat is not
healthy. Because it has too
much junk in it. It makes you
gain a lot of pounds.”
2nd Grade Girl (AA)
Rice
“They say that rice is healthy, you
should eat it. ”
1st Grade Girl (C)
“It’s not really junk, but it’s not really
healthy. It’s good for you because I
think it’s made out of wheat or
something. ”
1st Grade Girl (C)
“The Food Pyramid”
The Food Pyramid
“I looked on the back of some
cereals and they showed you. It
had fruits and vegetables, dairy
and something I can’t
remember.”
2nd Grade Girl (AA)
The Food Pyramid
“I learned this from my father. He
is going to try to get vitamins
from the stores and he has a
picture of the pyramid where my
mom puts all the cakes.”
2nd Grade Boy (L)
2. TAKE ACTION
What do we want the
target to do?
What Exactly Do You Want
Them To Do When They
Receive Our Message?
BE SPECIFIC
22
What Are They Doing Now?
Competitive Actions
• What is their current behavior?
• Why do they take those actions?
23
What Girls Want
What TV Gives Them
To Be Grown Up
They can learn life’s lessons
from talk shows; learn from
others’ mistakes; exposed to
adult content
Social Interaction
Social engagement with story
line and characters
Sophistication
Keeps girls up to date on
current trends and events;
makes girls aware of new and
different products
Popularity Among Peers
Gives girls something to talk
about with friends
Focus Groups – 11-14 year old girls
California Obesity Prevention Initiative, 2002
3. THE REWARD
What’s in it for them?
Marketing Exchange
What benefits can we offer in exchange for
the action?
Are they worth the cost?
As marketers we must
differentiate between how
we see our issue
as experts (Attributes)
and how our audience
views our issue
(Perceived Benefits and Costs)
Attributes
Copy:
• Longer wheel
base
• High-rigidity
body underpins
• 17-inch ventilated
disc breaks
28
Benefits
Copy:
Eye-catching style on the
outside.
Surprising luxury on the inside.
Just call it sheet metal
magnetism.
GET THE FEELING
Know your audience!
Behavior Theory
Says People Want
• Fun
• Easy
• Popular
Benefits (and costs) are:
• Subjective/personal
• In the present, not the future
• Unknown until you talk to your
audience
34
“Swallow Your Cause”
• Rewards may have nothing
to do with “our cause.”
• They come from the personal
wants of our audience.
• We must communicate the rewards
we have to offer
35
Kid Rewards for
Healthy Eating
• Get BIG
• Have Muscles
• Be Strong
• Go Faster
• Get Energy
• Think Better
WARNING:
You are not the
target audience!
Text:
Crispy
Crunchy
Rings is one
of five,
fabulous,
fun new
Funky Fries
Text:
New
Lunchables
Make your
own magic
4. SUPPORT
Why should they believe us?
Support
• How do we show they will really
be rewarded?
• What can we say to make the
action seem easy?
• What makes the action
normative?
• What makes us believable?
Support
• Show, don’t tell
• Use plain language – no jargon
• Use stories, examples, analogies
• Connect with current events in
their lives
• Other Voices