PESTER POWER: The plus side of pestering
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At a time when any ads aimed at children court controversy, two brands, Renault and npower, have stepped over
the parapet with campaigns that not only target kids but do so by reviving the much frowned-upon technique of
pester power, albeit with a positive twist. By David Benady
Energy brand npower and car marque Renault are leading the way in re-inventing a once frowned upon marketing
tactic.
The brands are targeting children with campaigns using cartoon characters, online games and discounts. The
schemes are designed to get kids to change their behaviour and to persuade their parents to join in too. It sounds
like a reprise of that reviled kiddie marketing technique of the 1980s and 1990s/ pester power.
However, the brands are not persuading juveniles to harass mummy and daddy to buy unhealthy junk food or
sugary soft drinks, nor to badger their parents for the latest expensive toy or a trip to a pricey theme park. On the
contrary, these schemes encourage children to take part in positive behaviour such as saving energy and reading
books. This latest marketing technique has been dubbed "positive pester power".
Valuable schemes?
On the face of it, the two schemes appear valuable and constructive. Npower's Greener Schools Campaign
encourages children to learn energy saving techniques such as switching off electrical items left on standby. The
company admits that it would be good if they could influence their parents to turn down the heating at home and buy
energy-efficient white goods. The campaign uses the old pester power tactics of cartoon characters and games
through a child- friendly website called Climate Cops.
Renault's Tales from the Glovebox offers discounted books from Waterstone's to promote reading. Its website
features a story written and read by "kidlit" superstar Michael Morpurgo. It is claimed that 75% of children targeted
have started reading more as a result of the scheme.
As children's minister Ed Balls launches an investigation into the commercialisation of childhood, brands are aware
that they are in the dock, accused of corrupting the minds of the nation's youth. Will they be forced to Socratically
chew on the metaphorical hemlock and suicidally stop all marketing to children? Or can they persuade the Minister and the public - that marketing to kids can be a force for good?
The idea that pester power should be used in a positive way seems paradoxical. It is usually associated with
manipulative marketing tactics that influence children. Ad agencies used to boast about their prowess in
encouraging pester power, though it became a dirty word at the end of the 1990s, replaced by strategies such as
"family marketing" and "kidfluence". Pester power - negative or positive - is banned in television and non-broadcast
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advertising codes. This, though, refers to overt attempts to encourage kids to nag their parents. Many observers see
pester power in broader terms, viewing all marketing directly aimed at children as a form of the tactic.
Positive manipulation?
A defender of positive pester power is the National Schools Partnership, an agency which promotes brands in
schools. NSP chief executive Mark Fawcett says: "There are various initiatives where I would back positive pester
power as good and necessary. There are some issues that are so important to children that it is arrogant to suggest
that they shouldn't be involved."
Fawcett believes that brands should encourage positive activities, rather than directly promoting themselves. He
backs the npower and Renault schemes as fine examples of positive marketing: "Brands need to make sure that
where they are associating themselves with promoting something like a healthy activity, they are encouraging the
children to pester for the activity, not the brand. That's where you need to consider whether it is suitable to use
children to promote things."
So what do the brands get out of such schemes? Npower says the Greener Schools campaign and Climate Cops
website - aimed at children aged seven to 11 - are intended to promote responsible energy use in schools and
among children. The website has the npower logo and brand marketing messages emblazoned across it.
Head of the scheme Clare McDougall adds: "It is about promoting the good name of the company, although that is
not the main aim of the initiative. But any positive impression created about npower is a good thing - it shows they
are doing their best to be responsible." She says that the main thrust of the programme is to help 2,500 schools
become greener over five years. Targeting children is a minor element.
Renault's Tales from the Glovebox reading initiative also has a heavily branded website. Children can "experience
the magic" of stories and cartoons, while parents can book a test drive of the Renault Scenic. Some would argue
that these are subtle ways of using children to promote brands to parents, using "kidfluence" - influencing children to sway family decisions, as seen in the Vauxhall Meriva and Zafira ads.
There are those who oppose all such marketing to children. Pressure group Compass has launched a Charter for
Childhood which calls for a ban on advertising to children under the age of seven. General secretary Gavin Hayes is
unimpressed by the idea of positive marketing: "Children should be children before they are consumers. Whether
the advertising is for good or bad reasons, it is still putting pressure on children. There are studies that have shown
increasing rates of stress, depression and low self-esteem and this is down to increased marketing."
A sign of the times
But Sue Palmer, author of the book Toxic Childhood - which has sold 30,000 copies - argues for a pragmatic
approach. "One has got to live with the world as it is, one can't change things at a stroke," she says. "Since pester
power exists, I'd rather see it working towards children's best interests." Palmer helped draft the Children's Charter
and is pressing for a ban on marketing to children under the age of 12. She says: "Most of the things children need
you can't pay for - love, play, song, care and time."
Surprisingly, positive pester power gets the blessing of the Children's Food Campaign, which has co-ordinated the
battle against junk food advertising but is eager not to be seen as anti- advertising. Campaign director Richard Watts
says: "The vast majority of food marketing has been for unhealthy food. If food companies are going to shift their
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marketing efforts to healthy food, we welcome that."
Meanwhile, the British Heart Foundation has launched a campaign against the use of pester power by junk food
companies. It claims two-thirds of parents are unaware that brands such as Skittles, McDonald's and Irn Bru are
targeting children with online games.
BHF Policy and communications director Betty McBride says the problem is that junk food brands' budgets
massively outstrip social marketing budgets promoting positive messages. "I do think if there was a level playing
field, children would be asking their parents for healthy options," she adds. "I'm in favour of positive marketing to
children, [as long as it] is responsible. I am happy to have an environment where children are being brought up with
healthy choices."
Brands see their work with children as a key part of their corporate responsibility programmes, but they lay
themselves open to accusations of preying on youthful innocence. Through positive pester power, they are trying to
show that techniques of marketing, long derided as shallow and manipulative, can be put to good use and change
children's behaviour for the better.
Additional reporting by Caroline Parry
Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors
DETAILS
Business indexing term:
Subject: Marketing Advertising
Subject:
Marketing; Advertising; Parents &parenting; Families &family life; Reading promotion;
Children &youth; Food; Books; Reading; Initiatives; Websites
Publication title:
Marketing Week; London
Pages:
20
Number of pages:
0
Publication year:
2008
Publication date:
Jan 24, 2008
Publisher:
Centaur Media U SA Inc. (A member of Centaur Plc Group)
Place of publication:
London
Country of publication:
United States, London
Publication subject:
Business And Economics--Marketing And Purchasing
ISSN:
01419285
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Source type:
Trade Journal
Language of publication:
English
Document type:
Marketing &promotion
ProQuest document ID:
228152244
Document URL:
https://skema.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/pesterpower-plus-side-pestering/docview/228152244/se-2?accountid=42874
Copyright:
(Copyright (c) 2008. Centaur Communications Limited. Reproduced withpermission of
the copyright owner. Further reproduction ordistribution is prohibited without
permission.)
Last updated:
2023-11-09
Database:
ProQuest One Business
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