Online Ads Fuel Christmas Present Pestering

Apparently so, according to a recent survey by GreasyPalm. Nearly three-quarters of 1,200 parents surveyed said, they believed online advertising had increased their children’s pestering.

GreasyPalm's Marketing Director, Neil Durrant, thinks that pester power will worsen as online security improves.

"As internet security gradually improves and more children are given online access, they will naturally become exposed to an increased number of marketing messages, which Tweens, especially, are susceptible to,” he said (via e-consultancy).

The Internet is a good way of marketing directly to children and, unlike broadcasting media, is largely unregulated. With the improvements in online security, children are increasingly left alone at the computer and are easily engaged in branded environments from an early age.

However, the survey shows that parents of “tweens” will suffer the most. While 27 percent overall thought the internet increased pestering, this rose to 37 percent within the age group 9 – 14.

“In addition to online marketing messages, tweens are now under more influence from their peers with the growth of social networking, shaping their material wants quite significantly, bringing this to bear on their parent's purchasing decisions,” said Durrant.

Tags: children, online advertising, online marketing, social networking, tweens