Advertising to Children

Consumer Socialization means the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace (Ward, 1974). This is a lifelong process, which begins with birth and is normally concluded at the age of 18. This learning takes place within the context of background factors such as social classes, religion and socio-economic status’. The question that are crucial to marketers and researchers are what behaviors children learn, by whose influence they learn these behaviors and how those behaviors are associated with the purchase and use of goods and services.

The process of Consumer Socialization is influenced by different factors. All these factors have a different but an important influence on children’s socialization process and may enhance children’s learning of marketplace knowledge. The most important groups are referred to as socialization agents (Witt, 1995).

The family

The family has always been the most influencing institution of children. The child’s contact with family members is not only the most frequent than with other individuals, it is also firmer, warmer and more emotional. Socialization, and hence consumer socialization especially, begins at home, where children learn who they are, what their capabilities are and what they can expect from the community. They learn behaviors and attitudes that have implications for their consumers’ behavior later in life.

The family communication environment is conceptualized as having two orthogonal dimensions: socio-oriented and concept-oriented. (Macklin & Les Carlson, 1999). The socio-oriented communication focus on creating and maintaining harmonious relations in the family and promoting deference to authority, thereby leading parents to control and monitor children’s consumption activities. Concept-oriented communication centers on encouraging children to develop their own views of the world and to consider alternative points of view, thereby fostering “development of children’s own skills and competence as consumers” (Carlson, 1992).