So recently I have been putting together some ideas about marketing to children online using my somewhat funny Build-A-Bear model of marketing success, quite appropriately. I looked first at some of the regulations, quite appropriate, with regards to marketing to children. Then I discussed the importance of interactivity when marketing to children, with regards to advergames. Not only do children enjoy playing these, but they create an “emotional bond” between children (and adults) and the product that is being promoted.

One thing that you can say about children: they always get more excited about the secondary products that come along with the primary product. The Build-A-Bear stuffed animal is popular, but really the reason children want to go back again and again is for the clothing, shoes, hats and all the other accessories that you can get with the stuffed animal. And the same goes for kids online. When trying to catch the attention of children and draw them to your site I think it is important not to promote that which you are trying to sell. Your marketing strategy cannot be: Come check out the new Build-A-Bear on our site. It should be: Come check out the games, e-cards, points systems, and other viral marketing strategies. It is also important to offer children a great variety of different options to suit their tastes. The importance of “accessories” on a website cannot be stressed enough.

Also, by creating a fully accessorized website, children will do the marketing for you. By sending referral emails to friends in the form of e-cards, engaging in the “community of your site”, and most, importantly by word of mouth, kids will become your biggest marketers.

So it is doubly beneficial to incorporate many different “accessories” on your site, it will initially draw children and this will increase exponentially as word of your site spreads like a virus across the internet and by word of mouth.

Next I plan on speaking of the importance of innovation as an important strategy for marketing to children online. Check it out. :)