Something Spooky for Halloween: Selling to the Inside Champion

In honor of the holiday, I thought I'd share something scary — 5 marketing messages that my five-year old spontaneously regurgitated throughout the past week.

1. McDonald's Proudly Sponsors ... The punch line is we try to get the kids to watch PBS because there are less commercials but he still remembers the sponsorship message. This is good news for companies with sponsorships though ...
2. Nike — What can I say? The swoosh works. He tried on a pair of Nikes recently and now he notices every pair he sees.
3. Scholastic Video Collection — He knows the books. He knows the logo. He knows the videos. I guess he has a pretty firm handle on their entire brand hierarchy.
4. Beaches Family Resorts — I don't know where this came from or what it is. That's a first: I'm hearing about a brand through my son.
5. Coming Soon on Disney DVD and Video — No big whoop. Every kid knows Disney but kids today are so familiar with the mouse they even understand their promotional strategy. He already gets Disney's anticipation game (that's why he's terrified of movies going into the infamous "Vault Disney").

Marketing to kids is an age old concept. Technically speaking, this model is known as selling to the Inside Champion. These are the individuals who are not necessarily the decision makers but who can throw a big enough fit while at the grocery store with the decision maker that the decision maker ends up getting the Dora the Explorer Yogurt. The Inside Champion exists in other markets as well. Secretaries, office assistants, and other decision influencers are key members of your target audience not to be ignored but also, in the case of kids, not to be abused. Remember to market responsibly and have a Happy Halloween!