The Food Industry's use of Advergames to Target Children

In recent years advergames have become another element of the marketing mix that companies use to try to create brand engagement and interactivity with their target audience, while keeping up with their competition. Although advergames are used to target all age groups, children are an age group easily engaged and influenced by advergames. While there are advergames for all types of products, advergames used in the food industry will be the focus of this blog entry. The food industry is particularly interesting because of the large influence that children have on their parents purchases when it comes to food decisions, whether this means certain products at the grocery store or a particular restaurant, parents are always trying to please their children. This trend creates a perfect opportunity for advertisers to target children, who don't usually have much purchase power, but in this case they do.

One example, is the Popsicle website featuring a page directing kids to the "popsicle fun zone" where they are brought to a page featuring the advergame "penguin crossing" and other brand related fun, while the grown ups are directed to a page featuring product information. The popsicle brand lists info about its website on the box, so when the child has a popsicle he or she sees the game information and asks their parent to play on the website. Other popular brands that offer advergames include Capri Sun, Gushers, Rice Krispies, and Nabisco. Once kids play the game and become engaged with the brand they will most likely keep asking their parents to purchase the item. This is a tactic employed by many companies in the food industry because they know the power of the child when it comes to grocery store purchases.

I have seen this particular cycle in action with the kids I babysit and my young boy cousins. They and their friends love to play games and are a generation that is very at ease with computer technology, so they love when their favorite foods offer fun interactive websites and many parents allow their young children to play these games. Obviously, children who are unaware of the business agenda behind the games, are more easily persuaded and don't understand that these games are simply a marketing tactic. Essentially, advergames are typical of many food brands who understand that when they offer advergames they are creating priceless brand exposure to children that will keep them active and interested in the brand causing them to ask their parents to keep purchasing it in the future.