Creating Ever-Cool: A Marketer's Guide to a Kid's Heart

Why should competition be so fierce for children's money? After all, they are only children. They are children, however, who have more than $11 billion to spend each year. They are children, furthermore, who influence nearly $160 billion of family spending annually. In this quest for kids' dollars, companies market their products as not only necessary, but popular -- or cool -- to varying degrees of success. While some products fail miserably, others, like the He-Man action figures and cartoons, succeed extremely well, yet their popularity eventually wanes. Still, others achieve tremendous, consistent success. These the author terms "Ever-Cools". By achieving Ever-Cool status, brands are able to gain customers for life. By retaining some constant features, yet constantly changing to reflect the current trends or fads, Ever-Cools attract kids, and their money. Mattel's Barbie and McDonald's Happy Meal are perfect examples of Ever-Cools. Baywatch Barbie and the 101 Dalmations Happy Meal reflect what is currently popular, only to change when the enthusiasm for this television program and movie subsides. Now, the secret formula for achieving Ever-Cool status is available to marketers everywhere. Author Gene Del Vecchio has worked for nearly twenty years at Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, in Los Angeles, working on many products targeted at children, including toys, foods, candy, and entertainment.