Apps are the new frontier

Marketing to Kids and their Parents?

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The �appi�cation� of marketing

India is witnessing a revolution in mobile data and uptake of smart devices. Marketers in India are yet to harness the power of apps to engage consumers and increase salience for

the brand.

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According to the latest report by IDC, India witnessed the highest rate of growth � over 186 per cent � in smartphone sales in Asia Paci�c region during January-March 2014, outshining countries like China. As a large chunk of Indian users migrate to affordable smarter devices from feature phones, smartphone sales in India are expected to reach 80.57 million units by the end of this year.

Add to the statistics another report from The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) that says that the total worth

of Indian app economy is worth USD 150 million (about Rs 900 crore) currently and led by a surge in smartphone sales, the app market in the country is likely to grow by more than four times to USD 626.23 million (around Rs 3,800 crore) by 2016. There are 3 lakh app developers in the country with about 100 million app downloads every month but they are building apps for the global market and not necessarily for India.

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You guessed it right. We are talking about kids.

A recent study called �Children�s Media Use in America� revealed that among families with children aged 8 and under, there has been a �ve-fold increase in ownership of tablet devices such as iPads, from 8% of all families in 2011 to 40% in 2013. The percentage of children with access to some type of �smart� mobile device at home (e.g., smartphone, tablet) has jumped from half (52%) to three-quarters (75%) of all children in just two years. Seventy-two percent of children aged 8 and under have used a mobile device for some type of media activity such as playing games, watching videos, or using apps, up from 38% in 2011.

Our experience with driving engagement with kids for brands and connected conversations led us to an attempt to understand app usage patterns speci�c to children in India, and this study* is the �ndings of our independent research on parents with kids under the age of 8 years in India to understand how app content was being consumed by this secondary group of users of mobile devices and how did that translate into opportunities for marketers in the country whose core TG was young kids.

There isn't a lot of research done on mobile app usage patterns among Indian consumers and we at Pulp Strategy set out to seek answers. This research is a �rst in series of research studies of consumer behavior in relation to mobile applications and has focused on a very signi�cant consumer segment who isn't the primary owner of a smart device but whose pester power is increasingly a powerful force for product adoption and sales.

We are witnessing a new technology revolution in

India led by smarter, cheaper devices and high availability of mobile data plans and consumers are

spoilt for choice.

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6 - 8 years old

3 - 5 years old

0 - 2 years old

8 years and above

U.S. food companies are reaching children by embedding their products in simple and enticing games for touch-screen phones and tablets. The new medium is far cheaper than Saturday morning TV commercials and could prove as effective. "SuperPretzel Factory," which since mid-July has ranked as one of the most popular free children's games in the iPhone App Store and "Icee Maker" that has been downloaded more than eight million times since its release last, demonstrate how new technology is changing U.S. commerce, drawing tighter bonds between marketers and kids.

How old is your child?

36%

36%

19%

9%

Apps are changing U.S. commerce

OpportunityIncreasingly, younger children are embracing smart devices for entertainment and educational purposes. This rapidly growing market provides bene�ts for application users of all ages and presents an unprecedented opportunity to marketers to engage and build brand love in younger audience in India.

*For 0-5 year olds, downloads are initiated by parents.

*5-8 year old kids drive inuenced downloads.

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7%35%

3%

55%

Both (Mobile & Tablet)

No Smart Devices

Smartphone (Like an iPhone/Android phones)

Tablet (Like iPad/Kindle Fire/Galaxy Tab etc.)

No. My child usually borrows my mobile device(s) to access applications

Yes my child has his/her own tablet/smart phone

12%

88%

“Of course I let my children use my phone and tablet. Kids today are very

technology savvy and I wouldn’t want them to be

left behind.”

Insight97% of the parents reported having at least one smart device and 35% had more than one. 88% of parents let their kids use their smart devices and 12% said their kids had their own.

OpportunityCompanies had not created smart phones and tablets for kids but the access to instant play, learning opportunity and potentially quiet time for the parent, all contributed towards creating this secondary user- children who have seeded an app-revolution of sorts and brands who don�t capitalize this may be losing out on the opportunity to �nd place in the device that they access and in their minds.

Does your child have a personal smart device?

What smart devices do you have?

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What kind of applications does your child usually like to play with on a mobile device?

7%

93%

No

yes

23%

77%

“ At the doctor’s, on a road trip, at home, my tablet comes to my rescue by keeping my 4 year old daughter busy for a few hours. I don’t mind even if she is playing games because research says even video games

make a child's brain sharper”

Insight93% of parents were aware that applications could be downloaded on their smart devices and gaming apps had a 77% adoption versus 23% for learning apps.

OpportunityWith audience awareness and engagement both on the rise, a lot of application content that is being consumed by kids is not from Indian brands. Indian brands who rely on pester power for higher adoptions can stand to bene�t immensely by taking the lead with immersive content delivery via applications thereby putting their brand literally in the palms of their target audience.

Apps for learning (Math/ colors/shapes etc.)

Games (eg. Angry birds/Temple Run etc.)

Do you know that apps can be downloaded on your smart devices?

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An app could be so much more than a game. It could be a support.

Amaral Carvalho Hospital is a top cancer treatment centre in Latin America. For children undergoing treatment, isolation can hurt more than any physical pain. They are pulled from their normal routine and away from friends and family. To help shorten this distance, they developed a special line of bears that receive and play

audio notes from WhatsApp, sent from family and friends every time children press the teddy�s hand. They were named �ELO� (means

�LINK�) for linking hospitalized children with the love they miss from home.

The ELOs made a huge impact on the kids and their families, and when the project�s video was posted on the hospital�s fan page it became one of the most shared videos in Brazil and a medical benchmark for hospitals throughout the country and abroad. Aside from bringing enormous happiness and relief

to both the children and their families, the ELOs

became an international phenomenon.

ELO Teddy Bear (Brazil) Winner of the Gold Mobile

Lion Cannes 2014

The project delivered unforeseen visibility for the hospital worth U$7 million in earned media nationally and internationally. It impacted over 60 million people on social networks alone and became a medical benchmark for hospitals throughout the country and abroad, being written about in medical and health publications in different countries.

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InsightAverage weekly usage of smart devices by kids was highest in the age group of 0-5 years old and ranged between a whopping 18-20 hours a week while downloading the maximum number of applications/week.

OpportunityYoung children can master the largely intuitive touch screens well before they read and that explains how easily they are hooked to smart devices. If marketers were to tell a roomful of kids and say, 'OK. All of you who want to watch a commercial go on the left side, and all of you who want to play a game go on the right side,' where do you think everyone would go? And, in that answer lies the power of an �always-on� brand commercial, in the attire of a great app for kids. Given the number of app downloads and sheer number of hours spent on smart devices apps pave way for meaningful brand experiences.

How many apps have you downloaded for your kid(s) in the previous month?

0

20

40

60

80

100

0-2 yearsold

3-5 yearsold

6-8 yearsold

8 years andabove

10-20 6-10 More than 20 Under 5

Avg. weekly device usage by kids (Hours)

0

5

10

15

20

0-2 yearsold

3-5 yearsold

6-8 yearsold

8 years andabove

Avg. weekly device usage by kids (Hours)

“ It’s sweltering hot and kids really have no place to go and play. Between watching cartoons on TV and potentially learning

something while playing with an app on my phone, I’d choose the latter any day”

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Children with asthma, and their parents, would bene�t if the kids would do more breathing exercises. Existing devices are scary, or boring, or both. Alvio saw an opportunity to create a breathing trainer that acts like a game controller. But instead of using your thumb, you control the game with your breath.

Alvio Breathing TrainerGold Mobile Lion

Bronze Mobile LionCannes 2014

Alvio tracks your progress while you play. And because its fun, kids will keep playing while they get healthier. Alvio�s games were designed around the ways people need to improve their lung health. Inhaling and exhaling moves the character up and down to hit targets. Other games measure how hard you can exhale � a very important indicator of the seriousness of your condition. Alvio is being tested in Monte�ore Medical Center in New York City in their pediatric department. It will be used in-hospital for 6 weeks and then at home with the patients for 6 months. Alvio is partnering with some of the top hospitals in the US, to make its games even more useful.

An App could be helping kids spend the hours meaningfully

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InsightParents ranked their kids asking for a speci�c app and the source being a trusted provider, their top two consideration criteria's when downloading new apps.

OpportunityAs brands struggle to speak to kid audiences in a highly cluttered space, an app which can deliver fun, immersive content for a child can easily help them cut through the advertising clutter and �nd permanent space on their devices and then minds through the trust quotient the brand has in the gatekeeper i.e. the parent�s mind. With play-schools and schools adopting technology, the advocacy for an app from a brand can only add more credibility. Add to it, an intelligent inclusion of the app in the larger marketing mix and marketers have for themselves a winner.

“ My son is 5 and he knows how to access the play store and download the games that he wants. Mostly these are

discussed with friends at school and all I really do is monitor what he is

playing and for how long.”

20%

80%

How do you decide which applications to download for the child (ren)?

28%9%

6%

2%

27%11%

17%

I download apps that deliver educational content for learning I download apps that are free

I download apps that deliver fun content (games etc.) and keeps the child entertained I download apps that have good reviews by other parents/users

I look for a trusted provider so that the content is safe for my children

Other reasons

Usually download the ones that the child specifcally asks for

Has the school/play-school that the child attends ever recommended an app to you for learning?

No

yes

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Consumer insight meets great app content

To win new consumers for Nivea Sun Kids, Nivea wanted to reinforce the product�s main attribute: protection and the insight of many cases of kids getting lost on the beach became a natural extension of their series of ads into an app that helped protect kids.

An ad that turned into a bracelet for children to wear so that parents could monitor them on their smartphones. All that was needed was to download the app, pair the bracelet, identify the child and choose the distance where the child could go. If distance was exceeded, an alert was sent by the app. With radar, it was possible to see if the parents were getting nearer or further from the children. The campaign was featured in 10 press articles and 40 digital ones. For the �rst time, Nivea Sun Kids had the top sales in its segment, with a 62 percent increase in Rio de Janeiro. Nivea was present as an innovative brand in places where its consumers are: the beach, parks and clubs. 8 in every 10 people impacted by the ad, downloaded the app. The bracelet even became an object of desire � Nivea still receives several requests for it everyday.

Nivea Protection Ad

Grand Prix Mobile Lion

Gold Mobile Lion

Gold Media Lion

2x Silver Media Lions

Bronze Mobile Lion

Bronze Promo Lion

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There is no denying the fact, that the opportunity to tap the young, enthusiastic market of kids is enticing and technology can help create tighter bonds between brands and kids. These are times for great transition as kids move from laptops and �xed devices to mobile for staying entertained. The potential to engage with these young consumers early has never been bigger. The more we think of mobile apps and children as audience, the more we feel marketers are sitting on an amazing untapped opportunity for building brand engagement.

For example a health beverage for a kids brand could connect at a deeper level with its core TG via a game they could play on a smart device. The bottles could carry a QR code that helps them unlock a new level, with every bottle they consume and the brand�s key USPs could be integrated into the game(more power, more protein, as a magic potion to kill the enemy and soon) and you have for you a connected strategy that leads to content, increased product consumption and repeat purchase.

However, it is important to remember that an app is a commitment to a long term vision and not a tactical campaign element and development partners who understand content, technology and consumer are in the best position to help you actualize that long term vision. Think about it and if you need to chat up with an expert.Drop us a line at strategist@pulpstrategy.com

* Pan India research and focus group study on parents of kids in the age group 0-8 years. www.instappy.com