Tag Archives: The Insights Family

THE INSIGHTS FAMILY I Why embracing multiple touchpoints is key for kids’ IPs

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A global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, The Insights Family surveys more than half a million kids and parents every year, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviours and consumption patterns.

In its latest feature for Licensing Biz, the company explains why targeting multiple touchpoints is key to the success of kids’ IPs.

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Creating appeal to the family in today’s marketplace requires understanding a range of behaviours, attitudinal preferences and purchasing influences.

Not only this, but once created, appeal must also be sustained in the long term to achieve maximum engagement. Understanding not only what kids and families like but also ‘where’ they are and how they interact with their favourite brands is essential.

The content that is attracting licensed purchases is constantly changing. While toys related to the favourite TV shows of kids aged 3-9 remain the most popular licensed product category (43%), this category has experienced the lowest year-on-year across all the mediums we track globally (+8%).* The highest growth area is in fact toys related to video games (+25%), while YouTuber related toys are also experiencing a significant level of growth (+14%). In the UK, licensed toy purchases in relation to the favourite video games amongst kids aged 3-9 have grown by +18% in the last 12 months (25%).

As kids are exposed to more content touchpoints, there are more opportunities for new characters and IPs to enter the content ecosystem from different mediums. IPs can be adapted to suit numerous touchpoints that resonate across generations. Batman is a great example of this. Ranking as a top 10 favourite character across all ages from 5-18 when we look globally at our data, various iterations of the character, from LEGO Batman to the Batman Arkham games, have all helped provide a reference point to the character to all age groups. This allows the character to grow and change while still resonating as recognisable IP to this changing audience.

There are also more touchpoints where creators have more autonomy over their content. YouTube and TikTok are prime examples of spaces where kids are now able to enter the market place and build their own brands. Ryan’s World is a prime example of kid creators licensing their likeness to produce toys for their audience. On average, he is the second most popular YouTuber globally amongst 3-5s on account of his presence in the UK, US and Canada. Creators now have more ability than ever to leverage their likeness in other industries. In the UK, YouTuber related toy purchases have increased +62% year-on-year among 3-9 year olds, compared to the +17% growth in the case of films. This shows how content is shaping the kids ecosystem, in terms of attitudes, behaviours and consumption patterns, highlighting the importance of understanding the next generation.

The Insights Family’s content report discusses the importance of embracing multiple touchpoints in further detail. It also looks at today’s popular IPs, the linear TV vs streaming battle and the issue of platform saturation, exploring these trends and how they are impacting content creators and companies in the industry. Sign up to download your free copy of our report here: get.theinsightsfamily.com/content2022.

* All statistics taken from the last six months of Kids Insights data (November 2021 – May 2022)

Kids Insights surveys 7,780 children every week aged 3-18. Parents Insights surveys more than 3,800 parents of children between the ages of 1 and 16 every week. Both services operate in 22 countries across six continents and in total survey more than 469,040 kids and 228,800 parents a year. This means that the company interviews a new family member somewhere in the world every 45 seconds.

ANALYSIS I The Insights Family on the booming creator economy

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The Insights Family surveys more than 469,040 kids aged 3–18 and 228,800 different parents a year across 22 countries in 6 continents.

Its latest report, Mapping the World of Content, showcases the biggest global trends, developments and opportunities that are shaking up the content space as we see it.

Here, the company outlines how the creator economy is changing – with teens and tweens taking charge.

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Social media has broken down the traditional barriers to entry for content creation. Previously, there were gatekeepers who controlled what content was published in the music, TV, cinema or book industries, making it difficult for creators to independently share their work. The Internet age means that more people now have access to digital tools for creation.

The #1 career aspiration amongst kids aged 13-18 in the UK is IT and computing, emphasising how comfortable teens are in their online ecosystems. Being a YouTuber or vlogger currently ranks at #6 within this demographic, increasing by 73% over the last 9 months. What’s more, the desire to create content for a living has increased in the UK year-on-year by over 35% amongst 6-9 year olds. Globally, it averages as the fourth most popular career aspiration, illustrating the popularity of being a digital creator.

We see a prime example of the creator economy in the growth of TikTok, a platform which has grown in prominence due to the ease of users shooting and editing their own videos. While platforms such as Twitter and Instagram offered short video uploads, TikTok set itself apart by giving kids the tools to create and edit videos on their device, with no additional software or technology required. It is more accessible than YouTube which can require video editing software to make content look professional, not to mention advanced lighting and camera setups top vloggers may use on the platform.

By lowering the creative barrier to entry, TikTok has been able to garner a large audience who wanted to create their own content but may have lacked the means to do so. It is no surprise that amongst UK kids aged 11-18, there is a correlation between the increasing popularity of the platforms and the number of kids sharing their own videos online. Over the last twelve months, the number of teens naming TikTok as their favourite app has grown by 11% whilst the number of teens sharing videos has grown by 28%.

The creator economy has opened up a wealth of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs. With the ability to utilise low-cost tools and directly enter the marketplace, kids are capable of building enormous audience advocacy, with scope to leverage licensing deals with brands. Ryan’s World, a vlogger and influencer, is the second most popular YouTuber globally amongst kids aged 3-5. He has a huge presence in the UK, US and Canada and he is a prime example of how kid creators can license their online persona to produce toys for their audience. Licensed toy purchases in relation to 6-9-year-olds’ favourite YouTubers have increased by over 70% in the UK. Creators now have more ability than ever to leverage their popularity in other industries. In the UK, YouTuber related toy purchases have increased +62% year-on-year amongst 3-9 year olds, compared to the +17% growth in the case of films.

The creator economy boom doesn’t stop there. New forms of revenue models are constantly being created and finessed – an evolution that steps beyond traditional confines and offers even more innovation and opportunity. A trend that has grown considerably has been ‘self-referential’ creator content, such as live shopping or gaming content. Going beyond the activity itself and watching your favourite influencer or role-model partake in the activity not only creates a more intimate relationship, but a more informative experience overall, opening up the chance to implement additional commercial opportunities such as advertising or brand sponsorship.

The Insights Family’s new Mapping The World Of Content report discusses the creator economy in further detail and also explores other trends such as platform saturation and digital touchpoints. It is the first report in a series focused on exploring opportunities for brands in the kids and family ecosystem, produced by the company’s new Industry Knowledge team. Download it for free here: get.theinsightsfamily.com/content2022/

* All statistics are taken from the Kids Insights real-time data portal in the last six months (November 2021 – May 2022)

Licensing International announces multi-year partnership with The Insights Family

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Licensing International and The Insights Family today announced a multi-year partnership that will launch a series of collaborative initiatives to help inform the licensing industry as well as provide Licensing International members with exclusive content focused on identifying consumer behaviour within the “Kid Economy.”

The Insights Family, a global leader in kids, parents, and family market research and intelligence, provides organisations with real-time, independent data to help clients understand and define their audiences using their proprietary data, data science, and machine learning algorithms through their groundbreaking real-time portal.

Research into the attitudes, behaviours and consumption patterns of these audiences will enable Licensing International to identify and share relevant trends across categories to its members. Real-time data will be pulled from 22 countries across six continents through the following services:

  • Kids Insights surveys 7,780 children aged 3-18 each week or 469,000 a year
  • Parents Insights surveys more than 3,800 parents of children aged 1-16 each week or 228,000 a year

“With a significant number of member companies servings kids and families, our partnership with The Insights Family will deliver best-in-class research to help them better reach and connect with consumers,” says Maura Regan, President, Licensing International.

Nick Richardson, Founder & CEO of The Insights Family, commented: “We are delighted to have partnered with Licensing International. Since we launched in 2017 we have made it our mission to set a new standard in market intelligence for the licensing industry and this partnership will enable us to demonstrate our support to the industry and how we can help licensors, licensees and retailers drive ROI, maximize opportunities and mitigate risks.”

Licensing International members will receive access to this exclusive content through several formats including joint participation at events like Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe, white papers, webinars, ongoing educational programs, and a global annual report.

Further details on these exclusive content offerings will be available at a later date.

To download The Insights Family 2022 Future Forecast report click here: https://get.theinsightsfamily.com/futureforecast/

The Insights Family voted number one MarTech50 company outside of London

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The Insights Family has been named the number one MarTech50 company outside of London, as well as fourth in the whole of the UK. The shortlist was made up of 115 firms.

Following a combination of a 1,500-strong reader vote and judgement by a series of industry experts, The Insights Family placed at number 4 in the BusinessCloud MarTech50 list, which celebrates the UK’s most innovative technology for marketing.

Nick Richardson, CEO of The Insights Family, says: “This is a fantastic achievement for every member of the team who have worked so hard to create such an incredible suite of products. Given the innovative and disruptive approach that our team have had since we launched in 2017, our ranking is timely as we prepare to launch our fifth iteration of our ground-breaking and award-winning portal in April.”

Jonathan Symcox, editor at BusinessCloud, commented: “The Insights Family is an impressive business we have watched grow for some time now. Its status as the most innovative UK MarTech50 business outside of London is well deserved.”

The Insights Family has also been selected by the DIT to become an Export Champion and has been shortlisted for a number of other prestigious awards in recognition for its company culture and graduate scheme.

The Insights Family, which is based in Manchester city centre, continues to expand, now operating in 22 countries across six continents. The company has achieved consecutive triple-digit growth and is actively recruiting for a number of roles across business development, account management, marketing, development and data science. For more information on these roles visit: https://theinsightsfamily.com/about/careers

See the full rankings here: https://businesscloud.co.uk/martech-50-uks-most-innovative-marketing-technology-creators-for-2022/

The Insights Family expands into new markets

OPINION I The Insights Family on the future of cinema

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When kids and teenagers can access VOD via phones and tablets whenever they want and wherever they are, what can cinemas do to compete? Exploiting popular IPs, offering better value, harnessing the latest technology and enhancing – even personalising – the cinematic experience are all viable options, attest market intelligence experts The Insights Family.

In the US, visits to the cinema amongst 6-9 year olds halved in the summer of 2020, compared to the previous year in light of the pandemic. Over the last 12 months, the popularity of Netflix among 6-9s has increased by a minimum of +30% in Australia, Canada, Germany and Russia. So, as we look forward, what factors are going to drive customers back to cinemas in 2022?

Eighty per cent of the all-time top 10 highest-grossing movies worldwide are reboots or sequels to established franchises, suggesting familiar IP is what drives people to the cinema. With VOD platforms offering the convenience of engaging with new content at no additional cost, cinemas are faced with a difficult task: having customers part with their money with the risk they may not enjoy the experience. This risk is mitigated somewhat through sequels, remakes and reboots.

Of the aforementioned top 10 highest-grossing films, 70% are owned by Disney. In Kids Insights’ data, Disney also own three of the top five favourite characters amongst 6-9 year olds. This sequel culture isn’t going anywhere – Spiderman is the number one most anticipated film amongst this age bracket, as hype builds surrounding the release of the latest instalment in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. As owners of IP continue to be rewarded for focusing on their recognisable imagery, it could be suggested that we are likely to see an increase in the number of reboots and sequels in the coming year, particularly as brands continue to prioritise guaranteed revenue in the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The cinema is still very much seen as the pinnacle of achievement for on-screen IPs and can introduce a new audience to the source material. PAW Patrol, the second most popular TV show amongst 3-5s globally, released a cinematic experience in August this year. In the UK, popularity for the TV show increased by +75% amongst this audience in the months following the movie’s release, relative to the three months prior. By producing content in relation to existing popular IP, there is a significant opportunity to resonate with the target audience through licensing and merchandising. 3-5 year old Paw Patrol fans in the UK are +24% more likely to purchase licensed toys than the average kid.

However, the VOD market is here to stay. The Insights Family anticipates that the cinema will lean more towards highlighting the experiential aspect of a potential visit to effectively drive footfall. Since the beginning of the year, the value of experiences among young teenagers has grown by +15% in Russia, Japan, Germany and India. Now that the content itself is available at no additional cost to the consumer, with shorter windows from screen to home, the cinema should look towards providing an experience worth paying for, making that the USP. More comfortable lounge-seating and food/drinks seat-service are a few strategies to create a more enjoyable experience for the average movie-goer.

Additionally, we will see more budget cinema options, to compete with the cost-effective, on-demand option. In the US, the average young teen spends $9.54 a month on the cinema – according to the MPAA, the average ticket price in 2020 was $9.34, leaving no space for a repeat visit in a single month. Just one-in-ten US 13-15s visit the cinema two or more times a month, and this figure halves when considering three-plus visits.

What we will therefore see is a fragmentation of the cinematic market, mirroring the rest of the kids’ entertainment ecosystem. With more content and viewing options available than ever before, kids are able to tune in with the flexibility and personalised approach that they come to expect as the on-demand generation. Whether they value experiences, cost efficiency or convenience, there is a cinematic experience for them.

Further in the future, we will eventually see widespread adoption of more immersive technologies in the cinema environment. VR and AR for example, making use of full 360-degree filming capabilities isn’t a stretch of the imagination. Will we see the start of data being used to optimise the movie experience as per the viewer? In this sense, there is great potential to see advancements towards the gamification of movies. Perhaps an utterly personalised experience tailored to individual kids where they are the heroes?

To find out what other trends will be popular this year, The Insights Family launched their Future Forecast 2022 report. For the first time, the company is exploring not only kids and parents, but family ecosystems trends, based on Kids Insights™ and Parents Insights™ data. The report contains 10 predictions and trends which will impact advertising, content, licensing, marketing, product and retail strategies for brand owners.

To download the full complimentary Future Forecast 2022 report, visit: https://theinsightsfamily.com/futureforecast 

The Insights Family expands into new markets

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The Insights Family, the kids and family market intelligence specialist, has launched its service into four new international markets. As of 1 January 2022, the company started interviewing kids (3-18s) and parents in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Argentina and South Africa. This will see the business expand its operations to provide its clients with real-time data from 22 territories across six continents.

The new markets will follow the same award-winning methodology as the existing markets and will see the business survey 400 different children and 200 different parents every week (21,000 and 10,500 respectively a year).

With the addition of four new territories, The Insights Family will now interview a new family member somewhere in the world every 55 seconds. The launches of the new markets mean that the company now covers all the countries in the G20, providing brands and companies with access to ethical real-time data.

Nick Richardson, CEO and Founder of The Insights Family, said: “2021 was a transformational year for the business, with us enjoying significant growth and development across the business. The expansion into these markets, based on client demand, demonstrates our position as the global leader in kids’, parents’ and family market intelligence”

The announcement comes on the back of a successful couple of years for The Insights Family, which has seen its team grow from 13 employees in January 2020 to 67 by the end of January 2022. The company works with 100 clients across the globe and provides insights to leading companies including the BBC, Amazon and Disney.

Last month, The Insights Family published its Future Forecast 2022 Report which predicts some of the key trends to watch out for in the forthcoming year. Providing unrivalled knowledge, the report explores 10 themes which will impact advertising, content, licencing, marketing, product and retail strategies for brand owners across all levels of business strategy. To download the full Family Future Forecast 2022 report for free, visit: get.theinsightsfamily.com/futureforecast

 

 

Full throttle for Formula One as its kids’ fan engagement outpaces football, says The Insights Family

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More children are tuning in to the Formula One brand than ever before, with numbers rising by 2.85 million in key European markets alone, and outpacing the growth rate of fans flocking to football, new research from The Insights Family has revealed.

The global motorsport brand has witnessed a 17 per cent year on year increase, from 17.3 million to 20.1 million, representing a faster growth rate than football, which, according to the company, only grew by six per cent.

Finding from a recent study commissioned by Formula One will now go on to help shape the brand’s approach in engaging with the generation of fans as it continues to build on a digital infrastructure it has created since Liberty Media took over back in 2017.

Working with The Insights Family, F1 ran a combination of qualitative and quantitative research across seven markets with a total sample size of 162,774 kids aged 12-18 with the objective of understanding what the ‘fan of the future’ looks like. Key findings from the research uncovered a varying shift in interests of the younger generation.

These findings include that:

  • Generation Z now has a greater level of interest in esports than traditional sports.
  • Instagram and TikTok are where young people are consuming content now, rather than Twitter and Facebook.
  • Content on the official F1 social media channels was very well received by the group.
  • Having behind the scenes access helps them understand more about the sports participants and their back stories. Those interested in the engineering and innovation of F1 cars are particularly attracted to documentaries too.
  • ‘Drive To Survive’ viewers tended to enjoy it thoroughly and valued the additional insight it gave them.
  • There was strong interest in hearing about the history of F1, including the evolution of the cars and icons of the sport.
  • Interest in engineering and technology was more often spoken about as an entry point than races themselves, with UK 10-18s who aspire to be an engineer being 86% more likely than average to watch F1.

Despite sport in general fiercely competing with music, video games, film and TV, technology, and fashion for the attention of the younger generation, the efforts of F1 to put its own stamp on these areas of modern culture have already reaped rewards.

F1 is currently the second fastest growing sport on social media with a year-on-year growth of 36 per cent, as fans continue to flock to the platforms for race highlights, driver content and behind the scenes clips, with Instagram and TikTok especially crucial for the 15-18 age range. YouTube also continues to be a prominent channel for young fans – an area F1 has already explored, streaming the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix free on the platform in selected markets.

“Whilst there is no surprise that the binging of TV shows is now a huge part of people’s lives, there has never been more demand for sports documentaries, recounting iconic moments or giving insight into the personal lives of sporting heroes,” says The Insights Family. “That notion was evident within these focus groups as they crave behind the scenes access and more information on the lives and back stories of the F1 drivers.

“The popularity of Emmy-nominated docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’ on Netflix is undeniable as the production provides insight from the drivers at the heart of the action through dramatic storytelling. Additionally, the history and engineering of the sport also captured the attention of the participants. As part of the sport’s 70th Anniversary celebrations in 2020, F1 produced ‘Race to Perfection’ with Sky Sports detailing the innovation and pioneering nature of the sport as some of the world’s most powerful vehicles have developed over the last seven decades.”

Globally, 41 per cent of kids aged three to 18 now engage with esports, marking a 22 per cent increase year-on-year according to the report. The firm’s research also indicates that Generation Z now has a greater level of interest in esports than traditional sports, an area F1 is already strong in given the success of the F1 Esports Series events and Virtual Grands Prix, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The likes of Lando Norris, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc were the stars of the show, as the Virtual Grands Prix series achieved over 30m views across TV and digital, and the record-breaking 2020 F1 Esports Pro Series saw a 98 per cent increase on viewership from the previous year,” says The Insights Family.

Research found younger males especially are huge fans of the official F1 video games because it ‘gives them the chance to feel what it is like to be in the cockpit of the car’, as well as see the world’s most iconic race circuits at track level. Esports and gaming has been key for F1 as an entry point to fandom as the younger generation continues to become increasingly embedded in the virtual world.

Interest in engineering and technology was also a common entry point, with many of the participants expressing ‘fascination at the extraordinary innovation on show throughout the sport.’ STEM education has become an important subject for F1, and the brand notes that this ‘will continue through the reaffirmed WeRaceAsOne movement’, which was made earlier this year, as well as the upcoming Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals which took place in June.

The Insights Family data shows that teens who favour STEM subjects at school are 64 per cent more likely to be a fan of F1.

Ellie Norman, director of marketing and communications at Formula 1®, said: “We are always thinking of creative and innovative ways to engage with new audiences and showcasing the sport that hundreds of millions of fans around the world already know and love, so it’s great to see that the work we’re doing to target new and younger audiences is paying dividends.

“Through the use of social and digital platforms, we’ve been able to break down our often complex sport for the next generation of fans, as they begin their own Formula 1® journey.”

Nick Richardson, founder and CEO at The Insights Family, said: “This generation are super-informed and constantly connected. They have access at a very young age to every bit of content they could possibly want. This presents both challenges and opportunities for content creators, brands, and properties.

“The proactive approach of Formula 1®, to invest in research and develop a new generation of fan strategy is very much a best-in-class approach. The results we have seen in our Kids Insights trackers across their key markets speak for itself – it’s working.”

The Insights Family expands again with new offices, new starters, and a new venture into Poland

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The kids, parents, and family market intelligence outfit, The Insights Family is expanding once again; moving to a larger office space in Manchester city centre, opening a satellite office in Mayfair, London, welcoming three new starters to the company and launching its Kids Insights and Parents Insights businesses into Poland.

The latest flurry of developments for the firm form part of a plan to expand rapidly, following a number of big client wins that includes the media giant HBO Max, the retailer HMV, and the leading media agency, GroupM.

The company has now welcomed Jennifer Knott to the role of senior research manager who joins following a six year stint at Manchester City Football Club where she worked across a variety of research and digital media analyst roles. The team also welcomes Tushar Palawat and Emer Sheffield to its development and data science team, as junior data scientist and UI/UX designer, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Insights Family is continuing its global expansion, increasing its real-time data on children, parents, and families, with Poland being its latest market. This will see the business survey more than 410 Polish kids, tweens, and teens, and 200 Polish parents of children aged between one and 16 every week.

Poland becomes the company’s 18th operational market – following the addition of Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia earlier this year. This means the company now surveys a family member every 60 seconds.

Nick Richardson, CEO & Founder of The Insights Family, said: “The first half of 2021 has seen the business and every member of the team make incredible progress. We have seen a significant increase in client demand for our products and services as more and more organisations realise that traditional market research and data is no longer fit for purpose.

“Our new offices will enable us to provide an environment in which our team will further prosper, and coincides with the launch of a number of new initiatives as we look to be global leaders in every sense of the word.”

 The company also recently launched its latest tool, the IP INDEX™, which enables brand owners, brand partners, and retailers to identify the performance of their IP in relation to thousands of others, across multiple media types.

Nerd is the word | From video gaming to toy collecting, the Insights Family explores the Kidult market

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Jurassic Park and Transformers mash-ups, LEGO sets exploring themes of travel, history, science – and iconic worlds of science fiction, of course – and a healthy gaming scene that simply continues to expand and capture new audiences (and that’s just the news this week); the entertainment space is reaching wider audiences and appealing across the generations. Here, The Insights Family’s founder, Nick Richardson explores the topic of the booming Kidult market

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Nostalgia is a powerful tool when marketing products. The emotional pull of recounting past experiences has enabled brands who ordinarily target children to penetrate an older market, expanding their brand presence.

Recently, the kidult trend has accelerated, as adults have reverted to the familiar nature of reliving childhood memories that have provided comfortable experiences in the wake of the pandemic. Some brands have sought partnerships in order to appeal to older audiences for their products which traditionally appeal to younger demographics.

While in our data, the audience for Pokémon in the UK is five to 13-year-olds, the company sought out collaboration with musician Post Malone for its 25th anniversary this year, perhaps aiming to recapture his older teen audience (14 to 18) to celebrate this event. Additionally, the firm’s remake of the Diamond and Pearl editions in the gaming series, originally released in 2006, is a clear attempt to target an older audience of active gamers.

It’s no secret that more adults than ever now play video games. According to our Parents Insights data, gaming is a top five family hobby, as the younger generation of parents who have grown up as gamers themselves carry their hobby into their adult years.

In the UK, LEGO is the most popular toy among kids of every age bracket we survey, but the company is regularly expanding its product offering to target those beyond the initial demographic of kids. This includes creating building sets of flowers and football stadiums, or those themed around travel and history; all aimed at an older audience.

Meanwhile, the popularity of collectables such as Funko Pop! vinyl figures – a top 10 toy for kids aged 11 to 13 in the UK, and a collection of toys that have representation from a range of different IP and brands across different mediums – among adults is indicative of the very real presence of the kidult trend.

Likewise, the effort from Disney to remake and remaster its library of classic animated films for a new generation is also indicative of the older market of fans. The excitement for these films is not only created by the anticipation from kids, but also their parents who want to relive their childhood experiences.

Brands are currently looking to classic brands and IP to guarantee revenue in the fallout of 2020, targeting adults through nostalgic content in the process. Through the success of these films, Disney not only recaptures the imagination of their long-time fans but creates new brand advocates in the younger generation.

In the TV industry, there is also clear evidence of a conscious effort to appeal to this trend. Tracy Beaker returned to screens in February this year in a series designed to appeal to kids and their parents alike. Meanwhile the Biff and Chip reading books, used in schools for more than 30 years, have been made into a TV series, coming to CBeebies.

The growth in popularity of adult cartoons such as Rick and Morty – the favourite show amongst 16 to 18 year olds boys in the UK – is evident that there is a distinct market for mediums traditionally utilised to appeal to younger audiences. Dragon Ball and SpongeBob SquarePants also appear in the top 20 shows among this demographic.

So what, then, does this mean to you?

Well, quite simply, the kidult trend represents an opportunity for brands to expand their revenue streams beyond their kid audiences. By creating collectables that may be aimed at an older demographic, brands can extend their revenue streams while building advocacy with an audience who may pass on their interests to their kids, creating a new generation of fans in the process.

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The Insights Family, is the global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns. Every year the company survey more than 362,100 kids and more than 176,800 parents.

SILC21 | The Insights Family: “Kids are becoming leaders in sustainable consumption”

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Children’s consumption habits are changing and a new generation of consumers are looking to become leaders in shopping sustainably, is the message to emerge from day one of two of this week’s Sustainability in Licensing Conference.

An opening presentation given by The Insights Family’s chief product officer, Jonathan Watson, highlighted that today’s children will be the next leaders in sustainability, and that it was the responsibility of the kids’ entertainment industry to “empower them to do so.”

The two day Sustainability in Licensing Conference (SILC21) kicked off on Thursday, June 24th with a line up of representatives and change makers from across industries, including those from The Eden Project, Tesco, and George at Asda among others, each showcasing the latest developments in the nationwide (and global) drive for better sustainability practices within the business of consumer products.

The session was opened with a presentation from the insights and family intelligence specialist, The Insight Family who offered a deep dive into the most recent data from across the global markets on the children’s and family sector’s relationship with the topic of environmentalism and sustainability.

Key to the presentation were findings around children’s growing understanding of the sustainability conversation, highlighting that it was now a global concern for kids aged six to 12, and that this was filtering down to spending habits today.

Currently over 45 per cent of children aged six to 18 in the UK say they would spend more on something that is environmentally friendly or sustainable. At the same time, youngsters are engaging with the topic far more actively across social media platforms such as Twtich and Discord as they seek out like-minded individuals to talk about the topics.

“Far from being passive observers, kids are thinking about their purchases more than ever, and becoming leaders in sustainable consumption,” said Watson. “Many are now willing to pay an increased price, showing how building sustainability into your business can not only result in increased brand advocacy and financial growth, but can save the planet along the way.”

The discussion spanned the topics of food consumption – the environment is now a major consideration for 22 per cent of UK children’s food choices – to the removal of children’s magazines containing plastic throw-away toys from Waitrose.

“Data has shown that 32 per cent of parents who shop at Waitrose say the environment is their biggest concern. That’s twice as many as the average,” explained Watson. “They are more likely to be the parents teaching their kids about their actions and the environment.

“Likewise, we asked kids why they purchase a magazine. The number that say it’s for the free toy on the front has been reducing over the last few quarters. However, it is still the number one reason for their choice.”

This will be a conflict that many brands in the children’s magazine sector will have to negotiate over the next few years.

Watson concluded: “Making sustainability easier for kids, teens and parents to understand is imperative. It’s important to be empathetic, practical and inclusive of parents so that consumers feel like they are empowered.

“Kids want to make a change, and we need to make it easier for them to do this.”

The Sustainability in Licensing Conference will continue today with speakers from ZURU Toys and LEGO taking to the stage among others.