Ethics Newsline®

From Harris Interactive:

“A new survey of professionals working in youth-related fields shows that although youth marketers don’t necessarily see marketing to children during school time as important, 74 percent of them expect to see the level of advertising in schools rise in the future. Results of this poll indicate that:

• “64 percent feel that reaching children during school time is not very or not at all important;
• “20 percent feel that reaching children during school time is somewhat important; and
• “16 percent of respondents feel that reaching children during school time is extremely or very important.

“These are some of the findings of the Harris Interactive/Kid Power Poll of Youth Marketers conducted online by Harris Interactive® in February 2004 among 878 individuals working in youth-related fields…. The poll covered a number of topics regarding commercialism and youth, marketing in schools, youth obesity, and sexual and violent content in media.

“‘The media world has fragmented, and many marketers see schools as a way to effectively reach children and support education at the same time,’ said Candi Schwartz, managing director of the Kid Power Exchange. ‘The poll shows that some in-school marketing tactics are seen by youth marketers as much more appropriate than others.’

“Individuals working in youth-related fields feel that the following are appropriate ways to reach children in school environments:

• “84 percent feel that sponsoring school sports competitions is appropriate.
• “83 percent say loyalty programs that reward schools for gathering product labels are appropriate.
• “77 percent feel that purchasing sports equipment for the school with brand names on them is appropriate.
• “73 percent say advertising in school newspapers is appropriate….

“Examples of inappropriate school marketing tactics, according to youth industry professionals, included:

• “Advertising on school buses, (69 percent say this is inappropriate);
• “Advertising on school book covers (65 percent);
• “Providing instructional material that integrates brand names and products into the lessons (61 percent);
• “In-school location media, which show upcoming events at the school as well as advertisements (54 percent feel this is inappropriate).

“Establishing vending contracts in schools, which has become a hotly debated topic nationally, is viewed as appropriate by 46 percent of marketers and other youth industry professionals surveyed, and inappropriate by 54 percent.

“‘Of all the subjects this poll covered, marketing in schools was the one that seemed to elicit the most disagreement among our respondents,’ said John Geraci, vice president of Youth Research at Harris Interactive. ‘Some feel that schools should be a safe haven from advertising, while others see in-school marketing as providing needed funds to save school programs. Respondents were split as to whether the benefits schools receive from in-school marketing programs outweigh the negatives.’

“Additional findings from the study include:

• “More than half of those surveyed (58 percent) feel that decisions regarding advertising in schools should be left up to local school officials and school boards.
• “47 percent feel that schools should be a protected area and that there should not be advertising to students on school grounds.
• “45 percent feel that today’s young people can handle advertising in schools….”