Mini grocery hype

[Carla Nagel]

The new grocery hype in the Netherlands is playing shop. The 125th anniversary of the largest supermarket, Albert Heyn, is celebrated by free mini shop items for every 15 Euros spent. It is my question as to whether our industry should warn parents or, even better, advertisers, about the risks of branded items for kids.

I am an organizer more than a neuromarketer, but what I have learned from the industry is that the brain of a child is very suggestable.  While the NMSBA is discussing the necessity of it’s ownethical guidelines for our industry  a however questionable new and successful campaign at a Dutch based supermarket chain starts..

The so called “mini’s” are mini products that kids can use in their own “Albert Heyn” grocery store. It is a big hit and, yes, even I am skipping visits to my regular supermarket to be able to buy as much as I can at Albert Heyn’s - My kids love the mini’s. Now I don’t mind the effect of the campaign meaning I need to go a block or two further for my groceries, actually I am really enjoying the fun my kids have with their little store. The trouble I have is the fact that my kids are playing with branded items.

Let me ask some questions, and I hope you can help to clarify the answers:

• How harmful is it to play with these kind of real branded products at a young age of, let´s say, 7?
• Is it likely the grocery store (or the brands behind it) are aware of this influence on the brain of a kid? In other words: is it likely it is the purpose of this campaigns to influence the Dutch little ones or is it just a naive way to “look as real as possible”?
• Should we as an association educate marketers about the possible harm of these kind of campaigns?

Please share your grounded knowledge on this issue by commenting below.

[Christophe Morin - SalesBrain]

Your post is raising some fundamental questions about how far (too far) advertising goes to "own" the mind of our kids. Some countries like Denmark are taking tougher stands on advertising by banning it altogether on children. But most western countries are not. It is time we wake up to the reality that brands invade our kids life too young, too often and too pervasively.