CFK reports from: Turning Point: Engaging Americans on Behalf of Children
Event: Release of report, panel discussion
Organized by: Ad Council, Annie E. Casey Foundation, MetLife Foundation
Where/When: Washington, D.C., June 22, 2004

The public image of children in the U.S. is improving, but still needs work, according to a study called Turning Point: Engaging Americans on Behalf of Children. In a 1996 poll, only 23% of adults chose positive words when asked to describe children between the ages of 5 and 11. When asked the same question at the end of 2003, 40% of adults used positive terms. When asked about their own children, or children they know well, the percentage jumped to over two-thirds

The two polls were part of the non-profit Ad Council’s Commitment to Children initiative, begun in 1995. The goal is to use good communications strategies on behalf of children, by engaging parents and other adults, and receives funding from Annie E. Casey Foundation and MetLife Foundation.

This new report aims to give advocates new communication tools and ideas to reach the public on behalf of children. It outlines strategies developed as the result of 30+ interviews with leading experts in media, advertising, and community outreach; a survey of 1,000 adults, and from the Ad Council’s experiences with the Commitment to Children initiative. Some key findings:

A panel of experts, ranging from an expert in children’s programming to a top toy marketer to a marketing researcher focusing on children, offered their suggestions for creating messages that will reach children.

Warren Kornblum, the Chief Marketing Officer of Toys ‘R’ Us, said that children are getting older faster and we must change our communications strategies to better appeal to them. Gary Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop, agreed with Warren and said Sesame is trying to target messages to particular populations better. Knell cited the example of Sesame Street’s African version, in which one of the characters is a 5-year-old puppet who has AIDS. The character talks about what it is like to have AIDS, giving healthy kids information, and letting HIV-positive kids know that they are not alone.

Paul Kurnit, founder and president of KidShop (a youth focused marketing and communications consulting company) explained advertising from a ‘Kid’s Perspective.’ He said that the bottom line is kids just want to be kids and they still see their parents as their number one role model. He said that to communicate effectively with children, the most important thing is to respect them and listen to their opinions.

This study offers very specific suggestions on how to communicate better with children and why. For more information email TurningPoint@adcouncil.org or write to The Ad Council, 261 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10016, Attn: “Turning Point.”