This weeks readings looked at a variety of types of niche media platforms from Magazines to TV networks. The readings specifically looked at what each source does to succeed or not succeed in the industry. To look at this subject in a more relatable manner, I would like us to think back to our childhood. Let us look at the niche media that was target to us, particularly the cable networks Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
Looking back at the
media I consumed as a child more critically, I did not realize how targeted I was
by media producers. When we were kids it
is what we knew, but the questions is why was this so appealing to us? What did Disney and Nickelodeon do different
in comparison to other Niche Networks like OWN, HDTV, and Discovery Channel?
According to an article,
How Disney Madic and the Corporate Media
Shape Youth Identity in the Digital Age,
“Youth are now assaulted by a never-ending
proliferation of marketing strategies that colonize their consciousness and
daily lives. Under the tutelage of Disney and other megacorporation’s, children
have become an audience captive not only to traditional forms of media such as
film, television and print, but even more so to the new digital media made readily
accessible through mobile phones, PDAs, laptop computers and the Internet”
(Giroux).
These ideas are so
ingrained in children’s minds that they almost have no option but to consume
what is being sold to them. It is because of the megacorporation’s marketing
strategies that youth and their parents are almost assaulted with information and
they do not even realize it. Let’s think
about the movie Frozen, which was so
highly marketed that kids were almost pressured to see it and consume other
products around it from CDs, clothing, toys and dolls.
I am not saying that this is all a bad thing because I know
for a fact that my childhood would not have been the same without Lizzy McGuire, Even Stevens, CatDog, and
SpongeBob, but to what extent is it too much? Or is whatever the media industry does is
okay? According to the class reading, “Cable TV Network
Wrap for 2014” it was the kids networks, Disney and Nickelodon, that were
coming in towards the top for Cable Network ratings. When
thinking about it, why are these kids’ networks towards the top? Is it because of the marketing? the content?
Is it is that it is actually not towards the top and Nielson ratings are not
looking at the full picture? Partly
I believe that is its because that media is so directed towards kids and it is
easy for them to consume. Below I have
attached that ranking for this weeks top Ad- Supported Cable Networks from
Medialife. As you may notice for the total
day averages, both Disney and Nickelodeon are towards the top. When looking at the overall ratings for the
year, this stays pretty consistent. We need to think why? Why is it that our
children’s networks are the most popular and what do they do differently?
In an Trade Publication
article from 1996, Senior Vie President of Disney Channel, Bruce Rider said,
“We’re a family network, always have been and always will be…What we’re trying
to do now is fine-tune our programing and do what we do better.” (Gelman).
Although this quote is from a while ago it is still true today. Disney had
continued to work on their branding and programming. Today they have more to offer than ever. Not only that, but they have extended into
other forms of media from websites, magazines, apps, and radio stations. The list goes on.
In
the end, I have mixed feelings about the benefits and disadvantages of niche
networks, particularly ones geared to kids.
It is not necessarily the channels themselves, it is the way that they
market everything so targeted towards children. It seems that they have
transitioned into more than just a TV Network and more of a megacorporation. What do you think?
Works Cited
de Moraes, Lisa and
David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous
Year – Update." Deadline. 31
Dec. 2014. Web.
Gelman, Morrie. “Cable
offers family niche.” Broadcasting & Cable
126.2430.
3 Jun. 1996 Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
126.2430.
3 Jun. 1996 Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Giroux, Henry A. “How Disney Magic and
the Coperate Media Shape Youth Identity in the Digital Age”. Truthout. 21 Aug 2011. Web. 20 Feb 2015
Vasquez, Diego. "This week's cable ratings." Medialife. 18. Feb. 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
This was a great read Kara! I very much enjoyed how you engaged the reader with thought provoking questions and related this weeks topic to your childhood. I for one would not be the same if I were never exposed to Rock Power and Kennan and Kel. My thoughts on this targeted marketing and brainwashing in a sense is that it is ok to an extent. When we were growing up T.V. was in its premature stage of really figuring out the psychology of its viewer. And not only geared the show to appease that viewer but also squeeze in certain content that would indirectly form partisan options toward certain issues. Unfortunately when it comes to channels as big as Nickelodeon and Disney the customer comes second to money. These channels make money in many ways some more discrete than others such as lobbying, and by including partisan content. The issue of free expression is a bit compromised in this situation, however being an adult I understand the need to not do everything so friendly and conventionally.
ReplyDeleteI also understand how even though there are major gatekeepers for T.V. if there is one network that is then there must be opposition to keep somewhat of a balance and have viewers exposed to more than one side of a situation. But now the battle for air has become so fierce that desperate T.V. channels will accept enormous amounts of money from lobbying firms who will end up dictating exactly how they want the show to be, and the role of gatekeepers ends up being reversed from what it was before.
I said earlier in this comment that T.V. expression was freer when T.V. was somewhat of a new thing around the 90’s. But now on top of the desperate nature of generating money through T.V. The product placement research has developed enough to very strongly influence people, especially younger viewers who watch channels like Disney and Nickelodeon. Over the years it is been studied through various T.V. shows such as Seinfeld, How I met Your Mother, and even Breaking Bad. These super popular shows commonly deceive the viewer and always get away with it! I have stated before in class that I am against correlations being able to dictate the way the media is run, but as long as people continue to promote these shows this chain will continue and youth will keep on being brainwashed into consumers.
Some sort of regulation or legislation needs to be passed where innocent children do not get swept up into this game of who can make the most money. Because it is costing the youth their individuality and the ability for them to express themselves without being told how to do so by T.V alternate motives.
Gelman, Morrie. “Cable offers family niche.” Broadcasting & Cable 126.24 30. 3 Jun. 1996 Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Giroux, Henry A. “How Disney Magic and the Coperate Media Shape Youth Identity in the Digital Age”. Truthout. 21 Aug 2011. Web. 20 Feb 2015
Jake Carleton
ReplyDeleteBlog Post 4
Niche media is something that is very interesting to media professionals due to the fact that, especially when it comes to targeting of children, that it could be exploiting people which could be perceived as morally wrong. It makes sense that there are going to be certain groups of people that would like to be a targeted audience for the media companies, but is there a need for a variety of programs within that type of media? The simple answer is yes, there should be a need to have various programs within a certain genre of media, so that there would be no monopolies on these types of medias. For example, as the blog post states, Disney and Nickelodeon have quite the monopolies on children’s programming. In the article, Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014, by Lisa de Moraes and David Lieberman from Deadline, the statistics show that these stations are dominating part of the television ratings by being the fourth and fifth highest cable rankers during primetime in 2014. Also, they rank first and second in the total day rankings of cable networks in 2014. These are tremendous stats that are taking place, and in turn making these networks tons of money. Yes, I watched these programs as a child, but now as I am learning more about the business it shows me that I was definitely one of their targeted audiences, and I completely fell for it. My brother and I are eight years apart, and growing up as I was growing out of that genre of television he was coming right into it, and it remained almost always on our television sets. The niche media set in perfectly into our household, and boy do I feel bad for my parents.
Another network that is seemingly always on now in my house is ESPN. ESPN is the largest cable network on television primetime during 2014 according to the article by Moraes and Lieberman. ESPN is another network that targets a certain type of audience, and that is targeting sports fans. In the article ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014 by Rick Kissell from Variety, the ratings that were gathered showed that ESPN was up 6% in 2014 from the year 2013. Also, it showed that Monday Night Football was in the top two total viewers in numbers in 2014. ESPN has the rights to the show Monday Night Football, and dominate Monday television for having these rights. But, is it unfair to only allow ESPN to have the ability to air Monday Night Football games? If television is supposed to attempt to be as fair as possible, then wouldn’t it be fair to give some of the games to other networks? However, this is how television works, and ESPN will be able to do this as they continue to pay the league to do so. Sports can be a very niche audience, and it will always be there as long as the sports are there to be played. It is clear that ESPN lucked out by doing what they did when they did, as they were thought to be crazy having a channel that only played sports, but the critics were completely wrong. ESPN is another example of niche marketing targeting an audience, and then taking advantage of that audience in order to gain a viewership that will pay them like crazy. Niche media will seemingly be around forever, but the question still looms if it is right or not.
Works Cited:
Kissell, Rick. “ESPN No. 1 in Cable Rankings for 2014.” Variety. 2 Jan. 2015. Web
De Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. “Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Omnious Year – Update.” Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Lindsay Goldstein
ReplyDeleteThe idea of children as young as three and four years old being consumers is extremely interesting, as they are so easily targeted. Growing up, our generation did not have many options when it came to media and technology. Thus, parents relied on television for a variety of purposes, including entertainment and babysitting. Our channels and programming were also limited, especially compared to what children have today. While Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel were huge parts of my childhood, today’s youth are barely watching those two networks, which have become huge corporations, because there are simply too many shows and channels to choose from. With Netflix, video on demand, DVDs and streaming geared towards kids, today’s parents have more choices that offer a greater level of convenience. They can put their kid anywhere with a show or movie on an iPhone or iPad, without having to worry about leaving their child unattended. For this reason, I was not surprised to read in Rick Kissell’s article “ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014,” that children’s channels, while still extremely popular, are beginning to slip. Kissell writes that ESPN became the leading cable channel last year, “leap-frogging the likes of USA and Disney Channel, which traditionally battle for the top spot but slumped in 2014,” (1). In fact, according to the article, the Disney Channel lost 20 percent or more of their audience from 2013 to 2014 (Kissell 1).
This is definitely a trend among all or most cable networks, as Lisa de Moraes and David Lieberman write “But the big story for cable TV, as 2014 draws to a close and ’15 gets rolling, is that, for the first time ever ratings have, for the most part, fallen significantly,” (1). The article, “Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin on Ominous Year – Update,” continues that the decrease in ratings is everywhere in the television industry, save for a few exceptions “among news and sports channels,” (de Moraes and Lieberman 1). The fact that Disney Channel dropped from the fourth spot among primetime cable viewers in 2013 to the 23rd spot in 2014 proves just how much the television landscape has changed (de Moraes and Lieberman 2). A look at ratings shows that children’s programs have undeniably dropped, but that doesn’t mean that children are no longer being targeted. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.
Television has become less about the programming and more about the commercials, product placement and merchandising. It doesn’t matter that less people are watching the Disney Channel, because when they do, kids are being inundated with ads for products. Marketers and brands have also found other ways to get their message across that doesn’t involve television because they know ratings have begun to drop, like with apps, for example.
Like you said, brands, networks and companies are finding other way to target children and younger demographics, like with the movie Frozen. In the days, weeks, months and even years since the movie was released, it’s impossible to walk through a store, watch a children’s television network, or see a kid’s movie without being reminded of the Disney film. The songs, characters and merchandise is everywhere as a way to still reach the niche audience. I too have mixed feelings about targeting children, especially since it’s no longer just limited to television. The demographic almost seems to easy, as children want what they see and what others have, but the ways in which niche media is targeting children today seems extreme and unnecessary.
Works Cited:
De Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. “Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin on Ominous Year – Update.” Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Kissell, Rick. “ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014.” Variety. 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Growing up, I, like most children, never realized the ways in which I was targeted by brands and networks. For kids, there are really only two options for networks that contain programming appropriate for young consumers- Nickelodeon and Disney. Of course, there are also networks like PBS and Cartoon Network as well as the sister networks of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel (Nick Jr., Toon Disney, etc.). But, in my opinion, Nickelodeon and Disney are the only two who grew their empires tremendously with the right programming and marketing. Their content appeals to a variety of kids and the marketing on these channels is also specifically meant to attract this audience. Since there are so few networks available specifically for children in comparison to the plethora of networks available for adults, that is part of how these two networks have become so successful. When kids come home and turn on the TV they do not have many options to choose from. Marketers know this and that kids will be likely to consume things on these channels because there is a high chance that they are tuning in. They are in a position where they can easily take full advantage of this and “over market” as in the example you gave about the movie Frozen. Whether or not this is right for networks to do goes back to the idea that it is just their way of making money and if it works and no one is harmed then it can not be that bad of a thing. The reason Disney and Nickelodeon come out on top in overall ratings could be because children make up a large market of TV consumers. In addition, parents feel comfortable letting their kids watch these networks because they know the content is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Disney and Nickelodeon becoming megacorporations, it seems natural that a company that is experiencing success to want to grow and evolve to appeal to today’s children. Extending in to other media platforms is smart for networks because it broadens their reach and allows consumers, in this case kids, to connect with their favorite shows. It is not uncommon for young kids in this day and age to have some sort of mobile device. For that reason, it is important for children’s networks to make a presence on mobile platforms, as in the form of applications. According to Tech Crunch “The younger the consumer gets, the more prevalent mobile becomes” (Lunden). Since children spend so much time on their mobile devices, it would be foolish for Disney and Nickelodeon to not have applications geared towards them because that is one way to appeal to that market. In addition, networks may be worried that the shift to digital platforms may hurt ratings. This can cause a major decrease in revenue. In regards to cable TV, Deadline states, “for the first time ever ratings have, for the most part, fallen significantly — potentially cooking the media industry’s cash cow” (de Moraes and Lieberman). This is all the more reason for children’s networks, or any network for that matter, to have a need to branch out to other platforms. Though the main source of income for these corporations may be through television, it is possible that this could change as digital media starts to take over.
Works Cited
de Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Lunden, Ingrid. "Tumblr Overtakes Instagram As Fastest-Growing Social Platform, Snapchat Is The Fastest-Growing App." Tech Crunch. 25 Nov. 2014. Web.
Erika Almanzar
ReplyDeleteAs a child who grew up primarily watching Disney and Nickelodeon, I look back on many of the shows with fond memories and nostalgia. As a generation of early 20-somethings today, I often hear peers quoting Spongebob Squarepants and remembering their favorite episodes, along with recollections of Disney Channel original movies. While our age group grew up watching television during the mid-late 90’s into the 2000’s, it is safe to make the argument that our earliest memories of children’s television and films are quite different from we see being geared towards today’s youth. With the growth of the Internet and social media, younger children are being exposed to greater amounts of media consumption than ever before. Through movies, television shows, online games, video games, and phone apps, companies such as Disney are utilizing digital outlets in order to market their films and shows to children and parents. For example, as Kara mentioned in her post, Frozen became one of the biggest media sensations of 2014 because of the way it was advertised to families through digital outlets. While mass marketing existed among children’s media while my generation grew up, how has it become much more prevalent today?
According to Deadline Hollywood, time-shifting has led to people with DVRs watching their favorite programs beyond the three and seven-day periods when ratings normally take place (De Moraes and Lieberman). The increase of time shifting and streaming has become much more popular in recent years, even among children’s networks. Instead of families sitting down to watch programs during their live airings, parents can simply just log into Netflix or Hulu in order for their children to watch a movie or television show. With the help of streaming, many families have been able to access popular children’s movies and shows, which have increased their marketability in recent years. Similar to the idea of time-sharing and newer digital media gearing towards niche audiences, children today are using social media and the Internet at younger ages. According to Tech Crunch, while Facebook continues to be the largest social media site, other outlets such as Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat have grown and are marketing towards audiences as young as early teens. Additionally, with 50% of social media users in the 16-34 age group accessing their accounts through mobile devices, many millennial parents today rely heavily on social networking (Lunden).
As media companies constantly shift and adapt in order to appeal to today’s audiences, social media is now playing a vital role in how companies such as Disney are targeting their target niche of children, preteens, and parents. Recently, Disney showed a preview of Frozen Fever on Facebook, which will play as an animated short before Cinderella hits theaters on March 15. Through a Facebook post, Disney promoted their newest film while using digital media to announce Frozen news to parents and fans. As technology continues to grow, I believe that children’s companies will continue to utilize every outlet possible in order to influence younger audiences and millennial as well. After observing the success and popularity of Frozen in the past year, it is only a matter of time before other hit films and shows begin to mass market their brand to children and parents.
Works Cited
de Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Lunden, Ingrid. "Tumblr Overtakes Instagram As Fastest-Growing Social Platform, Snapchat Is The Fastest-Growing App." Tech Crunch. 25 Nov. 2014. Web.
I thought that this was a very enjoyable read. When we were younger all that we were accustomed to be nickelodeon and Disney child. It was what all of our generation watched. We did not analyze why both of those networks were as popular as a kid because of how popular both networks were. The quote that you posted where Giroux said children have become an audience captive, not only to traditional forms of media but also the digital media is completely true. It is basically out of the kids control because they are consuming what was being sold to our generation. Kids tend to watch what everybody around them is watching. Everybody around them would be watching Nickelodeon or Disney so they felt pressured to watch it themselves. In our generation some of the most popular shows that I watched were rocket power, even stevens, lizzy mcguire, hey Arnold, spongebob and the rugrats. All of those shows aired on Disney or Nickelodeon. I do not remember watching another television network beside those two beside ESPN.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the class reading, “Cable TV Network Wrap for 2014” ESPN, Disney and Nickelodeon still rule the cable network ratings. You make some valid points when stating why the kids networks are at the top. Marketing is definitely a huge reason why all three of these networks excel. During the day these three networks are all in the top 10 of every category. They are in the top ten because they are household names that everybody in the country knows about. During the day the media is mainly focused on the kid’s attention because primarily they are the ones who watch TV from the hours of 9-5 when adults are out working. Disney’s motto is that they are a family network. They do a great job promoting their program and is to this day the only network that I know that has no outside commercials besides promoting their own brand. They have a very diverse form of media that extends outside of basic cable. They are also known for their movies, websites, magazines, apps, and even radio stations that are on Sirius xm radio.
ESPN was the top dog of cable ratings in 2014. Kids are a big reason why espn was at the top. ESPN just like Disney has their saying that makes them a household brand. They say that they are the worldwide leader in sports. Two of ESPN’s biggest telecasts are sports center and Monday night football. As a kid I watched sports center every day before school. It is what most kids I grew up with did as well before school. Watching sports center was like a lifestyle.
The brands that ESPN, Disney and Nickelodeon have established themselves by from generation to generation is the reason why they are three of the most successful networks of all time. They continue to engage their viewers in a variety of ways that keeps them hooked to these networks. I can guarantee that when our generation has kids of our own the networks that we will have them watch on a consistent basis are ESPN, Disney and Nickelodeon.
Works Cited
de Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Kissell, Rick. "ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014." Variety. 2 Jan. 2015. Web.
Caroline Gaudet
ReplyDeleteKara, I felt that you made some excellent points in your blog. I agree that niche media targeted towards children is a booming business in the industry today and in order to increase our media literacy as a society, I think it’s important to understand the strategies and tactics used by the industries to target niche groups. One of the ideas that these networks have been able to capitalize on is the overall power of the youth demographic. With money provided by parents, a significant amount of time on their hands, and extremely malleable opinions, the youth demographic make for the perfect target audience.
As stated in an article published on deadline.com, Nickelodeon has finished the year as the top basic cable network for kids, and it’s not due to sheer luck(de Moraes, Lieberman). The network, along with other networks that target child viewers, has many tactics in appealing to the youth demographic and profiting from their willingness to play into the different strategic marketing strategies.
One example of this is Disney’s hit television show entitled Dog with a Blog. The show depicts the story of a tech savvy talking dog and the family with whom he lives. The show is a fantastic example of Disney’s ability to recognize the interests of its target demographic and incorporate those interests into the media they are producing. Producers recognize that children are becoming more tech savvy, incorporating IPods, cell phones, and laptops into their every day vocabulary. In response, Dog with a Blog was produced. Niche viewers living in a technology-based society can relate to the technology frequently used on the show. The television show has been met with great success, and that success can be attributed to the niche marketing displayed in the show’s content. This leads to great success in ratings with Disney’s approximate 1.94 million viewers in the past year (Kissell).
Disney and Nickelodeon have time and time again shown their mastery of niche marketing. Take the Aaron Carter episode of Lizzy McGuire for example. The episode featured the regular antics of Lizzy and her friends with an added cameo appearance of teen heartthrob, Aaron Carter. Disney was able to recognize that their target audience, tween girls, was interested in Aaron Carter and his music. They then incorporated the teenage singer into the show that they knew that demographic was watching. The result was one of the most talked about episodes of the series. This was just one more example of the network’s understanding of niche marketing and ability to use it to its advantage.
Quite often, individuals forget that no matter the media source, be it CNN, MTV, or Nickelodeon, the media industry is just that, an industry. Its main goal is generate profit. Sure, news media may be working towards creating an informed public. MTV may voice their goal to spread music to the world. Nickelodeon may speak of its hope to produce family friendly television for kids. However, at the end of the day, it comes down to the bottom dollar. If niche marketing is what it takes to generate the largest profit for networks, then niche marketing it will be.
Works Cited
De Moraes, Lisa, and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. N.p., 31 Dec. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. .
Kissell, Rick. "ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014." Variety. N.p., 02 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. .
Eddy Negrepont
ReplyDeleteBlog 4
Kara, I thought that this was a very interesting and insightful blog. I really enjoyed how you spoke so much about childhood television and how many questions were raised while reading the blog. I think that this is an excellent strategy because it makes the reader become more interested and engaged in the discussion of the blog. Looking back, I know for me personally. that television was a huge part of my life while I was young and I watched countless hours of cartoons. My childhood would have been different growing up if my favorite cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Rugrats and other programs were not on television during that time. I agree with your statements about not even realizing how much the media targets those specific shows for our generation. With that being said, it does not surprise me that Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel are near the top of the ratings for all programs. I believe that children and senior citizens are the people that watch television the most because they have more free time than people in other age groups. Before reading your blog, I never asked myself why these shows were so appealing to us during this time. I agree with the quote that you put up from Giroux, that these ideas are forced into our minds and that you really have almost no option but to be consumed with what is being broadcasted towards you. According to Cable TV Network Wrap 2014, Nickelodeon finished number one basic cable network for kids.
To answer Kara’s questions throughout the blog, I think the networks that are geared toward children are near the top in ratings because so many children watch television and the shows are forced upon us from society. I think that the media is just so easy for children to be consumed by and is a big part of their lives. When you’re a child you don’t have any responsibilities and tend to have the television on all day even when you are playing with toys. With companies knowing this, they do everything in their power to try to direct their programs towards children. I am not surprised that these companies are at the top of the charts year in and year out. Growing up Nickelodeon and Disney were the most popular channels for children, and it is still the same today. I believe that illustrates what a great job these companies do marketing themselves toward this demographic. The only other network that can compete with these is ESPN, but that is different because it is a sports network. According too Rick Kissell “ESPN was last year’s top dog in cable ratings, sweeping the key demo categories while also winning in total viewers — leap-frogging the likes of USA and Disney Channel.” This does not surprise me at all, but for the Disney Channel to always being able to compete with ESPN says a lot considering how popular sports are today in society. In conclusion, I believe Kara keyed in on some great points throughout her blog and that these big companies will continue to be at the top because of their marketing strategies.
Works Cited
Kissell, Rick. "ESPN No. 1 in Cable Ratings for 2014." Variety. 2 Jan. 2015. Web.
DeMoraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Connor Powers
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting point of study Kara. I have never really thought too much into the effect that advertising and mass marketing can have on children. I agree with you about how children are an easier market to try and sell too because when I was a kid if I saw a commercial for a specific toy or action figure on Nickelodeon or Disney I would be begging my parents to buy it for me. When I was a kid I never really understood how much of a business the television industry is and how much of their revenue comes from advertising and marketing. Furthermore, I do believe that children are a very easy audience to sell too. Advertisers try extremely hard to appeal to young adults and adults through different marketing strategies and focusing on specific cable networks and their genres. But, I feel like now when I see commercials and marketing ploys I am able to tune them out and not really pay attention or be tricked into buying an unnecessary luxury. On the other hand, when you are a kid you really do not understand that it is just a business method to try and get you to beg your parents for the latest Disney action figure or the latest Nickelodeon character set. Young children are easier to manipulate and thus an easier target for marketing campaigns.
It is also a very telling statistic that Nickelodeon is one of the top basic cable networks. This just further shows how much of an impact children have on the amount of media consumed. In the Moraes and Lieberman article from Deadline they state “And yes, Nickelodeon bragged that it’s finishing the year as the top basic cable network with kids, and overall audience, for the total day.” (Moraes/Lieberman) This just further shows how much that cable relies on the importance of appealing to the children consumer market. It makes a lot of sense also that these statistics would be true because when I was a kid the only channel that used to be on constantly for me would be Nickelodeon. Also, looking back on it when I was that age all of my friends were watching Nickelodeon as well. It would be very rare when I was in that age demographic if I was watching another network.
I feel as though niche marketing is something that is very important to the media industry because it can help focus and hone in on a specific demographic. This holds true with the children demographic because they may be the easiest target. Children are the easiest to wrap into advertising and marketing campaigns to sell media products and boost the revenue of a network such as Nickelodeon or Disney. If it comes down to morals I do not think that the children’s media industry is really doing anything wrong. Media is a business, and the goal is to create as much revenue as possible. To appeal to a certain audience is the choice of that media outlet.
de Moraes, Lisa and David Lieberman. "Cable TV Networks Wrap 2014 Putting Best Spin On Ominous Year – Update." Deadline. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.