Roles Kids Can Play In Advertising

Kids add cuteness and emotion to advertising. When effectively used, they can narrate the brand story in the most convincing manner by hitting the right spot in consumer's heart and mind.

Here are 8 types of potential role kids can play in advertising:

1. Kid as an influencer - As an influencer, kids play an important part in the purchase decision and so cannot be ignored. It can be leveraged in advertising by showing the needs of kids and how they express them. In this scenario, communication goal should be to target kids as well as adults.
2. Kid as an enabler - As an enabler, kids are the reason to buy and symbolize the basis for a purchase decision. It can be leveraged in advertising by relating the product or service to the well-being of the kid. The key is to focus on influencing the adult by using kids as a tool.
3. Kid as a buyer - Here kids actually buy and parents either don't influence or the influence is minimal. It can be leveraged in advertising by portraying a responsible kid who buys sensibly. The portrayal of the kids should be such that she doesn't betray the trust of her parents through her purchase decision.
4. Kid as a preacher - In this scenario, there is an educated and smart kid who preaches the goodness of the product to her visibly ignorant parents. It can be leveraged in advertising by showing role reversal; kids acting as an adult and adults acting as kids. The key is to tap the general belief that today's kids are much smarter than their parents were in their childhood.
5. Kid as a pestering brat - It's a situation where kids emotionally blackmail their parents by threatening to flow a river a tears! It can be leveraged in advertising by showing the pestering nature of kids and the joy adults feel in finally giving in to their demands. It can work well for products with high impulse purchase index.
6. Kids as an entertainer - As an entertainer, the kid tries to hit the right spots in adults by playing to the "choo chweeet" effect. It can be leveraged in advertising by playing on "the childlike nature of the adults" to influence them.
7. Kid as a the pivot of the family - Here the kid means everything to the family. Happiness of the family starts and ends with the kid. It can be leveraged in advertising by showing kid as the central figure of the family and how everything revolves around her.
8. Kid as a plot - In this role kid is the hero of the brand story who tells it all in her own language. It can be leveraged in the advertising by bringing out "the child in every adult".