Opinion - KidsKnowBest

Context is everything

Rob Lough, co-founder and chief brand officer of Kids Know Best, explains why it’s time for progressive brands to skip the demos and dive straight into the stuff that matters in 2022.

When Apple recently introduced privacy changes to its products, it sent advertisers, publishers and the whole industry scrambling for solutions. As AdTech giants battle it out in the name of privacy (and profits), for once, the consumer is benefiting. Privacy is now on the agenda for the AdTech world, which means targeting individuals through personal data will be more of a challenge than ever. However, don’t let any advertisers tell you this is a bad thing; this is a great thing. Not just ethically, but also because it means the most skilled experts and the best creatives will continue to win.When we first created KidsKnowBest, we focused on giving kids a voice. Our mission has always been at the forefront. Our aim to give kids a voice means we constantly talk to kids and families about how they want to experience brands and how they want brands to communicate with them. One thing we have found out is that no child, or parent, is the same. Which is something brands have to be considerate of when making and marketing content and products. Contextual marketing isn’t just a compliance requirement: it’s the most logical strategy.

Another factor to add to the advertising mix is that gender is becoming less and less relevant in today’s progressive world. More than any generation before, Gen Alpha kids and parents are dead set on shattering the barriers of labels, stereotypes and the limitations that come with them. For instance, in a study we conducted last year, just over 0.5% of over 3,000 interviewees picked ‘Other’ as an option when asked for their gender. That may not feel like a significant amount, but it’s a percentage that increases year on year, and fast. We didn’t even have it as an option in 2018, such is the pace of this movement.

We can avoid gender stereotypes and use actual data and insight to backup choices and statements. As an example, let’s look at toy cars and a toy company who wants to excite current fans with a new range. They no longer have to hinder themselves with stereotypes. It’s not about targeting 4-8-year-old boys, but all fans of toy cars, be that girls, boys or however kids choose to identify. Indeed, 80% of toy car fans may be boys, but the demographics of a fan are not relevant. Instead, brands must look beyond demographics and consider what engages and unites them. Contextual marketing isn’t just the more progressive and compliant choice: it’s the most logical strategy.

As the father of identical twin daughters, I've never fully understood demographic data. If we relied on demographic data to create a target audience, we would have grouped my twins together. Sure, they have lots in common: gaming, YouTube and more gaming. But they also have many contrasting personality traits and interests: a different sense of humour and favourite YouTubers, gamers, shows, toys, food, music, even friendship groups. The same applies to kids, adults, best friends and siblings across the globe. Our cultural touchpoints, personality traits and interests are what connects us. Of course, demographic data factors within these, but doesn’t dictate our taste in comedy or which brands we like. In a seemingly limitless social media-driven world of choice, connectivity has never been more apparent. An 18-year-old Marvel superfan can find 1,000s of others like them of differing age, gender and class on social platforms.

Contextual marketing isn’t anything new, we’ve been doing it since day one. The best marketers always explore what makes a consumer tick. However, somewhere along the way, we as an industry lost sight of that. Toy company brand managers everywhere should be looking outside for inspiration. At the moment, gaming companies are the best in the contextual marketing business. We see 15-year-olds playing with 50-year-olds globally; the love of gaming and playing brings them together. Gaming companies care about building fans regardless of who they are. Contextual marketing gives you the freedom to think differently, build more in-depth and compelling brand personas and really dig deeper into the needs of your brief, or even help build them initially.

Want to engage with current fans? Dive into the specifics, research where these fans really are, what they are doing and what else makes them tick. Want to appeal to fans who like competitor brands? You get the picture.It sounds simple, and that’s because it is - the best marketing campaigns always are. The best communication reaches the right person at the right moment with the right message, and this is what contextual thinking can help us do.At KKB, our insights and data-first approach, through qual, quant, and data science, means we have thousands of contextual profiles based on keywords, from Lego to Leo Messi. One tool that really helps our strategy is our proprietary keyword planning tool called WOTS. Within the image (below), I've deleted the keyword for privacy reasons, but hopefully, you get the picture. Of those who mentioned the keyword, we look at the gender split, average age, competitors for brand affinity, influencers, content platforms, hobbies and more. This data helps us, internally and externally, build out brand personas for influencers, content, media placement and so much more.So, the next time you are ideating your new IP, brands, campaigns or launches, start thinking about the questions you are asking. Don’t do your brief a disservice by simply considering baseline demographics. Flip the narrative, dig deeper, and you’ll be rewarded with even more surprising and exciting insights and possibilities to act upon and create something unique.For more info on our keyword planner and other contextual planning tools, feel free to email me on rob@kidsknowbest.co.uk.