MipJunior: Turner Kids Unveils Kids Fan Segments, Engagement in Europe

By John Hopewell

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – CANNES — “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world,” somebody once said. As the biggest players in the kids business transform into ever more consumer-centric entities, they need to describe ever better their young consumers.

In an entertaining session at MipJunior, “How Well Do You Know Your Fans?”, Ranja Mohyieldin, director of fan engagement & insights, Turner Kids, Europe, Middle East, Africa, explained how kids spend their leisure time. Rolling off an exhaustive study, based on interviews with 9,000 kids aged 4-11 across nine countries – U.K.., France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Poland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and South Africa – Turner has established seven fan segments, based on who the fans are, the type of brands they engage with, and how they do so. That in turn will allow Turner to connect far, far better with its consumer segments.

Notably, Mohyieldin pointed out, these segments do not coincide with demographics.  “Not every fan is the same, even if they have the same demographic profile,” she observed, citing the case of two men with the same demographic profile, both born in 1948, in Britain, who are rich, married for the second time, have children, vacation in the Alps, and love dogs and cars.

Many companies’ marketing would treat them the same way. But one is Prince Charles, the other, Ozzy Osborne, the Prince of Darkness. Marketing campaigns to address them should most probably vary.

Focusing on 4-11s, Turner, in contrast, has evolved its own kids fan segment system, drawing on viewing behavior. That’s important. Kids are aware of 500 brands, 900 if they live in the U.K., but 80% of kids are fans of only three or less brands, and only one-in-five kids are fans of something for more than a year, Mohyieldin observed.

Kids is a hugely competitive and fragmented market. Here’s a drill-down on the segment types terms, based on Mohyieldin’s comments at MipJunior:

1.BOOKWORMS (12%)

Devouring books, comics, magazines, sporty, often found outside or listening to music, frequently from wealthy families with strict supervision and controlled access to social media. They do not spend a lot of time watching content, but favor book-sourced content. 12% of children, though rising to 20% in France.

2.PLAYFUL YOUNGSTERS (20%)

4-7 on average, constantly making up games, role plays. A lot more likely to enjoy toys, or playing outside. Not very interested in digital content, but do still like watching TV. “They support brands for longer than average, since younger, so not exposed to so many brands,” Mohyieldin said. Danish children have more time to play, so over one third are playful youngsters, she added.

3.CHANNEL FLICKERS (13%)

“Spend inordinately more time than average watching linear TV.” Quite passive, so not heavily into brands.

4.CONTENT ENTHUSIASTS (14%)

A dream segment, Mohyieldin enthused. Love watching favorite shows, finding extra information about them; pay TV kids, watching linear, on-demand and cord-cut content. More fleeting fans of many brands simultaneously.

5.OLDER GAMERS (13%)

Most likely boys, probably aged 8-11, and gaming obsessed, using any device, even watching gaming vids on YouTube. “42% of parents limit what games these kids can play,” Mohyieldin  said. Significantly more likely to have access to laptops, smart phones and tablets than the average child. Also discover brands via linear TV. Numbers increase to one-in-five in Saudi Arabia.

6.YOUTUBE FANATICS (16%)

Jumping from one video to the next, making taking time out to play a video game. pend twice as much time on YouTube, where they discover their brands. More likely to have smart phones. Skew slightly older, but are gender neutral.

7.CONNECTED MULTITASKERS (12%)

A little older, quite affluent, more access to game consoles, some with VR capabilities, or home system devices; heavy users of social networking, messaging, YouTube and gaming. Most likely to discover brands via social media and advertising. “Whilst they follow a range of brands, these kids are really busy, so their attention span is much shorter and that translates to brand loyalty,” Mohyieldin said.

Turner has begun to conduct internal three-hour workshops to work out what the data means for the company. “Going forward, we’ll create workshops specifically on brands, trying to understand how to target brands using the segmentation. We can identify, for example, which segments could be the key targets on ‘Ben Ten.,’” said Mohyieldin. Executives debating strategy can also now use a common vocabulary.