Influence of Advertisement on Food Habits of Childrens Executive Summary

Everyday children come under an increasing exposure to television commercials and with the growing use of animation techniques. These advertisements are posing attractive to children. How do children process the advertised message, what do they do with it and to what extent they are influenced by what they see and hear? All these questions have become the subject of our research. The degree of impact of advertising on adults may be problematic but the outcome is devastating for children. Advertising comes in different forms such as television, print, radio and Internet. So using such various communicating devices how the products are advertised to the so-called new segment in the market. Television is no more just a source of entertainment for children. Some countries have decided that the evidence of advertisings influence on children is strong enough to take legislative action. For example, Sweden has imposed a ban on all advertising to children under 12 years old and Greece has regulated the content of children television advertising. Also accustomed viewing style has its impact on attention. For example viewing while sleeping on bed, sitting on the floor, at the dining table, when doing home work, eating, reading comics or in the presence of friends could results in reduce attention to commercial.

Effect of Television on Children At an early age children becomes attracted to television, the medium most capable of portraying life styles, value and social patterns to us. Indeed many of today's children can not avoid the clutches as television programming. Because the vast amount of time that are spent in front of television set, many feel that children are drawn away from the other activities such as playing with other youngster's or practicing motor skill. But in recent years advertising plays an important role in children's life. We note that children see a lot of advertisement but they rarely buy an item is a question. Seeing an actor or actress practicing to use a special brand of food can marginally encourage someone. Even if they do not get the suitable brand they tried to stick to the brand. The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children profound, it is important for the parents to know their child's exposure to media and provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media including television, radio, music, video games and Internet. The objective of the report is to explore both the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children's mental and physical.

Objectives of the study

Broad objective "To know the influence of advertisement on food habits of children" To find out the effect of advertisement on children. How far the advertisements change the buying behavior of children? Do they always buy the product after watching the advertisement? To measure the role of Advertisement in decision-making.

Introduction
The objectives of all business are to makes profits and a merchandising concern can do that by increasing its sales at remunerative prices. This is possible, if the product is widely polished to be audience the final consumers, channel members and industrial users and through convincing arguments it is persuaded to buy it. Publicity makes a thing or an idea known to people. It is a general term indicating efforts at mass appeal. As personal stimulation of demand for a product service or business unit by planting commercially significant news about it in a published medium or obtaining favorable presentation of it upon video television or stage that is not paid for by the sponsor. On the other hand, advertising denotes a specific attempt to popularize a specific product or service at a certain cost. It is a method of publicity. It always intentional openly sponsored by the sponsor and involves certain cost and hence is paid for. It is a common form of non- personal communication about an organization and or its products idea service etc. that is transmitted to target audiences through a mass medium. In common parlance the term publicity and advertising are used synonymously. What is Advertising? The word advertising is derived from the Latin word viz,

"advertero"

"ad" meaning towards and "verto" meeting towards

and "verto" meaning. "I turn" literally specific thing". Simply stated advertising is the art "says green." Advertising is a general term for and all forms of publicity, from the cry of the street boy selling newspapers to the most celebrate attention attracts device. The object always is to bring to public notice some articles or service, to create a

demand to stimulate buying and in general to bring together the man with something to sell and the man who has means or desires to buy". Advertisement performs following functions: i) ii) iii) iv) v) Promotion of sales Introduction of new product awareness. Mass production facilitation Carry out research Education of people.

CHILDREN & ADVERTISING

Advertising to children is the act of marketing or advertising products or services to children, as defined by national legislation and advertising standards. Advertising to children is often the subject of debate, relating to the alleged influence on childrens consumption. Rules on advertising to children have largely evolved in recent years. In most countries, advertising for children is now framed by a mix of legislation and advertising selfregulation.

Scope and Form

Advertising to children can take place on traditional media television, radio and print as well as new media (internet and other electronic media). Packaging, in-store advertising, event sponsorship and promotions can also be means to advertise to children Is it fair to advertise to children unless they fully understand the intent of the advertisers? If young children do not understand that intent, then when do they develop that ability? Is television an effective way to market products to children? Are the products (such as food and toys) typically aimed at children, the type of products that children should be encouraged to buy? Are children encouraged to buy or try unsuitable products (such as alcohol or tobacco) from viewing advertisements even when those advertisements are not aimed at them? These are the questions that require having a proper look at. Children aging around 15 in India are having spending power. It is from their own allowances and earnings. Almost 30 percentage of Indian population belongs to this age group, and called to be the future of India. But the fact is that

out of every rupee the government spent, only five paisa went to child related programmes. In Bihar, spending on per meal per child is about 15 paisa. Now can anyone explain that what kind of nutritious food can be supplied at that rate? When we talk of the Indian economy it is vastly segmented in different age groups with different spending powers. Most of the Indian people live under the poverty line. But the others are having a huge spending power with large amount of selection in the product basket. The children from these segments are being targeted by the companies to generate the sales.

Children and TV Advertising

In the 1940s and 1950s children were not considered consumers in their own right but only extensions to their parents purchasing power. With the advent of television and other mass media, children have come into their own right as consumers and, consequently, they have become an important target market for the business. Advertisers are the first to recognize childrens value as consumers who are capable of making decisions about spending. Four types of products advertised to children during the 1970s were limited: toys, cereals, candies and snacks, and fast foods. Male voiceovers accounted for the great majority of ads coded, and animated characters seldom appeared (Barcus in Tseng, Eliana Shiao; 2004). As many authors states, there are many television advertisements based on children and it is faced that children urge their parents to purchase what they want without needing. For a whole generation of new age children, television is as influential as a parent or a teacher. According to Wiman (1986), children who talk with their parents more frequently about TV

advertising and commercials make more purchase requests. Children considered television to be one of lifes necessities. Children spend a large amount of time watching television. They pay more attention to commercials broadcast during childrens programming. Commercials broadcast during childrens programming are designed to capture the younger childs attention by the use of cartoon characters, music, subjective camera angles and editing. India has a rich tradition of enriching children with folk tales and grandma tales and imparting values and imparting discipline and moral values in an entertaining format. When some of us advocated and argued a couple of decades ago for expansion of TV network in the country and for going for color television, one hope was that childrens fare will get some priority and all that treasure of India gets a chance to figure. But what is happening now is contrary. The exceptions are only a few. For, there is a decline in the extent of childrens participation even in national channels. The best specific examples of course are Malguidi Days, Panchatantra, Tenaliraman and the like. Realizing these strengths of Indian tradition, some foreign producers are scouting in India to capture talent for television, particularly in animation format. But what about our own initiatives?

Marketing Promos Targeting Children

Children play an important role in the household decision making process by attempting to influence their parents acquisition, usage and disposition behavior. The most common is that children nag until their parents finally give in. Research finds that success of such attempts on the type of offering, characteristics of the parents, age of the child and stage of the process.

Children are more likely to influence the parents for the purchase of child related products as cereals, cookies, snacks, car vacation and new computer technologies. For clothing and toys, children often use that argument that Everyone else has one and because parents want to avoid being identified as scrim piers they will often given in. Interestingly, children consistently overestimate how much influence they have in most of the decisions. Working and single parents on the other hand are more likely to give in because thay face more time pressures. Another important finding is that the older the child the more influence he/she will exert on the parents.

Targeting Children
Marketers are increasingly targeting the young children because of the influence that these kids have on their parents; buying decision. Advertisers are influencing the kids through various educational programs, games and certain other promotional events. The promos aim at increasing the brand visibility and developing an emotional connect with the kids. In India, kids have a considerable amount of demographic representation which marketers want to capitalize on. Marketers are targeting the kids because kids influence buying decisions, they exert pressure on the parents for a certain product purchase and they are the future adult consumers. In the earlier days, marketers aimed at influencing the parents for purchase related to kids products. Of late, marketers are trying to influence the kids directly through various promos and contests that provide them with lots of fun and adventure. By doing so, marketers are aiming to occupy the young minds successfully.

Generally, the contests are specially designed to target a particular age group of kids. The response from the kids is usually high because of the emotional tie-ups which is generated by the promos. This is the major success factor for the marketers. The common thing in all these promos is that they provide fun and adventure to the kids.

A Bag of Contests from Marketers

Rasna Slogan Contest

Rasna conducted a slogan contest for the kids between the age group of 410 years. The contest was very simple. The kids has to complete a slogan I love rasna juc up because . and send the same along with 10 single served sachets of Rasna. A panel of judges was identified to decide the winners of the contest. Ten lucky winners could enjoy a ride on a flight with Karisma Kapoor who was the brand ambassador of Rasna. The participants who could not make it to the finals were also entitled to win 1000 early bird prizes.

Britania Jetix Power Your Rangers Contest

This was one of the biggest kids contest conducted in India. The kids were given a call by the rangers to save them from trouble by powering them through dinogems which was hid by the villains. The dinogems were hidden in the fort of evil and the map was destroyed. The kids through this contest had to put together and indentify the dinogems which ultimately powered the rangers.

The contest was aired on the television channels everyday. With every pack of Britania treat, one part of the map was given (fortress of Evil). The kids had to collect the dinogems. By the end of contest, the dinogems which was the power source of rangers. The entries could be through SMS, phone calls or by e-mails. Five lucky winners made a trip to New Zealand with their families. Fifty five other winners were given playStation and power ranger game. Besides, 10,000 quick gun prizes and Power your ranger bravery medals were also given.

Maggi Quiz contest

This contest was held for students of IV, V and VI classes and included questions on general knowledge and individual subjects. The first round was an intra school written quiz competition. The second round was an oral quiz round and for the winners of the first round. The final contest was conducted between six teams comprising of two students each. During these quiz round, audience questions were also asked. The winning team was given Maggie gift packets and the members of the audiences who participated in the quiz were given sample packs of Maggi.

Kellogg Mobile Contest

Kellogs India in association with mobile2win presented a contest for kids in the age group 4-11. The theme of this contest was about rescuing chocos from crafty croc. Crafty croc. Was the villain who was threatening the brand mascot Choco bear about stealing chocos from him. All kids who wanted to participate in the contest had to buy a pack of chocos and solve the cues provided on the pack in the form of crossword puzzles. Once the puzzle was solved, a name

would be revealed which had to be sent to the company. The company then decides the winner on the basis of lots.

Boomer Bubble Blowing Championship

This championship was conducted in different cities. Wrigly, the bubblegum making company, conducted this contest in which the winners of the contest were given a chance to be with the boomer man in the boomer television commercial. The entire process was very simple. The kid who could blow the biggest bubble was the winner. The contest was open to kids within the age group of 8-12 years. The contest was held in two cites and two winners were selected from each city and the final winner was selected form that. The contest was held in schools, malls, residential complexes and market locations. Massive media support was given to this contest.

Apsara Excellence Awards Arts Contest

An arts contest was conducted by Hindustan Pencils Limited. The contest targeted four divisions of students depending on the class in which they were studying. These divisions included students of kindergarten and nursery, those studying in I to IV, V to VII and from VIII to X classes. All the required material like pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pastle colors, water colors was provided by Hinduatan Pencils to the contestants. The results were declared on the spot by evaluating the entries. The evolution was done by a panel of judges comprising of eminent artists. All students got a certificate of participation and the winners were given special prizes. The best entry was awarded with the Apsara Excellence Award Rotating Trophy.

Many more such contests have been conducted by marketers like Funskool which conducted the Little Pet Shop Coloring Contest, Cadbury with the Bournvita quiz contest, ITCs Classmate notebooks young authors contest and so on.

Marketers Expectation
The marketers conducting such contests usually aim for brand recall which would get converted into sales after the contests. The marketers provide excitement to the kids through fun and adventure programs and ultimately aim to increase the sales considerably. By organizing such contests, the marketers prompt the kids to buy and use their products once. Also these contests generate a demand for the products. By aiming at brand recall the marketers aim at increasing their market share considerably. Another important aspect that the marketers consider is the pester power of the children which pressurizes the parents to make many buying decisions. Contests also introduces a me too attitude in kids. When a kid participates in a contest it influences the other children to participate. The marketers thereby try to make the maximum from these contests.

Effects of Advertisements on Children

Advertisements are meant to influence the minds of the target group that should ultimately result in a sale for the client. However, sometimes, it can raise many questions when targeted for children. Read on to know about the various effects of advertising on children. Does advertising have a strong hold over the way we think or act? Does the mass media dictate our needs and wants? Well, there are plenty of theories about the effects of advertising. Various creative heads that belong to different advertising agencies are often churning out new ideas to deliver their message to the public. Children form the major chunks of the target group for advertisers. Many advertisements aimed towards children are a sole proof of this fact. The prime motive of any advertisement is to convince the viewer about the quality of the product and instill that urge in him/her to purchase the same. Today, advertising plays an important role in the society, as it tends to influence young minds in particular. The first prime motive of advertising is to attract attention. With children, the messages need to be conveyed in a different manner. Goods are particularly packaged in order to appeal to the younger generation. Children today, are more specific about their needs and wants. Children are therefore reckoned to be a major buying force by advertisers. However, advertising can also have a negative influence over young minds if parents are not really careful and do not teach their children about the importance of money. In many cases, children tend to misinterpret the messages conveyed through the advertisement. They end up having wrong notions about many issues. Advertising influences the minds of children,

which creates a need to own that particular product being advertised. Glossy images on the magazines or billboards or flashy advertisements on television only create the urge for impulsive buying. Parents who cannot deal with the rising demands or temper tantrums only tend to give in to the demands of their children. Children then get used to a certain kind of lifestyle, which is shown on the television or through various media. This only creates a very wrong impression on their young minds making them lose the ability to live a life without relying on materialistic joys. The power of advertising thus, cannot be ignored. For example, a child may prefer only a specific pair of branded jeans as compared to other clothing available in stores. He/she may want to live the life that is projected in the advertisements. The child may dictate to his/her parents about personal preferences in clothing, food, toys etc. Well, with these kinds of effects of advertising, one wonders who is to be blamed in this whole issue. Parents play a major role in this case. They need to monitor what influences the minds of children. Parents also need to be firm with children whenever their demands increase. Children need to be told gently that a no cannot be converted into a yes with tears or brawls! Parents also need to instill good habits and help children to differentiate between right and wrong. And the sooner its told, the better it would be for the child and subsequently parents as well. Advertisers on the other hand, can also try to put their message across creatively and target the entire family rather than just children. This will ensure even parents stay within the loop and can monitor the demands of the children. With a balanced approach, the negative effects of advertising can surely be curbed to a great extent.

The ad filmmakers are formulating fresh ways of enticing the consumers to buy their products. If an advertisement for a product attracts the consumers, they tend to purchase it frequently, or at least buy it once. If a company has to survive in this competitive world, he/she has to project the image of its products in such a way that they pick up the maximum sales, when they hit the stores. The best way to persuade the consumer to stick to the product of the particular brand, when numerous choices are provided to him/her in the market, is attractive advertisement. However, the ad filmmakers should remember that the commercials can also have negative IMPACT on people, especially the young children. In this project, we have presented some of the most visible effects of advertising on children, positive as well as negative. There is great concern about children as viewers of advertisements primarily because young children are exposed to thousands of commercials each year in India. Marketers use television as a medium of communication since it affords access to children at much earlier ages than print media can accomplish, largely because textual literacy does not develop until many years after children have become regular television viewers. Approximately, 80% of all advertising targeted to children falls within four product categories: toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants. Young children are able to differentiate between a TV program and a commercial but are unable to understand the intent of an advertisement until they are 10-15 years of age. According to Seiter, advertising to children avoids any appeal to the rational, emphasizing instead that ads are for entertainment and "enjoyable for their own sake" as opposed to providing any real consumer information.

Positive Effects of Advertisements on Children

Advertising makes the kids aware of the new products available in the market. It increases their knowledge about the latest innovations, in the field of technology as well as otherwise. Convincing ads, which center around healthy food products, can help improve the diet of a child, if they are attractive enough.

Negative Effects of Advertisements on Children

Advertisements encourage the children to persuade their parents to purchase the products shown in the commercials, whether useful or not. The little ones tend to get adamant, if they are not bought the product. Children often tend to misinterpret the messages conveyed in commercials. They overlook the positive side and concentrate more on the negatives. Many advertisements in the present times include dangerous stunts, which can be performed only by experts. Even though the commercials broadcast the statutory warnings with the ad, the kids often try to imitate the stunts at home, with fatal results. The flashy advertisements broadcast in television generate impulse shopping in children. Children, after watching the glitter of commercials, often lose the ability to live a life without materialistic joy. The kids usually get more attracted towards the costly branded products, such as jeans and accessories. They disregard the inexpensive, but useful, ones that are not shown in the commercials.

Advertisements have an indirect effect on the behavior of children. They might develop temper tantrums, when deprived of the latest toys and clothes that are shown in the commercials. The personal preferences in clothing, toys, food and luxurious of children are altered by the advertisements, to a great extent. Junk foods, such as pizzas, burgers and soft drinks, are heavily promoted during children's TV viewing time. This develops a craving for fatty, sugary and fast foods in kids, thereby affecting their health adversely. Obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television. Childrens exposure to TV ads for unhealthy food products (i.e., highcalorie, low-nutrient snacks, fast foods, and sweetened drinks) are a significant risk factor for obesity.

Research Methodology
Statement of the Problem Through this report we want to find out how children are influenced by the advertisements especially of confectionary products. So the statement of this project would be Effect of Advertisements on Children with special reference to confectionary products The research process goes within the following confectionary products: Biscuits Chocolates Wafers Noodles Sauces Health Drinks

Objectives of the Study The subject matter for this Project is to study the effects of advertisement on children. Following are the main objectives of this report. To know the children's awareness about confectionary Products & their advertisements. To study the impact of advertisement of confectionary Products on children.

Research Design Research design selected for this project is Descriptive.

Scope: The research will be done at Vadodara city only.

Sampling Plan:-

Target Population

: - Target population for this research would be children with age of 8-15 and their parents.

Sample Unit

: - Sample unit for this research would be children with age of 8-15 and their parents of a selected area.

Sampling Technique

: - Stratified Random Sampling

Sample Size

: - yet to be decided

Sampling Methods: There are mainly two of sampling methods which are being used by the marketers: 1. Probability Sampling (Random Sampling) 2. Non probability Sampling

Probability sampling is a method for drawing a sample from a population such that all possible samples have a known and specified probability of being drawn. Non probability sampling is a sampling procedure in which the selection of population elements is based in part on the judgment of the researcher or field interviewer. The sampling method for this report would be probability sampling because here each sample has equal chance of being selected and again it would be stratified random sampling

Instrument:The instrument selected for the primary data is structured questionnaire.

Expected contribution of the study The research or study will help to understand how children are influenced by the advertisements of confectionary products.

Beneficiaries Beneficiaries of this research would be researchers, students & the company with confectionary products.

Conclusion
Marketing through contests and influencing kids is not a favorable option many of the times. Even though they generate a lot of fun and excitement, launching very aggressive marketing campaigns could create some ill effects on the children and thereby gain the wrath of the parents. Hence, the parents and elders in the families must ensure that the kids do not fall prey to these kinds of promos. Apart from this, the government should take some initiatives and put some restrictions on such ads.