MARKET SEGMENTATION 127player (iPod, Zune, Sansa, etc.).^21 Th is generation has never known a world without computers,
e-mail or the Internet. Th eir priorities are simple: they want whatever the next new product
or gadget is and they want it fi rst. Millennials do not pay much attention to marketing
although this generation is the most marketed to in history. Th e following companies have
targeted them and interacted with them eff ectively: Apple, Converse, Facebook and Nintendo.
Th ey all personalised their products so that each millennial youngster could fi t the product to
their ideas, looks and independence. Th is generation is fully aware of all kinds of marketing.
Th e trick is to approach millennials openly and creatively.^22 Lots of gen Y choices come from
peer-to-peer recommendations, which explains why viral marketing is quite successful in this
age group. Living in an age where information is everywhere and where everyone can reach
them, millennials are very selective about who they listen to. Via their Facebook and Google+
accounts, they get their information from one another – and not from the media. Th e
endorsement by their friends is what they care about. Th ey do not get this peer-to-peer infor-
mation through e-mails, they instantly text one another, using SMS, Facebook chat or instant
messaging. E-mail is too slow and old fashioned for them. Th ey watch each other on
YouTube. And sometimes they do all three at the same time! Millennials multitask and they
are good at it.^23Children spend an increasing amount of time on media usage. A study conducted in Germany demonstrates that
children between the age of 3 and 13 years spend on average over one hour a day watching television.^24 A European
study showed that children between 6 and 14 years old spend on average 88 minutes per day surfing the Internet.^25
The impact of advertising on children and young teenagers has raised considerable concern among governmental
institutions and professional organisations such as the American Psychological Association.^26 Recent studies have
shown that advertising directed at children impacts on their brand preferences^27 and food choices.^28 Moreover,
exposure to advertising messages might also encourage children to pester their parents to purchase the advertised
product.^29 Children are now exposed to commercial messages through new online techniques and hybrid forms of
advertising. One of the most frequently employed and most interactive techniques is the advergame, a custom-built
online mini-game designed to promote a brand.^30
An experiment with 125 children (11–14 years old) compared the effects of traditional TV advertising, a trailer
promoting an advergame, and the advergame itself.^31 A large amount of research has investigated the role of
‘advertising literacy’ in determining children’s responses to persuasive messages.^32 Researchers generally take a
developmental psychological point of view, stating that children lack both cognitive and information processing
skills to fully comprehend commercial messages, making them more susceptible to persuasive attempts.^33 Younger
children are thought to be more influenced by advertising than older children, because children acquire advertising
literacy over years. Moreover, past research has revealed that with increasing knowledge of advertising’s intent
comes an enhanced ability to resist or elaborate upon commercial messages.^34 The study also explored the role of
‘persuasion knowledge’ in processing these formats.
The experiment consisted of five different experimental treatments. The experimental manipulation consisted of
exposure to different types of advertising techniques for 's popsicle and ice cream brand Ola. The employed
stimuli were all existing commercial materials for the Ola brand. Group 1 was exposed to a 30-second trailer in
which a fictitious cartoon character encouraged the children to visit the website ( http://www.olakids.be ) and play an
advergame. Group 2 was put in front of a computer to play the actual Ola advergame. The goal of the advergame
was to slide down an icy slope and collect as many Ola popsicles as possible. It took children about two minutes to
complete the game. Children in the third treatment were asked to play the advergame, and afterwards they were shownRESEARCH INSIGHT
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