Thousands of children being paid to market products to schoolmates

Thousands of children are being paid to test and promote food, drink, gadgets and video games to their classmates, according to Britain's most senior consumer watchdog.
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor

The Telegraph
Jan. 23, 2009

More than a third of a million children, some as young as five, have been recruited to conduct market research for large companies, including toy and gadget manufacturers Mattel, Nintendo and snack companies Tizer, Wrigley's and Coca-Cola.

Most of the children are paid and some schools have even given their blessing, earning themselves up to £4,000 a year for surveying the children on the companies' behalf.

The practice has been highlighted by Ed Mayo, the Government's newly-appointed 'consumer tzar' in a book published next week.

Consumer Kids, co-authored with academic Agnes Nairn, is a blistering attack on how companies have "groomed" children to become sophisticated consumers, by using the internet and viral marketing.

The book attacks the increasing sexualisation of children and how companies encourage "pester power".

Its strongest criticism, however, is directed at how children have been recruited by specialised marketing companies, the biggest of which is Dubit.

The company, originally set up by teenagers, has worked with McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Wrigley's, Tizer, Mattel as well as public institutions such as the British Museum, West Yorkshire Police and the anti-drug campaign Frank.

Dubit boasts it is in "constant contact with over 350,000 . . . inspiring young people", thanks to a deal with 600 schools, which involves head teachers agreeing to their pupils answering marketing questionnaires. Each completed questionnaire can earn the school £2, with some schools making £4,000 each year. Primary school children, including five-year-olds, are sometimes involved.

As well as these school children, there are 30,000 children who are Dubit Informers, who conduct surveys online every week or so – while at their home computers – on behalf of companies. Children, who must obtain their parents' permission, can earn 50p to £1 a time for giving their views.

The most controversial practice, however, is Dubit's recruitment of "brand ambassadors", which are paid to help promote a new drink, toy or gadget to their classmates. The company estimates it has about 7,000 seven- to 19-year-olds who are the "best, the coolest, the trendsetters".

They have to test out products, show them off to their friends, host parties where the brand is promoted, and give feedback to the company.

There is no suggestion that any of Dubit's activities are against the law.

"This is insidious and downright creepy," said Mr Mayo, who is the chief executive of Consumer Focus.

"There is no doubt children are savvier than ever and that should be celebrated. But we need a debate about how they are being bombarded by big businesses. Children are more vulnerable than both they and their parents sometimes realise."

Mattel used the technique to test out a Barbie-branded MP3 digital music player, with 50 girls aged seven to 11 recruited to spread the word. To receive all the rewards – the player itself, and other branded products – the girls needed to create their own fan website, and encourage their friends to sign up to barbiegirls.com.

A spokesman for Mattel said: “Barbie MP3 players was a unique new product that was aimed for girls 9 years and over. Working with Dubit, in a controlled and responsible way, we created an opportunity for girls to sample the player and to give us feedback.

“This activity was done in a fun and exciting way and children did this in a voluntary capacity and under the full guidance and approval of their parents.”

Another client is Nintendo, which helped promote its Animal Crossing game on the DS console by giving out free games and consoles to the testers, on the proviso that they gave feedback.

"Nintendo takes its responsibilities to children and parents very seriously. We worked with Dubit on a project involving a small number of young people between 2006 and 2007, with assurance from Dubit of parental consent," a spokesman said.

Coca-Cola rewarded its 'ambassadors', all of whom were 16 or over, with shopping vouchers for promoting the drink Fanta.

All the companies stress that the children's ages were thoroughly verified and the permission of parents were sought if they were under 16.

Robin Hilton, director at Dubit, pointed out that the research was invaluable for many institutions, not least public-sector bodies, such as the anti-drug campaign Frank, who sometimes struggle to connect with young people.

"Kids want to be involved in campaigns, we allow them to do just that - there is no pressure put on young people to take part, nor would we every ask a young person to be underhand or represent something they were not already a fan of," he added.













All original InformationLiberation articles CC 4.0



About - Privacy Policy