Kids and the desire for fame
With the return of ‘I’m a Celebrity’ and the likes of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ pulling in the Saturday night ratings, British fascination with celebrity culture is as fixed as ever.
This is good news for marketers as putting a celeb behind a product can do wonders for sales. Stories on celebrities regularly make the headlines, as seen in the ongoing phone hacking saga which has brought debates over celebs and the media to the forefront of popular discussion.
Celebrities can be particularly influential when it comes to children, with the wish to be famous a popular mantra amongst the ‘X Factor’ generation. Latest insight from Kantar Media’s Youth TGI survey reveals that 34% of 11-19 year olds say they want to be famous.
In terms of which celebs are most popular amongst this group, these aspiring celebs are 56% more likely than the average British 11-19 year old to admire Paris Hilton, closely followed by Katie Price and Vanessa Hudgens of ‘High School Musical’ fame. On the other hand, these kids are 26% more likely than average to dislike JK Rowling and Chris Hoy.
While the first group of celebs are ones you might expect a wannabe celeb to look up to, JK Rowling topping the list of most disliked celebs perhaps suggests a desire to be famous for fame itself rather than a concern for the means of getting there.
With this in mind, these young aspiring celebs are 47% more likely than the average British 11-19 year old to class physical beauty as one of the most important things in life. They are also 47% more likely to regard meeting important people highly, no doubt to become better connected.
In keeping with the desire to be famous, these kids are much attuned to the need to make money. Demonstrating just how highly they value wealth, they are 58% more likely than the average 11-19 year old to see making money as more important than being a good person. Although quite extreme, this hints at the reasons behind such a desire to be famous.
They are a stylish and flashy bunch, being more likely to find the brand name most important when buying something and also finding a product’s style and design as important as its quality. Even when it comes to hobbies like sport, they are 37% more likely than the average 11-19 year old to think having the latest equipment is important.
Insight from Youth TGI reveals these aspiring celebs are a well connected and well informed bunch. They are most likely to be amongst the heaviest fifth of consumers of magazines. Not only that, but they are 51% more likely to be willing to pay to access content on magazine websites. They are also 20% more likely than the average 11-19 year old to go to the cinema two to three times a month.
TGI data also reveals that these kids can be reached most effectively at different times by different media. On Sundays, for instance, they are close to a third more likely to watch more than seven hours of TV.
Added to this, their consumption of digital media is on the increase with 31% of these wannabe celebs spending at least five hours online at the weekend. A year ago this figure was only 26%, indicating how many more of these kids are becoming engaged online.
More kids spending large amounts of time in front of screens will be welcome news to marketers looking to reach these aspiring celebs in more varied and interactive ways.