Digital Marketing Literature Review

Literature Review on

“Digital marketing strategy use to influence children”

Abstract:

This literature review focus on digital marketing, advertising to children and use of digital device. While many new marketing technique are being developed using the internet and digital devices as communication tools, little literature will consider the implications for children in-depth. Partly because the field of digital marketing is growing so rapidly, and partly because children use of the internet is increasing so fast and at the young age, much of the academic literature struggle to keep up with new trend what literature does exist trends to be highly critical, but is not necessarily based on sound search that looks at the real world of children’s

This debate reflects a wider, familiar issue in the research literature concerning whether children are active media savvy consumers, or vulnerable innocents. For example Buckingham’s (2007) main argument is that this polarisation is indeed constructed and that the truth probably lies somewhere in between the two. He contends that the growth of a consumer society is a complex social development which cannot be understood, explained or blamed solely on advertising and marketing. This polarisation of the debate is seen again in the gap between industry research on marketing, and sometimes highly critical blame-led academic research. It seems that the research field between the two should be explored more, as this would help construct a balanced debate and contribute towards consistency in the conceptualisation of the issue and measurement techniques (Sandberg 2011). It is argued that better collaboration between practitioners and researchers is needed to ensure that an understanding of how children engage with digital media can inform good practice (Miyazaki, Stanaland et al.2009). Not surprisingly, academic research on digital marketing communications to children lags behind industry developments. There is little research published, from a relatively small number of coun-tries, and with limitations in terms of research focus and

Childhood obesity is, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) one of the most public health challenges of the 21 century, with over 42 million children under 5 estimated to be overweight (WHO). The epidemic is caused by a global trend towards radically reduced physical activity levels. This is coupled by a global shift in diet towards energy-dense foods that are high in fat, salt and sugars (HFSS), but low in vitamins and minerals, and advertising and marketing for these types of food products are argued to be partly to blame for the shift in dietary intake. There are some considerable concerns expressed about the Level of children’s exposure to brands on social networks, leading to complex arguments about children’s resulting sense of reality and feelings of self-esteem. Skaar (2009) for example argues that the constant viewing of brands and products online, and the opportunity for children to adopt the strategies and resources of professional marketers to market them, lay foundations for social competition and reinforces patterns of exclusion and uniformity. Similarly, Thomson (2010) argues that the