Tweens 'Knowledge Of Marketing Tactics Skeptical Beyond Their Years'

Dan Freeman and Stewart Shapiro’s article “Tweens’ Knowledge of Marketing Tactics Skeptical Beyond Their Years” concentrates on the various marketing tactics used to influence tweens and how effective they are. Freeman and Shapiro believe that marketing tactics such as advertising through cell phones, movies, video games, famous people, sporting events, cartoons, television shows, local shops, web journals, online chats, and popular kids are not realized by tweens (Freeman and Shapiro 48). This argument is questionable because it is based on the fact that all tweens have access to these marketing tactics, and that they are unaware of the types of marketing tactics and how they are used at this age. Freeman and Shapiro have completed a somewhat

A study was completed to see how aware and responsive tweens are of marketing tactics. Tweens are considered to be the ages of eight through twelve (Freeman and Shapiro 44). The tweens were surveyed on ten various marketing strategies used and were asked if they believed companies used those strategies to get them to acknowledge or buy their products (Freeman and Shapiro 46). Additionally, Freeman and Shapiro examined whether the tweens were more aware of explicit or implicit tactics (46). Explicit tactics is when the information is stated directly and implicit tactics is when information is implied (Freeman and Shapiro 46). After completing this study, the authors declared , “Results showed that, for this preteen-age group (otherwise known as “tweens”), the awareness of implicit promotional tactics lagged behind their awareness of explicit tactics” (Freeman and Shapiro 44). However, Freeman and Shapiro completed this study without acknowledging that environmental factors could affect whether or not tweens are aware of marketing tactics. One major environmental factor that makes individuals aware of specific factors is an individual’s parents. Most parents teach their kids to be aware of marketing strategies as they are growing up, such as telling their children that marketers are simply trying to make money and that their products are not always