Asian children reveal extent of influence - 'Pester power' strongest among Korean kids, followed by Japan and Thailand

<p>Kids as consumers are proving themselves a force to be reckoned </p><p>with, exerting a strong influence on a large variety of household </p><p>purchases, according to Cartoon Networks' New GenerAsians survey. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>South Korean kids had the strongest "pester power", followed by Japanese </p><p>and Thai kids, in the way they influenced brand purchase decisions, from </p><p>everyday products like toothpaste to high end items like computers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Kids choose products, lobby for brands, howl with rage at 'uncool' </p><p>purchases and scream when they get the wrong toothpaste ... for the </p><p>'youth' market, it's even worse," said Mr Tim Foley, director of </p><p>regional research at Optimum Media Direction, which co-funded the </p><p>survey. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Parents and kids were separately asked to rate the degree of influence </p><p>or pester power that children have over the purchase decisions in more </p><p>than 30 categories. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As expected, kids had the strongest say in the purchase of school </p><p>supplies, ice cream, their shoes and clothing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While kids and parents don't agree on most things, they both agree kids </p><p>have a strong influence on where the family's money is being spent, the </p><p>survey found. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>By indexing kids' total weekly income, including pocket money, gifts and </p><p>jobs, the survey also found that spending habits differed widely among </p><p>kids across Asia-Pacific. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Credit card companies may want to note that Indian kids showed the </p><p>highest propensity to spend, however, in absolute money terms, </p><p>Australian children were the biggest spenders. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Reflecting their national "anabada" (frugality) drive, South Korean kids </p><p>appeared the most conservative in spending. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While kids from Malaysia and Thailand also shared a high awareness of </p><p>the Asian economic crisis, they appeared to be trying to spend their way </p><p>out of the recession. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A variety of other issues were covered in the survey, including aspects </p><p>of children's lives, their aspirations, how they spend money, and </p><p>opinions on a wide range of subjects from new technology to toys and </p><p>games, sports and entertainment, food and drinks, and fashion to </p><p>cars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When it comes to eating, an apple a day was quickly being replaced by a </p><p>Big Mac and fries in many countries. Hong Kong kids had the largest </p><p>appetite for fast food, with 24 per cent tucking in at least once a day, </p><p>while Thailand was only a few burgers behind at 22 per cent daily </p><p>consumption. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McDonald's came out as the top fast food choice in seven out of 12 </p><p>markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Coca-Cola is definitely it for kids, with 10 out of 12 markets choosing </p><p>the brand as their favourite thirst quencher, although Pepsi scored two </p><p>victories in the cola wars as the top choice in India and Thailand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The other favourite brands were Levi's, Nike and McDonald's. Acer, </p><p>Nokia, Kellogg's, Ferrero Rocher and Casio enjoyed the highest brand </p><p>recall rate. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>New GenerAsians covered 29 cities across 14 markets in the region, with </p><p>a sample size of 7,752. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>