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The Sticky Methods Of Marketing Cereal To Kids

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A new study from the clever minds at the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and Yale University offers a clue as to why kids are so drawn to the famous cereal “spokes-characters” like Cap’n Crunch and the Trix rabbit. They look down on kids, literally. The researchers measured the eye gazes of the popular characters on kids’ cereal boxes, and found that the characters are essentially making eye contact at the little passers-by, who are their prime marketing targets. And, of course, what we feel connected to – which happens when someone, even a cartoon character, makes eyes at us – we’re more likely to buy.

The study, entitled, “Eyes in the Aisles: Why is Cap’n Crunch Looking Down at My Child?” will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Environment & Behavior. 

Cookie Crisp Cereal from above (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The team measured the eye angles of 57 different kids’ cereal characters in 10 grocery stories across New York and Connecticut, and found that the character’s eyes were cast down at an average angle of 9.6 degrees. By contrast, cereals that were marketed to adults featured spokespeople whose eyes looked almost straight ahead, or looked up at a 0.43 degree angle.

The team also found that most kids’ cereals were placed on the lower shelves – so, when the geometry was all said and done, the spokes-characters' gazes fell on a height of about 21 inches, while adults’ cereal spokespeople looked on a height of at about 54 inches.

And the second part of the study, which looked at brand trust and connection, was even more telling. The team showed two different versions of the Trix Rabbit to people: One version made eye contact, and another version looked downward. The participants' trust in the brand was 16% higher, and their feelings of connectivity to the brand 28% higher, when the rabbit appeared to make eye contact with them. The participants also said they actually liked the cereal better, in comparison to another type, when the rabbit looked right at them.

The takeaway messages are twofold, say the researchers. “If you are a parent who does not want your kids to go ‘cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs’  avoid taking them down the cereal aisle.” Sage advice, for anyone who’s ever had to pry a box of Cocoa Puffs out of your child’s hands.

The other message is that if sugary, artificially-flavored and -colored cereals can do it, so can the healthy ones. “If you are a cereal company looking to market healthy cereals to kids," says the team, "use spokes-characters that make eye contact with children to create brand loyalty!” Eye-contact from captivating characters could easily be used to get kids interested in, and connected to, the healthy brands as well.

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