Tweens' Knowledge of Marketing Tactics: Skeptical Beyond Their Years

In this study, children between the ages of 8 and 12 were surveyed with regard to their awareness and evaluation of 10 relatively new and increasingly utilized marketing tactics.

Tweens’ Knowledge of Marketing Tactics: Skeptical Beyond Their Years

Dan Freeman and Stewart Shapiro

University of Delaware

Management slant

  • As tweens' awareness of overt marketing tactics increases, their skepticism about the truthfulness of promotional messages also increases.
  • As tweens become more skeptical of the truthfulness of promotional messages, they are more likely to avoid the message or transfer their dislike of the message onto the brand.
  • Tweens who evaluate promotional tactics more negatively will exhibit lower levels of materialistic values than children who evaluate promotional tactics more favorably.
  • Covert marketing tactics-blogs ostensibly maintained by teen-age consumers, for instance,...

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