What do kids want? That’s the million dollar question which is at the top of every content creator’s mind. Well the Leeds, England based research firm Dubit has the answers (so they claim). In this very interesting session pre-lunch on Day 1 of Mip Junior. Dubit’s SVP – global trends, David Kleeman made a presentation giving a clearer overview into kids’ and teen’s media consumption habits with prospective insight into their evolution as they grow older.
David mentioned that Dubit conducts quarterly and annual research to keep abreast the most recent trends in the viewership habits of kids from ages 2 to 15. And the research is carried out with a sample size of 1000 individuals from US and UK and in the third quarter the research is carried out in a couple of other ones, this time it was in Turkey and Brazil. In the presentation, he covered the top content themes in 2015, the top brands which made headlines in the ‘mediaverse’, video consumption trends and devices they were consumed on and also address the challenges which lie ahead.
“According to our research, the comedy/sitcom and action/adventure genres of programming are the most popular among the kids of today, that is because of the boys preferring more adventure oriented shows and girls wanting to watch a lot more of sitcoms. This trend will see a change with the sci-fi and fantasy genre along with horror going by the predictive and reactive trends,” he said. He further went onto explain how brands like Lego, Candy Crush and Angry Birds are very popular among all ages and gender with the reason being the visibility and accessibility to their products and games.
“Social media and games are a huge influencer in propagating brand consumption trends for kids and the youth. In a country like Turkey, Candy Crush is the most popular brand, which truly reflects the power of a brand to transcend borders, culture or gender,” he added. In terms of the changing and evolving trends, David also touched upon the importance of smartphones and how with virtual reality being made easily available by Google will become the platform to be on in the coming years.
David was also prompt on advising content creators to spend wisely when adapting their content to changing platform needs, “Its not how much you spend, but how wisely do you invest in the right platforms at the right time, which will define the success of your content.” He also mentioned that early adopters of your platform will go onto become your brand promoters, which will go a long way in establishing your brand.
David finally signed off with the thought that content creators need to be more aware of the changing trends and viewing habits of kids if they want to have a lead in the ever growing space of kids’ entertainment and Dubit will continue providing that data on a regular basis.
