The development of brand attitudes among young consumers

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine factors affecting the development of brand attitudes and brand behavior among children aged seven to 12. Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a literature review investigating the theoretical models underlying studies of brand attitude development among children and empirical studies of brand attitude development, and an empirical study using a questionnaire administered to a sample of 221 Cypriot children. Findings – Cypriot children are found to have high awareness of internationally famous brands. The principal influences on children's brand attitudes are older siblings, parents, and close friends. Brand attitudes are the principal influence on brand behavior (brand requesting and brand buying). Age is found to be an important factor affecting brand buying decisions, with older children more likely than younger children to buy brands. Research limitations/implications – Generalization of the results beyond the population from which the sample was drawn should be undertaken with caution. Further research in geographically and culturally close regions would extend this research. Practical implications – Cognitive development is very rapid in this age group, and marketers should segment for age. Younger children are more influenced by intra-family socialization factors, older children more by extra-family socialization factors. Originality/value – The study investigated the relatively under-explored pre-teen age group, and examined children across a sufficiently wide age range to encompass different stages in models of child cognitive development. The research context (a Mediterranean country) is also original.