Last week Lynne spoke as part of the Parent Power Panel at
the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield.
The Children's Media Conference brings
together people who develop, produce and distribute content to kids – across
all platforms.
What we wanted to talk about was using parents at the right
stage of the development process when creating new content. We’ve been lucky
enough to work on projects for the BBC, including the CBeebies Grown Up
website, where our research started at the very earliest stage of the project
and influenced design and content.
There are plenty of examples of where parents have reacted adversely
to new TV programmes, games or websites.
We know it’s impossible to please all of the people all of the time but early
involvement in the creative process means you know what parents are thinking.
This also means you can objectively manage any negative responses because you
know you have developed a programme or other content based on what parents and
their children say they want.
As many broadcasters now develop for digital platforms one
of the questions raised at the conference was whether social media is a good
place to gather feedback and connect with parents.
We think the answer is yes. It’s a great place to listen to
what people are saying about your content. But there is a but. Not all parents are on social media, there are fewer mums and dads over 35 on facebook and just a small percentage of the UK parent population are on twitter. We need to listen to
and connect with parents from across the board, not just those online with
vocal opinions. Remember where your audience are – the school gate, the
supermarket.
Some organisations don’t think they need to bother managing
social media and that’s fine if you are Apple and have millions of brand
advocates waiting on your next move. Ignoring the voices of parents on social
media (and beyond it) is unwise simply because it can quickly go viral and
create negative sentiment that stays on the internet forever. We’re also increasingly
seeing traditional press sourcing stories and features that start on social
media, often appearing long after you think any negative furore has died down.
And what did our
MumPanel and social media mums have to say?
“It’s
interesting actually - I don’t use social media to try to influence programmes,
but I think modern technology gives me much more control over what my kids
watch - we never watch live TV, it’s stuff I’ve prerecorded or stuff off iplayer."
“If I felt
that parents were being asked opinions which would actually contribute to the
programmes and subjects covered on that childrens channel - if I knew my
opinions were being listened to and that I could in a small way help to shape
my child's viewing via this channel."
Finally, what to
remember when you are developing content for children (and their parents)…
- Involve parents in the development process – by dong
this you are harnessing and embracing parent power rather than being at the
wrong end of it.
- Utilise the directness of social media so you
are aware of conversations and trends that can then be tested in more detail.
If you’d like to know more about parenting testing and
content development then drop us a line.
We asked mums to name their favourite brands. The response was enlightening - there were two supermarkets (Tesco and Asda) in the Top 5. They were joined by three 'heritage' brands - Johnsons, Heinz and Fairy. Just over 5% of mums specifically mentioned 'own brands' as their favourites.
