Advertisers: Girls don’t like your banner ads! In a recent survey of nearly 500 tween girls, ages 8 to 12, FPgirl got a glimpse of why traditional online advertising to girls is like pouring vinegar through a sieve …
Like vinegar, banner ads leave a bitter taste in the virtual mouths’ of this next generation of consumers. And like vinegar through a sieve, spending money to put banners in front of kids means those messages just slip away without a trace, unlikely to register with, or be retained by the girls.
Here’s a snapshot of what our community of girls told us about banner advertising:
Here’s a peek at what the girls say to each other about banner ads in the FPgirl community …
It’s no secret that everyone here at FPgirl is passionate about providing a safe place for girls to express themselves. After all, many of us are parents of tween girls and we wouldn’t want our children hanging out on websites and clicking through banner ads “at will.”
And the data we gather from the girls in our community every day supports our view that brands must find a better way to engage with them. Native advertising is getting a lot of buzz right now, but we believe the opportunity is even bigger.
What’s especially exciting about the FPgirl community we’ve built, is that it demonstrates that there IS a more relevant way for brands to connect with kids (and really anyone!) through fun, challenging, and creative experiences … a solution that means that we don’t have to be passive consumers of marketing messages anymore. In our world, kids have a real voice and can help shape how brands promote their products, even what those products look like. More than native advertising, we’re turning marketing into a two-way conversation.
We’re just beginning to explore the opportunities with our FPgirls. We hope you’ll join the conversation and help us redefine what marketing means for this next generation of consumers!
