Brands set to sponsor nursery teaching tools

Brands are being given the opportunity to sponsor teaching materials in nursery schools through an initiative between the National Day Nurseries Association and new marketing agency Zero5.

The marketing pack developed by Zero5 will target mothers from pregnancy through to their children joining nursery. The National Day Nurseries Association and fellow charity The National Childbirth Trust will be working exclusively with Zero5.

Brands that have already signed up include Procter & Gamble’s Ariel Non-Bio, Crookes Healthcare’s Nurofen for Children, Legoland, maternity wear company Blooming Marvellous and the Homeowners Friendly Association, which will market its Child Trust Fund through Zero5.

This week Family Investments said it will market its Child Trust Fund through the rival parents marketing vehicle Bounty.

Like Bounty, Zero5 will offer packs containing product samples and books of vouchers to be redeemed against purchases. But unlike Bounty, it will enable brands to stay in contact with parents as their children grow older. There is, however, controversy surrounding marketing to children by allowing brand sponsorship of teaching materials.

According to the National Day Nurseries Association, about 750,000 children attend 11,000 nurseries in the UK. The National Childcare Trust is in contact with 300,000 parents and expectant parents through its antenatal and childcare classes.