Oink! teams up for fantasy finance
Oink!, the UK’s national business newspaper for children, is teaming up with the Financial Times and toy store Hamleys to launch a new initiative to educate children about how shares in companies and stock exchanges work.
The Piggybank Fantasy Stock Exchange is based on the idea of fantasy football leagues, and will be played online, allowing children to be fund managers and be rewarded with prizes including &£250 Hamleys vouchers. It launches on June 8.
The newspaper will choose 50 companies from around the world to run on the Fantasy Stock Exchange, and over a period of three months children can choose a portfolio of companies listed and “invest” in them. Listed companies included in the game will have some relevance – or be recognisable – to children, including cars, holidays, leisure, fashion, entertainment and confectionery.
“Children have great brand recognition,” says OINK! editor, Ernest Henry. “With so many brands in a child’s universe, the Fantasy Stock Exchange will give kids another way of looking at the products they see and use everyday, while developing their interest in the money matters involved in bringing those brands to market.”
Oink! is four years old and is referred to as the “FT for kids – the Little Pink’Un”. It is aimed at seven- to 12-year-olds, has a radio show – on Capital Disney with an audience of 270,000 listeners – and sponsors and advertisers include the Bank of England.
Oink! is published monthly and distributed free to schools, libraries, sports academies and participating institutions and retailers.
