How children make most of power of veto

Every report I read on marketing to children talks about the importance of pester power and yours (MW September 9) was no exception.

What everyone overlooks, however, is the significance of veto power and its influence on adult purchases, particularly high ticket items. Children actively block purchases that they do not agree with and there is increasing evidence that parents are more receptive to the negative influence of veto power than the positive pull of pester power.

We have carried out considerable research in this area through our sister companies in the US and have identified that children are, contrary to popular belief, extremely responsive to brand messages and hold strong views on brand attributes and desirability. One result has been car ads aimed at children.

We believe our findings may well rewrite the rule book for many advertising and relationship marketing programmes in the UK.

Paul Seligman

Managing director

Communicator

London E2