No batteries required.

According to MSNBC.com, Toy-makers have gotten the message that Mom and Dad want to buy toys that will be enjoyed over and over: dolls, games, arts and crafts, activity toys like yo-yos, sporting goods such as scooters. Lego is doing extremely well in this economy, and Crayola had the biggest sales week in the history of the company right before Christmas, when nearly everyone else in the industry was scraping by.

But what about the must-have electronic toys for kids and teens; i.e., Wii/Xbox360?

As marketers, what will you do to your marketing strategy to increase revenue in the budget conscious present and future? We’d like to hear your thoughts.

Alicia Morga of Engage: Hispanics says that by 2010, there will be about 4.5 million U.S. Hispanic children between ages 10 and 14, a figure that is expected to more than double in 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s hard to argue that this group doesn’t have tremendous influence and will exert it more and more over time. What are you doing to target the Hispanic Tween market? For those of you who could use a refresher; Ms. Morga discusses some tips and strategies that you and your organizations can use to target this growing market.

In a recent article at the Fort Worth Telegram, they look at the new initiatives automakers are taking reach the 75-80 million members of Generation Y that are going to be in the market to purchase cars.  In fact, by 2010, they’ll be 25% of the consumers who purchase vehicles in the US.  They don’t trust sales people and automotive ads, and also tune out print ads, emails and TV spots.  Automakers are changing their marketing plans and their cars to reach this new market effectively.

They’re focusing on environments where the generation will hear their ads: social networking, IMing and wikis.  They’re finding new ways to reach out and connect.  Below are some examples from the Fort Worth Star.

BMW: Its Clive Owen Internet-only short films, directed by the likes of Guy Ritchie and featuring performers such as Madonna and James Brown, created a huge buzz for the brand and reportedly gave BMW an appreciable sales bump. The films — the series was titled The Hire — are still available on the Internet.

Hyundai: The Hyundai Assurance Program, the first of its kind in the U.S. industry, allows customers to walk away from their auto loan when “certain adverse life events occur, providing protection from financial shortfalls that arise from vehicle depreciation up to $7,500.” In other words, if you lose your job, at least you’re not completely hosed on the car deal.

Mercedes-Benz: Last spring launched a social-networking site, Generation Benz. It offers early peeks at new models. And to make sure only the cool kids get in, the site excludes anybody whose registration info indicates that they’re too old. Apparently only kids are cool enough to get into Generation Benz. “They think of themselves as value shoppers,” Phillips said. “They would buy it [Mercedes] because it’s just a good car.”

Mary Kay Inc. has partnered with Break the Cycle to create national lobbying for good initiative. This marketing campaign directly relates to Mary Kay’s commitment to women, now younger women. It seems as though Mary Kay is looking to attract the teen market and do some good in the meantime. According to their press release, Mary Kay Inc. has partnered with Break the Cycle to sponsor an interactive DVD, Ending Violence. The Ending Violence DVD puts the organization’s teen dating violence prevention program into a multi-media format and will be available to schools this year.

Good marketing and good civil service. What do you think?

TV Guide no longer includes MTV and The CW in its grid listings, even though it extensively covers such TV shows as The Hills and Gossip Girl.  It continues to carry the listings for such youth channels like The N and Toon Disney (soon to be Disney XD).  An official at the magazine cited only having 70 available grid spots for prime time hours as the reason for no longer including the listings.  See Variety for more on the story.

Could TV Guide be doing this because th next generation of TV watchers uses set top boxes or the internet to find out what’s on TV?  Do you think this was a good move by the magazine?

We’re taking some time off from the blog to enjoy the holiday season with our family and friends. We’d like to sincerely thank you for your readership and for your participation with this blog–we are thrilled with the response.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter!

We look forward to 2009 and the ever changing world of marketing.

 Warmest holiday wishes to you and yours.

Sparks, the caffeine/alcohol drink produced by MillerCoors will be no longer. MillerCoors has responded to several US States Attorneys and reached an agreement with the prosecutors about the drink and MillerCoors marketing to youth. MillerCoors has agreed to remove the caffiene from the popular drink.

Prosecutors say that the potent drink, its packaging and its marketing was a clear target to the youth market–most of whom are below the legal drinking limit.

Recently, MillerCoors has discontinued their popular drink Zima–which was accused of the same backlash.

Do you think we’ll see more of these concoctions showing up? How can MillerCoors change their marketing of Sparks to a legal age?

Please post your thoughts.

Please click here for more information.

From BrandRepublic.com 

Ford is putting mobile marketing at the heart of a campaign designed to attract young drivers to support the launch of the new Ford Ka because it believes that 18-25 year olds, unburdened by credit problems, have a higher disposable income.

What do you think of marketing to youth primiarly because they have little or no credit history? It may be dangerous for Ford–who is already barely able to survive in this economy–

It seems like Ford is preying on younger people, offering them the freedom of a car with the burden of high interest rates. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

For the rest of this article, please click here.

From Webwire.com

“PAMOJA MTAANI”(“Together in the Hood”), New Behavior Change PC Video Game Created by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and the U.S. Government is Introduced in Nairobi  as a  Multi-Player Game Designed to Educate Youth in Kenya as a Key Component of the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation

It seems that educational software that is also entertainment centered–i.e., edutainment has continued to grow despite the economic environment. I’d like to see the overall interface of this program. Does it appeal to the Kenyan youth as it appeals to American/Western Europen  youth? What do you make of edutainment? Is it a worthy endeavor or should it be avoided?

For the rest of this article, please click here.