Kid/Family Social Media:  Implications for Financial Services Companies

Session Description:

Teen, child, and parent social networking will affect product development, marketing, and financial literacy initiatives. How is social networking being used, and what does it mean for you if you’re in the financial services business? Find out in this presentation by Peter Grunwald, President of Grunwald Associates.

This presentation will draw on results from the Grunwald Kids’ Social Networking Study, which was underwritten by MySpace / News Corp., Microsoft and Verizon. The study is comprised of three parallel surveys: kids ages 9-17, parents, and school district decision-makers.

Among the topics to be discussed:

• What are kids’ attitudes about advertising and ad placement in social networking sites? What do their parents think?

• What kinds of products do teens want to find out about, and what do they discuss online?

• Who are the kids and teens that most want to hear about financial services products on SN sites today?

• What are the most effective and appropriate ways to reach teens and kids with branded content and services today? How can financial services companies optimize these techniques for their own purposes?

• What kinds of content and services should advertisers create or associate themselves with to garner the greatest positive impressions for their brands? How can these content/service types be adapted to maximize their effectiveness for financial services companies?

• What features and content types are most important in getting teens and kids to visit an SN offering repeatedly and what are the implications for what to choose to build or sponsor? What are the warning signs that a sponsorship vehicle is not ‘built to last?’

• What do teens and parents think of the various premium and e-commerce related business models for financing online offerings (including rewards programs)? What are the implications for financial services companies?

• What’s the potential audience for financial literacy initiatives, and what feature types would be most likely to make these initiatives successful?

• How are kids using handhelds and cell phones for social networking (SN), broadly defined, and what are the implications and opportunities for advertisers?

• How involved are parents in the online lives of teens and kids, and to what extent are they using SN technologies to communicate themselves?

• How fragmented is kids and teens media attention span and focus, and what are the best ways for advertisers to turn this challenge into opportunity?

• What are the most appropriate ways for sponsored offerings to get mindshare during school hours, according to educational leaders and decision-makers?

• To what extent are schools driving home SN activities and other home Internet use, and what are the implications for advertisers trying to reach kids, teens, and families?

This session is appropriate for senior financial executives with
responsibility for Retail Banking, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Marketing, and Strategy Groups.


About Peter Grunwald:
Peter Grunwald is a widely recognized Internet industry analyst and researcher who is quoted in The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, and many other outlets. He has worked with online services for families and kids since 1978, and his firm consults with major Fortune 100 companies.

Peter is President of Grunwald Associates, a research and consulting firm in Bethesda, MD.
 

About Tom de Boor:
Tom de Boor is the principal analyst for Grunwald Associates surveys.
Tom has been a leader in the development of multimedia and online services for kids for two decades, beginning in 1987 with one of the first multimedia prototypes, Life Story, for the Smithsonian Institution, Discovery Channel, Lucasfilm, and Apple Computer.

In 1990, he joined Quantum Computer Services, later known as America Online, where he founded three current AOL content channels (Research & Learn, Kids Only, and Parenting) and developed service offerings that were the forerunners and initial anchors of three others (Workplace, International, Teens) Tom’s channels were the fastest growing at AOL for six years running and were among the first signature elements of AOL’s content and service offerings.

After leaving America Online, Tom started a consulting and production company, Cotyledon Productions, which focuses primarily on creative differentiation, online community development, grassroots marketing, and production challenges such as site focus, design, management, and growth path creation. Working with Grunwald Associates, Tom has also helped develop the industry’s most comprehensive database of consumer and school market intelligence.
 

About Grunwald Associates Research:
Grunwald Associates produces the most respected surveys of kids and family technology use. Since 1995, Grunwald research has generated influential national findings based on carefully designed and analyzed surveys using statistically sound methodology. Grunwald research has received testimonials and underwriting from companies such as Microsoft, MySpace/News Corp, Verizon, AT&T, FleetBoston Financial, Leo Burnett, PBS, and many others. Major national education associations have partnered with Grunwald Associates in conducting research; the most recent example is the National School Boards Association.

The firm’s current study of Kids Social Networking is the most detailed market survey of teen/child/parent/educator social media use and attitudes. Previous surveys include Children, Families and the Internet, Children on the Internet study, and the American Learning Household Survey, which defined the home market for technology and electronic content.
 

www.grunwald.com