When I was a kid getting cereal was all about the toy. I'm totally dating myself, but there was Quisp and Quake cereal, and all I wanted in the world was the miner's headlamp from Quake cereal, and somehow I got one. It was amazing! Brands have long put toys and other perks in their products, from the "toy" in the box of Cracker Jack, to the temporary tattoos in your Frosted Flakes.
But I've noticed a new trend in kids marketing, brands that are enticing kids by saving the planet. So you don't get a magic decoder ring anymore, you get to save a tiger or a puffin or some other animal. Nature's Path even has it's own brand for this, Envirokidz. Their slogan is "Saving animals one breakfast at a time". This is brilliant marketing. My daughter cares more about seals, and turtles than she does about her brother (just kidding), and branding like this resonates with her. With Envirokidz, Panda Puffs help save Pandas, Choco Chimp purchase help save chimpanzees and so on. Nature's Path is even a member of 1% for the Planet, a not for profit where members donate, you guessed it, 1% to help save the planet.
If the baby boomers are the "Me Generation" and millennials are "materialistic" (hence the fascination with celebrities like the Kardashians), then maybe this is a good sign for Generation Z, the next wave. That is this group cares more about Mother Earth, and more about saving the planet than they do about themselves. If so, I'm all for this new trend in marketing and bravo to brands that are embracing it...and the kids that are living it.
