Do children really have the necessary defences in place when targeted as the object of a marketing campaign? Parents try to protect their children from the obvious dangers such as violence and bad language but what about those that are unseen- the surreptitious ads that come on between cartoons, the sweets that are casually stacked at the end of supermarket tills and the TV characters emblazoned on cereal boxes?

We’ve all seen kids in supermarkets having temper tantrums because they want something that they have been told they can’t have and all too frequently their harassed parents giving in just to end a scene. The power that children have over their parents is amazing whether they employ tantrums, pleading or asking as politely as possible, what parent wouldn’t like to be able to give their child the world?

All of the gimmicks act as discreet messages to children linking particular products and services to a brand. But is this really an honest form of marketing? Should we be allowing children time to allow their cognitive processes to develop and to see marketing for what it is, rather than just the surface deep colourful images and clever jargon that is first apparent?

The Disney channel has announced that it shall be altering its marketing methods to account for its young viewer’s digital prowess. One of their current plans is for an interactive game show which is looking for Hannah Montana’s number 1 fan and to enter you must register online. What a convenient data capture!

It’s easy to be condemning of this practice but does it really matter as long as the product is harmless to the child? It is not an avenue of marketing that will go away so perhaps it is just a fact of life that children will have to be better informed and helped to make considered decisions rather than swayed too easily by what they see and hear.

Generation XD is here to stay, they have access to more sources and information than ever before so perhaps instead it is now is the time to help them to understand what it is they are dealing with?

It has been evident for some time that regional newspapers have been struggling to maintain the distribution that they had previously managed. Earlier this week it was announced that it is not only the small independent papers facing financial problems but in fact some of the larger national newspapers too.

Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP has said that he feels that the government should intervene and offer financial assistance to the newspapers as they did with the banks, arguing that they too provide a public service.

Many newspapers have had to look elsewhere for funding for example, charging for advertising, online memberships and access only areas, as the number of people buying hard copy have decreased.

Government assistance would not only save the newspapers that enter serious strife but would act to retain a voice for many different attitudes and opinions. Should the government decide not to take action and bail out those that are struggling, the larger more viable newspapers will surely be the only ones to survive and therefore only their opinions will be released to the general public.  

There have been those who have questioned the lifespan of newspapers since the emergence of virtual newspapers, RSS news feeds and the excessive bombardment of information we receive online. It would now seem that not only do newspapers have to fight against their online competition but this combined with the uphill struggle against the economic climate may be the final nail in the coffin that brings our lazy Sunday mornings with a cup of tea and our paper of preference to an end.

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens, whether new and creative ways to increase revenue will succeed or whether the government will step in following Sorrell’s advice.

Yesterday, it was announced that John Terry has been dropped as the England football team’s captain following allegations that he had been having an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend were found to be true.

• Should this really have been enough for him to lose his position?
• Was this really a decision made by Fabio Capello or was he pushed into it by public opinion?

In a battle to now see who can resurrect their public image and control the current situation, Terry has enlisted the help of Phil Hall and Perroncel of Max Clifford. There is now a fight to see who can retain some semblance of public dignity.

But is this really necessary? Was this merely one man committing the ultimate faux pas of having an affair and with a colleagues ex, or was there something more to this? After all, in this day and age, we the public are fairly used to these sorts of scandals, regardless of whether a substantial amount of hush money has supposedly been paid.

Could it be that this is just another case of a media feeding frenzy? That it was just a story that captured the public’s attention to such an extent that in order for the FA to keep its popularity- Terry had to go?

Is Britain coming closer to an age where our organisations and authorities are being instructed by mob rule?

Only last year there was the reported incident on the London underground where an elderly man was trying to get onto an already full tube and was rudely told by a guard to step back. When the guard was ignored he began insulting the man. A video taken on a mobile phone of the incident was released on the internet and resulted in widespread viewing. A public call for the guard’s dismissal was then initiated.

Without the public outcry that this initiative achieved the guard would most likely have kept his job. Regardless of whether either man deserve this particular outcome, public persuasion has impacted greatly in the decision making process.

But the question remains, should public opinion really be an influential factor?

During the final week of my placement I was given the opportunity to help prepare a tender for a potential new client. This was an organisation wishing to encourage students to study science and technology in their teens.

The main objective was to dispel the over-riding image of these subjects as being for ‘geeks’. This was to be achieved by highlighting successful professionals and their careers and by encouraging students to use their skills and knowledge in a practical way.

The organisation had already decided on a nationwide competition to design Olympic Games related items requiring technology based knowledge and the successful proposal would help to publicise this.

We began by examining the brief and identifying the elements that were deemed essential, from which we built a basic outline of the proposal that we would deliver. The basic form this took was:

1. Introducing our company
2. Who would be the main contacts
3. Relevant experience
4. Outline of the brief
5. Our recommendations
6. Lead time
7. Budget

We then as a team had to develop ideas to make our proposal stand out from the other pitches. I now appreciate the team itself as being the most important element of the proposal, not only the individual skills they have to offer but to be able to bounce ideas off one another and to expand on an idea when someone else may be unable to.

To do this we looked at linking the company with topical events, other companies who could compliment the drive and opportunities for a celebrity to be a voice for the company. This was aimed at glamorising the sciences for younger people and also to act as a commendation for the company, its competition and the sciences in general.

This was the first time that I had been involved in a tender in a business situation; I had only previously worked on one as an assignment for Uni. Surprisingly, it wasn’t so very different although a lot more streamlined due to the influence of my more experienced colleagues.

Following this opportunity I would now follow the same formulaic approach I learnt in my placement, trying to combine as much lateral and creative thought as I was shown. I feel much more capable of putting together a tender following this experience and look forward to trying again now that I have done so within a real yet controlled environment.

And now, most importantly, we wait to see whether we will win the tender J