A very special exhibition for children is held every year in Paris since 2007: Kidexpo. Kidexpo is a source of ideas and solutions in all matters related to the bringing-up of children. It is therefore aimed primarily at parents, teachers, childcare professionals ... and at children themselves. 60,000 children attend it along with 30,000 parents ... I was interested in this exhibition because
I saw in it a wonderful means of communication and education on topics as sensitive as those of nutrition or organics. But the numbers are (unfortunately) very revealing: Out of the 191 exhibitors (2009) there were in all and for all 7 food brands (Ferrero / Cereal Bio / Coca Cola / D'Aucy / Bel / Orangina Schweppes / Yoplait), and not a single distributor! Some even used the exhibition as just a platform to launch new products (like distributing free samples....).
I think that brands and retailers still have an "archaic" conception concerning communication with regard to children. The reason is twofold:
- They have not yet understood that they have an important educational role to play: the parents expect institutional and industrial brands and retailers to lead the way and guide them in the basics - how to eat well, how to respect the environment, how to encourage accountable behaviour ... but they are looking for approaches that are enjoyable, new, innovative...
- They find it difficult to accept the non-commercial: Consumers today expect a relationship that is not immediately targeted sales or marketing. They seek advice and experience. A brand like Apple has understood this perfectly (see my post of 29 June 2008): it is by being strong in the non-commercial aspects that its sales have grown.
Fortunately, others have grasped the opportunity that such a show represents.
France Info organizes programs where children act as journalists: Encouraged by real journalists who train them, the children learn to create a programme, and leave with a CD on which it has been registered.
As for the
CNIEL (a professional organization on milk), it has admitted that the art of cooking is not transmitted from most mothers to their children and, often, only the grandparents still possess culinary skills. They therefore organized "Cooking Workshops" where grandparents teach their grandchildren how to cook. They discover taste, how ingredients work ... and become keepers of a tradition.
How is it that distributors who wish to be pioneers in matters of nutrition or sustainable development do not invest in this exhibition? How is it that organic brands do not deploy a whole arsenal to teach children about taste? Though they must be careful: They should show imagination and creativity … and turn it into a real strategy!
