Play to your audience 

Editor's note: Bianca Abulafia and Sarah Serbun are insight directors at Kadence International.  

Kids are by nature honest, tiny beings (and sometimes brutally so!). Their candid thoughts are often very pertinent and revealing. But children in different cultures respond to research in different ways. So, how can we get them to really open up and provide this valuable insight for brands?

Most global CMOs of multinational companies want to nail a single global strategy which is implemented locally in the very different markets their consumers call home. But completing qualitative research across several markets without first understanding the cultural context can be rather ambitious. Mix this with the X factors that kids can be and you’ve got a whole new ball game. 

The barriers to researching children across cultures go far beyond simply obtaining parental consent. So, before diving into a new culture and attempting to dig deep into the human behaviors and motivations across borders, take a (big) step back. Really explore and understand the cultural context and then tailor the learnings to the research design and techniques.  

Children in different countries experience different living arrangements, educations and timelines for development – all of which help shape the way they develop their sense of self-expression. In the U.K., for example, kids are socialized into formal education at the age of 5, while in France, the U.S. and Singapore the age is 6 (plus they’re put into much larger class sizes). In Indonesia and Sweden it’s age 7. 

Referencing cross-cultural theories and constructs published by academic researchers can strengthen our understanding of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences such as the above. One widely-cited construct in cross-cultural psychology compares individualist societies (like the U.S. and other Western countries) and collectivist societies (like China and other Eastern countries). Studies conducted by our teams across the globe have revealed several differences between these two societies that impact research design.

In a collectivist society like Singapore, there is a strong focus on academic achievement. This translates over to the research setting, where kids are often afraid to get the answer “wrong,” so they tend to instead share the views of adults or what they believe to be the “correct” answer. To get to the real answers, the real insight, researchers should present a range of visual prompts – far more than usual – and use elevated play techniques to encourage kids to show rather than tell. This could be acting out a conversation or talking through a functional object together, like a lunch box at school. For example, a stationery brand doing research in Singapore asked kids to build a Lego scene of their classroom in order to spark conversations about how and when they used stationery materials in their classes. This technique was used to overcome the barrier in which study, rather than creativity, is celebrated in schools. Simply asking kids about the creative things they do at school and at home wouldn’t have worked, so these activities help to provide encouragement and contextual permission to contribute thoughts and creativity. 

Another example comes from a study around online video content, where the kids were asked to act out a situation. In this case, the kids were asked to act out what they had seen on a screen in a video test. This revealed how the kids felt about the content they were viewing. Interestingly, the kids who enjoyed the video content were far more likely to want to act it out, while those who didn’t were a bit more hesitant. 

Another tip is to consider a more junior research team, who are dressed down to appear accessible, to help the kids feel more comfortable and open up. In addition, if research codes and conduct allow it in the particular country, parents should be removed from the room so the kids don’t feel the need to please them around study vs. play. Check with the local recruiting firm on the country’s ethical standards to see if this is an option. 

By contrast, in an individualistic society such as the U.S., kids tend to already be more comfortable in a research setting and open to sharing their own views. Because group schoolwork is part of their grade, and because they are marked for class participation, they are taught to value and respect different perspectives as well as to express their own opinions. So, questions can be more direct to encourage an honest verbal response but the questions must be framed in context to keep them focused on the task. 

For example, when a fashion brand needed to understand the drivers and motivations behind kids’ fashion choices in the U.S., the researchers were able to ask direct and literal questions such as, “How would you describe your fashion?” Following up with more indirect questions or projective exercises is also still necessary to reveal the underlying reasons why – which kids might not be immediately able to articulate. And since kids are often shy at first, it’s important to help them open up by first asking questions about the things they really enjoy talking about, such as their favorite hobby. Individualistic countries also work well with observational techniques, to assess kids’ reactions. And finally, unlike in Singapore, having parents present in the beginning can actually help to encourage kids to express themselves. 

Cultural nuances 

In any culture, qualitative researchers should partner with a local researcher or moderator for further insight into the cultural nuances and to help minimize cultural bias in analysis. A simple tweak to a discussion guide could make a big difference in motivating participation and capturing those honest (and sometimes brutal) responses from kids. 

Age can also be a challenge regardless of the country so, to make sure the fragile adolescent years do not affect the insight, keep age ranges tight (less than two years) for groups. Try to also segment by grade in school not just by age. If necessary, two consecutive grades can be grouped together but aim for an even split to prevent younger kids from feeling intimidated. It is also helpful to segment focus groups by gender for kids as young as 8. For the older kids, use friendship pairs for teens who are more self-conscious of what they say in front of their peers and therefore less open and expressive compared to when they were younger, even in the most individualistic countries like France and the U.S.

To an extent, we also expect new technologies will help overcome some of these barriers. Kids in tech-centric countries like the U.S. are already very comfortable using smartphones and tablets to talk to others over FaceTime or Skype, so these tools can be used for research. In addition, passive tracking of devices can help to undercut the collectivist and individualist mind-set by allowing researchers to root conversations in the actual content kids have been viewing. 

Different targeting and messaging

Different cultures have different decision makers, which means different targeting and messaging. Sometimes it’s just the parents; sometimes the kids have more influence. In collectivist cultures parents influence how kids play, so they therefore lean toward toys that have educational benefits. A study for a toy company in China revealed a lot of kids actually own counterfeit versions of popular branded toys because parents consider the third-party manufacturer’s design to be more complex, offering more cognitive benefits. This means that in collectivist cultures, toy brands should also target parents and portray an educational benefit. Meanwhile, kids in individualistic cultures such as the U.S. are more independent; they pick out their own toys and are more likely to influence the decision, if not totally control it. 

So, how do brands get through to kids across different cultures? Global brands must put in the legwork to become locally relevant. Fun and entertainment are key drivers for engagement with children across the globe but understanding cultural context is compulsory for any global strategy. For example, in one study we found that kids in the U.S. view their favorite brands as part of their own identity and they like to apply their own individual creativity to product development. The same study showed that in China kids place greater importance on a brand’s ability to help them feel a sense of community, a way to fit in, and educational benefits like problem-solving and social skills. They also desire the limited edition, the new release and access to exclusive products. 

Attitudes are different

Attitudes among children are also very different and worth considering before doing qualitative research. For example, when using video content to target children, keep in mind the differences in what is considered cool. A study in the U.K. and France revealed that when watching certain types of video content online, French kids were much more likely to have more individualistic tastes; they were not concerned with what others thought of what they liked and they were not trying to appear to be cool. This contrasted enormously with kids in the U.K., although also an individualistic country, where the study showed a greater concern to be watching the “right” kind of content. So although a good start, it’s necessary to understand the particular country’s culture in greater depth beyond just the top-level individualistic versus collectivist differences. 

Although conducting qualitative research with kids across borders can present a few challenges – beyond simply gaining parental consent – the value of the insights generated is helping brands understand how children think, behave and use their products across the globe – but only when the time is invested up front to design research that will be effective in each cultural context.