View Item 

Exploring Popular Children Websites - Only Fun and Games?

Access Status
Fulltext not available
Authors
Acharya, Deepa
Georgiou, Kristina
Zorn, Steffen
Date
2012
Type
Conference Paper

Metadata
Show full item record
Citation
Acharya, D. and Georgiou, K. and Zorn, S. 2012. Exploring Popular Children Websites - Only Fun and Games?, in Bogomolova, S. and Lee, R. and Romaniuk, J. (ed), Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, Dec 3-5 2012. Adelaide, South Australia: Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy.
Source Title
Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy conference
Source Conference
Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference
Additional URLs
ISSN
School
School of Marketing
URI
Collection
Abstract

This study examined two categories of websites (food and non-food) targeted towards children. A content analysis of 22 popular food and non-food websites investigated commercial/non-commercial content, time spent on the websites and a traffic based ranking gathered from Alexa.com, a website collecting data on websites and publishing website rankings. Chi square tests showed significant differences between both website categories. The majority of food website content was commercial in the form of product placements and advertisements. Most non-food websites consisted mainly of entertainment elements like games and contests. Only little content of the analysed websites was informative. The study answers calls for research investigating advertising to children on the web and provides a unique snapshot of popular food and non-food websites targeted towards children. Furthermore the study raises important questions regarding advertising regulation on children’s websites and presents opportunities for marketers.