When someone mentions ‘pester power’, the first thing that springs to mind is likely to be children hassling their parents for junk food or the latest toy or smartphone. You probably won’t think first of the positive role which children and young people might have on the adults in their lives.

However, in our latest wave of research with children and young people, we found that 11-16 year olds feel that they are having a significant impact on their parents’ interaction with charities. For instance, 60% of them stated that they had asked their parents to donate to charity and that their parents had done so as a result.

Here at nfpSynergy, we have spent over a decade researching the knowledge and attitudes of children and young people aged 7-16 regarding charities and the issues they work in. This year, we will also be asking questions to the parents of those children and young people we survey, allowing us to link the responses and understand how interaction with charities is taking place in real families. Simply put, we can no longer afford to think of children and young people in isolation. The position of children within the family and the mutual influence between parent and child has made the family a market in itself – and charities able to seize this space can benefit enormously.

Charities that engage with children and parents (both separately and as a family) can inform lifelong supporter journeys. Future brand support and cause loyalty can then be built within families; focus groups and interviews demonstrate, time and time again, the importance of family connections to brands and causes.

However, it’s not just about the long game – charities that understand the family can also reap the benefits now and those that identify appealing ways for the family to come together through fun activities or events can raise funds today. Similarly, understanding the gatekeeper role that parents and children hold for each other – for instance, the negotiations which take place when it comes to purchasing decisions – means that charities can develop and hone charitable products aimed at the family market. 

Recently, we’ve been impressed by a few charities who are making the most of this important market.

This year, Save the Children introduced ‘Den Day’, a fun, unique and easy way to engage children with fundraising early. The event encourages parents to help their children get sponsored to build and sleep in a den for the night. Not only did this allow parents and children to take part in a fun activity while fundraising for charity, it also helped parents teach their children about the lives of other children around the world. ‘Den Day’ enabled the whole family to engage with Save the Children and, in the long run, memories like this will contribute to family brand loyalty. The strength of this family-friendly event was its appeal to both children and their parents (the facilitators).

It’s no surprise that the National Trust are great at targeting families, but what has been particularly impressive is their ability to tap into how families use digital platforms. The “50 things to do before your 11 ¾” campaign challenges children to carry out 50 exciting outdoor activities. It offers an online portal and phone app for children to log onto and track their progress and, in doing so, unlock rewards, games and more challenges.

Additionally, the website also hosts a parent’s area to keep them in the loop and help them find the best National Trust sites for each activity. With such high levels of digital engagement amongst children, creating an online platform to engage children with the National Trust is a stroke of genius. It is safe, fun and encourages outdoor activities without vilifying the internet.   

Finally, there are products marketed towards children like WWF’s adopt an animal campaign.   Products like this are great at engaging children with the issues that the charity is tackling and they generate family support through joint purchasing decisions. A child asking to buy a charity product or a parent giving one to their child as a gift creates conversations about the charity within the family environment.

So how will our research with families help your organisation to better appeal to and engage with this audience? Families Insight will help you:

• Understand how parents and children view and engage with your brand – both separately and as a family
• Explore how brand loyalty is created within families in order to increase support through effective communications and marketing
• Investigate how to market family-friendly events, products and attractions to appeal to both children and parents

You can find out more about all of that here or by downloading a free briefing pack from the right hand side of this page.