Posts filed under 'Financial Literacy'
Nintendo has found a new way to market its Wii video game console: use Alpha Moms. The December 25, 2006 edition of the Los Angeles Times reported that Nintendo has merged “viral marketing techniques with Tuperware parties” by recruiting “gregarious, tech-savvy moms — whom it dubbed ‘alpha moms’ — to share the console with their friends.” According to the article, Nintendo hired a consultant to find alpha moms “who would presumably spread the word at schoolyards, soccer fields and her neighborhood.” George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, was quoted as saying that the “vast majority of people” who would be seeing Nintendo’s TV advertisements “were not video game players, or had potentially a negative attitude about video games.” Nintendo needed alpha moms to “open up the audience’s willingness to hear from us before we started the TV advertising.”
So, the next time you hear the buzz about a new product from a friend, you might wonder whether the buzz-maker had been recruited by the manufacturer.
January 28th, 2007
We recently got an email from Sarah Bowman and Diane Phillips Shakin, the creators of Kids Off The Couch. Their idea was simple:
“A bowl of popcorn and a memorable movie. Like a spoonful of sugar, the magic of a good film will lure kids to cultural outings that are more than typical kid fare. We call these film and excursion pairings Popcorn Adventures. Together with our kids, we have pondered the universe at planetariums, explored ethnic neighborhoods and learned how our local newspaper lands on our doorsteps each morning.”
Each week, Sarah and Diane select a movie that kids will enjoy and that parents can use as the launching pad for discussions and ideas. They provide an overview of the film, conversation starters to help parents talk to their kids about the film and suggestions for a cultural adventure with your kids. For Thanksgiving week, they featured Oliver. Conversational ideas included asking your children to imagine life on the streets. How would they choose betwen long hours with little food at a work house or a life as a young criminal with Fagan’s gang? And then they offered ideas for volunteer activities between Thanksgiving and New Years. Our segment involved Paper Moon, which featured Tatum O’Neal as Addie. Tatum’s Academy Award winning performance as a nine year old con artist made her the youngest person to ever receive an Oscar. Sarah and Diane used Paper Moon as a vehicle to talk about kids and money and to offer suggestions for other films, websites and books.
Kids Off The Couch is beautifully illustrated by Laura Cornell, who also illustrated the wonderful children’s books by Jamie Lee Curtis. Right now, the website offers specific suggestions for cultural adventures in Los Angeles and New York. More cities will be added in the future. We strongly recommend that you sign up for the free weekly newsletter at www.kidsoffthecouch.com
January 28th, 2007
Earlier this year, Jon and I conducted a break-out session on “Raising Responsible Children In An Affluent Environment”at a conference sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. During the Q&A session at the end of the presentation, one of the attendees raised the issue of kids graduating from college or graduate school owing many thousands of dollars in student loans. Should parents pay for their children’s college educations or tell them to get student loans? What did we think?
In a vacuum, the issues surrounding how parents choose to finance their children’s college education would seem to be entirely financial in nature. In reality, the choices are modeling values and sending important messages to college age children. As Sue Shellenbarger pointed out in the May 12, 2006 issue of the Wall Street Journal: “Do student loans teach responsibility — or foster a lifelong overreliance on debt? Are parents who pay their kids’ way through college modeling self-sufficiency — or martyrdom? Does requiring a student to get a job during the academic year instill a work ethic — or workaholism?” What do you think? Eileen
August 14th, 2006
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story about banks and other financial institutions that are starting to court young savers. In the past, it has been very difficult to find banks that would open checking accounts for 13-15 year olds, which is a great time for them to learn how to balance a check book. Among the banks offering accounts are U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo and KeyBank. (Young Americans Bank in Denver is a pioneer in banking for younger children. Check them out at http://www.yacenter.org/.
The Journal points out that some of the banks also offer debit or ATM cards. Depositing your teen’s allowance to a checking account that comes with a debit card gives him or her an opportunity to be introduced to plastic in an environment in which you cannot overspend. After all, once the checking account runs out of allowance, the card stops working. (But be sure the account doesn’t come with overdraft protection!)
July 31st, 2006
