When is a brand not a brand?

Discusses the importance of brands to children, and the importance of children to brands. Emphasises that children have a strong awareness of brands from a young age, and reports research on their identification of familiar brands (McDonalds was the best known). Describes a cluster analysis project on mothers with children from 0 to 4, relating the mothers’ lifestyle and demographic characteristics to their views of how their children should behave. Relates these households to the growth of preschool licenses: the licensing market targets these families and the licenses are backed up by TV programming. Concludes that the advent of licensing has fundamentally altered the nature of brands.