Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #582896 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
Paul S. Michaels Vice President Franchise, M&M Mars Drs. Acuff and Reiher's approach is a breakthrough strategy for anyone interested in the creation of successful products for kids. In the trenches on the battlefield of today's competitive marketplace, it's bottom-line critical to know that gut instincts and educated guesses can be augmented by a science-based, intelligent approach to the design of products that win with kids -- the Youth Market Systems approach.

Synopsis
Examines the cognitive, emotional, and social needs of different age groups to see why kids are attracted to certain toys and activities at different stages of life.

Customer Reviews

Feels like reading a sales pitch
Not worth it. With a title like that, you'd think the author would provide a strong bibliography, some hard-to-find figures, real-life cases... Not at all. His book reads more like a self-promo written in point form around obvious concepts. Not the kind of material we're used to coming from Free Press.

A breakthrough in developing products/programs for kids!
This book is a milestone in guiding those interested in developing products and programs for kids. Not only does in cover the nuts and bolts of marketing/promoting/advertising products for kids, but provides the reader with solid psychological reasons why and how products can be created that are matched to the child's developmental level. This in an of itself is fascinating reading and fundamentally important to understand if you are serious about maximizing your product's effectiveness. This book is loaded with age range breakdowns and vital target information, gender specific similarities and differences and other important information. Additionally, there are many actual product examples to help the reader understand the points the author is making. I strongly recommend this book if you want to understand your target audience, create and develop, powerful products and finally, watch your product succeed in the marketplace!

Good overview of stages of child development
More interesting as a primer for what different age children are "into" (or could be into) than for the step-by-step how-to sections.

I agree with the reviewer who notes that it reads a bit too much like a sales pitch; I don't think it detracts too much from the observations.