Just Kidding

Brandweek,  May 1, 2000  by Kristina Feliciano

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The pre-teen set is online now more than ever before. Finding the right spot for your ad in this cyber-playground requires some research, though. Not all sites are what they first appear to be.

These days, even the tiniest of tykes is tech-savvy. And it's now wonder. In our highly wired culture, it's now de rigueur for the even youngest kid to get in touch with his or her inner Web surfer. There are computers in elementary schools, computer games and, of course, educational software.

They even have their own laws. Late last month, Coppa, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act went into effect, making it Illegal for sites to collect personal information from kids under 13 without parental consent. While this means that chat rooms and some activities will be off limits to the pre-teen set, these sites are worth advertisers' consideration because of time, content and Influence: Kids can afford to idle away hours at a computer; many of these sites offer the kind of content that keeps them coming back; and there's the early-adopter factor--an effective ad can result in a lifelong customer.

But as always, not all Web sites are created equal. Some that seem like they'd be directed at kids are actually aimed at adults. For example, Disney.com, owned by the GO Network, has more to offer adults planning a visit to the Magic Kingdom than it does for children interested in Mickey and Minnie. And Yahooligansl, which was created with kids in mind, is in fact a directory--a kid-friendly version of Yahoo!--and not a destination site. Then there's the issue of quality. They may be young, but they're not dumb. Kids don't want to be spoken down to, and they know from "lame:" So, if you're considering a kids' Web buy, you may want to do your homework first.

ALFY.COM

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The Point: Provide a safe Web experience for young kids.

Vital Statistics: Launched June 1999. Owned by Alfy Inc., based in New York.

Target Demo: Kids 3-9, teachers, parents and caregivers.

Traffic: 8.5 million page views per month.

Content: Sound is an important part of this site, which includes an arcade, an artwork section and an area where kids can "play" instruments. Alfy.com also features a clubhouse offering kids' home pages and "Kids' News." The teachers' section contains lesson plans and Internet activities and this month Alfy.com will debut a parents' section. There is also a section for "Cool Sites"; Alfy.com bills itself as the "Kids' Portal Playground." Updated daily.

Look and Feel: Looks a little like a coloring book you might pick up at the local drugstore. The colors have that soft and gauzy feel, and there's a big rainbow on the splash page. As for Alfy, he's a scruffy brown dog that wears his baseball cap backward and rides a skateboard. Overall, Alfy.com is extremely gentle in composition, like baby food, which suits its target audience. Also notable: The site's interface is entirely graphical, so little ones actually could use it on their own and not be confounded.

Ad Options: Banners, buttons, contests, sweepstakes and the Alfy store. Alfy.com develops its own content, so its marketing team can work with advertisers and sponsors to develop customized promotions. Advertisers include Universal Studios, Disney and a number of smaller dot-coms.

Bottom Line: Alfy.com's heart is in the right place, providing resources for educators and parents and entertainment for tiny Web surfers. The site is still young, though. It remains to be seen how effective ads directed at adults--the real target group, as far as advertisers go--will be.

BONUS.COM

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The Point: More is better--offer tons of games so that kids keep coming back, and the bonus will be the advertisers'.

Vital Statistics: Launched in 1997. Owned by Bonus.com Inc., based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Target Demo: Kids 4-16.

Traffic: 58 million impressions per month, and more than 750,000 registered users.

Content: There's plenty here to keep kids occupied. Lots of games--2,500, as a matter of fact, from ones involving Appaloosas to others that test users' knowledge of the Backstreet Boys. Nearly 1,500 "edutainment" activities, such as current-events quizzes and "Math Genius." Refreshed weekly.

Look and Feel: A little on the generic side. Many of the illustrations look like stock; there's just not a lot of personality. Kids may not mind, however, as there is so much to do. They can be engaged by the sheer number of things to choose from.

Usability: It should be a breeze to explore. The site uses frames, and the menu options are always visible. But the site is displayed in a window separate from the basic browser window. Bonus.com calls this new window a "protected environment," which would be fine if it didn't create new problems while solving existing ones. The new window has its own navigation buttons--back, forward, print and so on--and not all were functional when we were test-driving the site. Same goes for some of the banners: clicking on homepage ones got us nowhere. Of course, this might have been a temporary technical difficulty.