Commentary

KOL Is On The Money - But Needs Better Branding

Many are unaware America Online (AOL) launched a kid's version (KOL) of it's service last September. The features are robust and include customizable welcome screens, a new Batman comic strip, a kid's Internet radio show, and of course - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

The bulk of the content comes from underneath the Time Warner umbrella: Looney Toons, DC Comics, SI for Kids, and Time for Kids. The service is designed to appeal to 6 to 12 year old kids and comes with AOL version 9.0 Optimized.

Within two months, traffic to the site ranged from 700 hits to 2,000 hits daily. According to Forrester Research. KOL is now seeing a 150% increase in traffic.

We all saw the press that AOL lost a million subscribers last year. However, I've asked many people (including agency folks) if they know anything about KOL. To my surprise, most don't. USA Today recently spoke with Malcolm Bird, vice president of AOL's kids and teens areas and a British children's TV veteran. "This is a unique immersive experience for kids," he says. "I want this to be something kids want to go to every day, something that makes them go the playground and say, 'Did you see what was on KOL?'" Meanwhile, he says, parents will be drawn to KOL's "safe environment," made possible by parental-control features.

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AOL let us peek under the tent to find out how often this new generation of surfers is online.

  • Kids are online an average of four days per week.
  • Nearly 20% of all kids go online daily.
  • Forty percent of kids under age 12 are online, a figure expected to be 57% by 2007. (Source: Jupiter Research)
  • Kids are playing an even bigger role in parental purchase decisions. (Source: Roper ASW)

    Frequent Online Activities:

  • Sixty percent of kids use the Internet for homework at least once per month.
  • Eighty-seven percent of kids are likely to play games online.
  • Additionally, 36% are watching videos, movies or cartoons online.
  • Sixty-three percent listen to music online.
  • Between zero and twenty-seven percent of kids like to get the skinny on celebrities and music groups online.
  • Lastly, 27% look for info on movies and TV.

    Online Safety and the Internet at Home:

  • Eighty-eight percent of kids and parents talk about online safety.
  • More than 60% say that Mom is the best at using the computer in the household and only 2% say that a sibling is the best in the house.

    AOL surveyed kids and their parents in the largest 15 cities to determine regional patterns in online use among kids. The study ranked the 15 "youth wired" cities based on which cities have the highest percentage of kids online between five and seven days a week. The top cities are (with a tie between Boston and San Francisco): Tampa/St. Petersburg - 47%; Philadelphia - 45.5%; New York - 44.6%; Washington DC - 41%; Miami/Ft. Lauderdale - 39%; Chicago - 38.6%; San Francisco 37%; Boston - 37%; Detroit - 36%; Houston - 34%; Dallas/Ft. Worth - 33%; Los Angeles - 30.1%; Atlanta - 30%; Minneapolis/St. Paul - 29.4%; and Seattle/Tacoma - 26%.

    Clearly, AOL has the head start on providing rich programming for the kid's market. With kids influencing parent's purchase decisions, many are paying increased monthly fees to switch to broadband. As far as online advertising is concerned, AOL isn't soliciting or accepting banner related advertising on the site. They accept corporate sponsors. For instance, they just cut a deal with Upromise. Upromise was created to help families save for college. By joining forces with some of America's leading companies, Upromise allows families to get back a percentage of their everyday spending into their Upromise accounts. Michael Bronner, former founder of Digitas, founded Upromise.

    So they know the market inside and out, they are ahead of giants Yahoo! and MSN in regard to programming, and they are taking market share away from sites like Nick.com. Why the heck aren't ad folks aware of this? Does the fact that they don't accept banners make their sales force shy away? Agencies can cut corporate sponsorships. Jeez, we live for that. What do you think of this service? I think the service is great but the concept needs better branding and more promotion.

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