• by Paul Gough , June 6, 2003

Television dominates among children 6-11 but don't count print out as a way of reaching this age group.

That's among the findings from a new research and planning tool, MultiMedia Mentor Junior, developed by Knowledge Networks/SRI. MultiMedia Mentor Junior, released in a pilot version this week, finds that the tube still rules when it comes to reach. (The data includes yesterday's media-use but doesn't differentiate between cable and broadcast). But that isn't the whole story.

"No matter what the demographic, mass-reach television does command its fair share based ... but there is a portion of the audience that's missing," said Robert DeFelice, vice president of client services at Knowledge Networks/SRI. Print still holds a key place among boys and girls, particularly girls.

"Girls, particularly older girls, seem to be much more engaged with media in general with more kinds of media than boys are," DeFelice said.

Boys spend more time watching television and video games, but girls also use magazines and the Internet more. Girls 9-11 are profilic multitaskers, with the MultiMedia Mentor Junior showing that girls often combine television and the Internet, television and radio, and other combinations more than boys the same age.

Children with cable-connected television in their rooms spend more than an hour extra with television every day. Boys spend more time playing video games (90 minutes or more a day) and watch at least 25 minutes a day of television. MultiMedia Mentor Junior finds that girls 9-11 who don't watch as much television are spending nearly half their media time - 46% -- with magazines and the Internet.

MultiMedia Mentor Junior seeks to do for the age group what a similar twice yearly study from Knowledge Networks/SRI does for the over-12 group: Provide a thorough look at media consumption habits and provide planning tools on how best to reach them.

The pilot edition of MultiMedia Mentor Junior has been released after telephone interviews with 750 children ages 6-11. It's the same type of study that has been done since 1999 with children and adults 12 and older and focuses on learning media-consumption patterns and product category usage. MultiMedia Mentor tracks six different media: television, radio, newspaper, magazines, the Internet and cinema. The data collected in the study is available to help planners decide the best way to allocate money to particular media. While Knowledge Networks has worked with children before, this is the first time that they've done such an extensive survey. The MultiMedia Mentor Junior study looks at almost everything the older-age version does, with the exception of cinema advertising.

The goal with MultiMedia Mentor Junior is to bring the same type of data on media consumption patterns and devise a strategic tool for planners, said Knowledge Networks vice president of client services, Robert DeFelice. The study was initially sponsored by Radio Disney and Starcom Worldwide; when the subscription version becomes available following a new round of interviews during the summer, it will be available three times a year. MultiMedia Mentor comes out twice a year, although the interviews go on year-round.

"That's really the thrust of the project, to help people make better decisions about media dollars," said DeFelice.

Up ahead are additional adjustments to the MultiMedia Mentor Juniors features, including tracking videogame usage as a medium. And after the 6-11 study gets going in earnest, DeFelice said Knowledge Networks is going to start working on a strategic planning tool that combines data uncovered in the over-12 and under 12 databases to create a 'tweens research and planning tool to age 17. It would be broken down to age segments, such as 12-14 and 15-17.

"Those particular groups are of great interest these days. Our work will center around time spent with media, including probably video game information and giving planning strategic planning tools against a full battery of demos and product usage that kids do," DeFelice said.