• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 1, 2009

According to MRI's 2008 American Kids Study, children ages 6-11 are increasingly using the Internet  to check out products they see in advertisements. 46.3% of kids visited a Web site that they saw or heard about in a commercial or advertisement.

The older the child the more likely he or she is to take such action after viewing an ad.  Of the almost 10.7 million young consumers who report visiting a company's Web site after viewing its ad, about 1/4 are 6-7 years old, 1/3 are 8-9 years old and 2/5 are 10-11 years old.  These children are also more likely to come from households where there are no rules placed on which sites they can or cannot visit. 49.4% of girls and 50.6% of boys say that viewing an ad resulted in a Web site visit. 

Children Who Visited a Web Site They Saw/Heard About in Commercial or Advertisement
	Percent
Total Children, Ages 6-11	46.3%
Boys	50.6%
Girls	49.4%
Age 6-7 Years Old	26.5%
Age 8-9 Years Old	33.3%
Age 10-11 Years Old	40.2%
Percent More Likely They Are Than The Average U.S. Child to...
Access the Internet everyday	+48%
Have own email address	+41%
Have watched online video (last 30 days)	+41%
Report "Parents let me go anywhere I want on the Internet"	+40%
Have used Instant Messenger (last 30 days)	+40%
Have downloaded music (last 30 days)	+34%
Have downloaded a TV program (last 30 days)	+29%
Have played online games (last 30 days)	+28%
Source: 2008 American Kids Study, December 2008

According to MRI data, ad-promoted Web site visits are not the only Internet activity in which these kids partake.  In fact, children who report they visited a web site after they saw or heard about it in a commercial are:

• 48% more likely than the average U.S. child to access the Internet every day
• 41% more likely to have their own email address
• 40% more likely to use an instant messenger service
• 34% more likely to download music 

Anne Marie Kelly, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Planning at MRI, said "Many marketers... targeting adults or children, hope to drive prospects to their Web site via ad campaigns...  data clearly indicate that the younger set is pretty responsive to a ‘please visit our Web site' suggestion." 

For more information, please visit MRI here.