Young children and teenagers might not have jobs, but they inevitably have money. GoFish intends to capitalize on this fact with a new ad network focused on online youth entertainment.
The simply named GoFish Network “will help marketers reach 17.4 million online users in the United States with a high concentration of 6 – 17 years olds,” according to a press release. Ads will be put on sites like Miniclip.com, Cartoon Doll Emporium, and Cookie Jar Entertainment.
Kid’s Site Traffic Chart
(Graphic Credit: GoFishCorp)
Frankly, we find this large-scale operation a bit creepy. Corporations have presumably targeted kids for as long as they’ve courted every other demographic, however, and there’s nothing objectionable about the advertisers GoFish identifies. AT&T Wireless, Hewlett Packard, Mead Paper, and Sony are among the most “adult” entities on the list.
Other names include Build A Bear, Lego, and Disney, which should hint at how profitable this venture could be. GoFish states, “Teens alone have a total annual aggregate income of $80 billion while the buying power of kids is expected to total $21.4 billion in 2010. Combined, kids and teens influence an additional $225 billion in spending by their parents.”
At this point, any advertisers who were skimming along are probably ready to click away and find a contact email. Have at it. As for everyone who has kids: now may be a good time to start hiding your MasterCard.