What Fiscally Fitter Kids Could Mean to You

Selling to Kids, Sept 29, 1999

Banks Interested, Too

As you'd expect, banks are also trying to teach kids the savings habit. United Bank in the MidAtlantic region, for example, offers a "Kids' Savings Account." Newspaper ads promoting the offer show a bespectacled, business-suited boy in a full-sized leather executive chair under the headline: "Some of Our Toughest Customers are Kids."

Although "the amount of money that a bank would make from kids is minimal," says Professor Martin, "it starts the whole idea of saving." The concept of interest, even $3 worth of interest, is powerful to them, he says.

(CSU: Allen Martin, 818/677-7252; MasterCard: Catherine Cummings: 914/249-5536; for Bob Kerrey: Adam Gouttierre, 202/224-6551; The Public Institute Forum: Virginia Martin, 202/467-2772; Merrill Lynch: Jyoti Chopra, 609/282-1059, Katie Hynes, 609/282-4089)

In future issues, S2K will continue this series about currency, which is at the heart of most marketers' efforts toward kids. We'll explore the companies that are teaching kids about investing, and how they're doing it. We'll also look at the role of credit card companies in targeting kids as current and future customers.