The Parent Trap

Do as they say or do as they do?

Parents Want Good Content for their Kids But…

• Should cost 99 cents or free• 99 cent purchase is big deal• Involves credit card, privacy decisions

and big data.• So… most parents haven’t seen jaw-

dropping content

The Pass Back Effect

Joan Ganz Cooney

A Generation with“Free Expectations”

Only about half (47%) of adults who download apps have ever paid for one, with the rest reporting that they only download free apps.

Pew Internet Life (Check Year)

Latest NPD Data $4.40

Cinnamon DolceLatte

NPD 2012:12 Apps Mostly Free

• There are an average of 12 apps on mobile devices that kids have access to, with 88 percent of those apps being acquired for free.

• Gaming --- 6.5• Downloading music and photos

Apple Advantage?

• Mashable 2012 If you have kids, the likelihood of being an Apple household grows -- 61% compared with 48% if you don‘t.

Apple’s Cachet

• Apple Education site – Downloads have topped 1 billion, and iTunes U is used by more than 1,200 colleges and universities and more than 1,200 K-12 schools and districts. But in K-12 tablets is more adjunct than a course– Wired

• 75,000 education-related apps in the App Store)

Parents Want Safe Kids, But Few Use Protection

• More than half of parents say they use parental controls but only 40 % of online teens say that their parents use them

• Facebook users under 13• Parental Controls

Parents want toprotect their kids

• Flocking to Facebook: Parents voting with their feet

Parents Say they Want to Limit Screen Time

• The electronic babysitter• Lack of self control in their own screen

time

Want to Know What their Kids Are Learning

• Don't seek the educational reports. • Leapfrog’s most robust; little used • Will look at “creations”

Parents say they want education and learning but

• Buy tablets for learning, games and videos but kids use only 2 of 3

• Seldom check the kids usage update• Every study shows games in the lead for

downloaded apps• The YouTube youth phenomena

“Kids have enough computer time in school”

• Homes lead in tech• Will you go to school to be text free?• Digital Literacy Remains Un addressed

What parents say about charities “

• they like” vs they don’t want to pay the premium.. But they would give money to their schools

Barriers to Entry

Experts are Conflicted

Parents defy advice of experts like AAP’s: – Don’t limit the kid’s screen time because

expert advice doesn’t fit in with their model of parenting

– Half of the parenting advice written on the Internet is about managing screen time

– Ages and Stages Have Not Been Prescribed

Distribution Systems • Today’s toy store is a tough experience• Today’s app store isn’t much better• Specs, licenses and permissions are a

necessary detriment • Choice is the disease of modernity

Problem with the toy industry

Has not changed to meet the digital ageFew options for digital play without purchaseOverscheduled ChildrenFaltering economy

Unexpected Consequences: Regulatory Climate

• Hard to get data • Can’t geo-locate• Can’t personalize

The Renaissance has just begun

• Photo of renaissance

Renaissancecicra 1992

• Small installed base of multimedia PCs• Hefty price for CDs in store• Can’t preview content • Sold terribly• Cost $500,000 to create a disk.

Encarta in the Spotlight

• New consumer division spent too much on marketing

• Bet a consumer would purchase 10-20 CDs a year• Had to pay retailers to stock CDs (Egghead and

CompUSA) that didn’t sell• Suggested retail price 1993 - $395 • Achieved market share later at against Grolier,

Britannica, Compton's .sold 120,000 copies • Dinosaurs – Microsoft cost $1 million to produce

Circa 1996: The Trajectory

• CD roms were more expensive than books

• The Voyager Company and Robert Winter composer created “Beethoven” it let you play with the 9th -- $80 in 1993

• In 1990 there were 10,000 cd roms sold for mac and 20 -30,000 for PC

• 650 MB of graphics, text and voice• In 1996 100 million CD ROM players

MS in Consumer Publishing

• 1996 wanted to publisha title a week

• By 1995 there were 12 commercial dinosaur cds

• Wal-Mart's and targets placed orders for 1000s

The Microsoft Way supplied this information

End of Chapter• The market opted

for a free and freely expanding knowledge of the universe.

• MS Encarta closed doors in 2009.

The Next Renaissance

• Content • Choice (the downfall of modernity?)• Affordability• Still a Daunting Task – Low cost development– Greater installed base– How ya gonna fight free?

In App Payments

• One million us children made in app purchases in 2012

• WSJ Mom, Please Feed My Apps!• Mobile-game critters need money from

their young keepers, and parents are paying.

• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303753904577452341745766920.html

Other Deterrents

• Discovery• The fine print• Free apps set the expectation for all apps• Battle for kid’s limited free time• Immaturity of development community.

For legal responsibilities and protection: http://momswithapps.com/2012/01/08/legal-considerations-for-mobile-app-developers/

Bricks and Mortar Experience• According to Adweek, 60 percent of consumers are

intentionally showrooming• Less than ten percent of consumers are buying from the same

website as the store they are using to showroom. For digital natives (i.e. Millennials) that number drops to less than five percent.

• Can the app world use this to an advantage? Ecommerce will move online86 million Americans are using their smartphones to shop online. Will Target sell your app? Will they shop for apps? App dev are well positioned.

Parents Want

• Trusted brand• Clear understanding of

what they’re buying • Clear understanding of

what you want in return• Can there be a PBS for the Internet?

PlaySquare • The porn defense• Tactical television• Free trial • http://playsquare.tv/

• http://moonbotstudios.com/#start

• Put yourself in the story• http://moonbotstudios.

blogspot.com/

• The Numberlys• http://numberlys.com/#

• Personalize your story• Create a brand an look• Transmedia works with

a good story• Augmented reality

works with a good story

The Channel Approach: Playrific

• Personalized • Constantly Changing• Heavy Video• Aggregator of the best • Playpaks Available• Trailers • Really Good Content• Order in a Crazy world• PBS model

Parents and Kids Shared Environments

• Wishpop• Shared Wish list and

thank you cards• Personalized lists • Charity

MathDoodle

• What challenges can make magic

• Passion, empathy for children

• <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FUV-8vdaL_o?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Exploration

View The Entire Ecosystem

• Solve a problem that addresses an obstacle

• Watch a kid download a new app. You got ‘em grab ‘em. Kids don’t read the manual until the absolutely need to

• Get their parents• That store page is not an afterthought• Thinks distribution out of the box

Out of the silo

• Toy partners: InFinity Model• Ideas that work:– Mashups– Mystery– Scavenger Hunt

Credentials: The Blu

• http://theblu.com/welcome

Engagement

• MakerBot Store

• MakerFaire

Walk in Kids Shoes

• Learn something new• Outside your comfort zone• That’s hard • That’s what kids do in school• Suzuki violin was amazing