There’s a growing demand for qualitative research with children and young people, and rightly so. Kids bring fresh, honest perspectives that can offer invaluable insights to brands.
But because this is such a sensitive area, every part of the research journey must follow clear ethical guidelines. One of the key areas often overlooked? Incentives.
When offering incentives to children in market research, it’s not just about choosing something fun or popular, it needs to be appropriate, safe, and within the rules. Here are five essential tips to help you get it right.
Here are five key things to think about when deciding on an incentive…
Make sure it’s safe, legal and acceptable
Starting with the most important one, the number one thing to consider when offering an incentive to children and young people is that it is safe, legal and acceptable for both the age of the child and the task required. It goes without saying that the incentive offered will be very different depending on the age of the child involved – you’re not going to have the same incentive for a seven year old as a 17 year old, for example - so make sure you pick your incentive accordingly.
According to the MRS Regulations for Incentives and Prize Draws, incentives must not exploit a child’s inexperience and should always be age-appropriate, safe, and clearly understood by both the child and their guardian.
Another consideration along this theme is to be sensible when it comes to refreshments. Although children might be thrilled at the prospect of a bag stuffed full of sweets and chocolate to thank them for their time, odds are that their parents aren’t going to be quite so pleased! A general rule of thumb is to make sure it’s suitable and safe, avoiding things with high fat, salt and sugar content and steer clear of products that are known to cause allergic problems.
Inform the parent/guardian.jpg?width=320&name=jared-sluyter-342881%20(1).jpg "incentives for children in marketing research")
You should always make sure you let the parent/guardian know about the incentive on offer. In line with the MRS Guidelines, we would actually recommend informing the parent/guardian about the nature and value of the incentive at the same time as seeking initial consent for the study itself so that they have all the information upfront to begin with and are able to make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed..
Consider offering a voucher...
If you decide to offer vouchers or gift cards as an incentive, make sure you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure they won’t be used to buy age inappropriate products. Obviously you can’t physically be there when the vouchers are being redeemed, but you can try and ensure they are used suitably by choosing a voucher for a shop that sells age-suitable products. Popular options include Roblox, Nintendo, Amazon, or Love2shop. You could also consider eGift cards for platforms with multiple retailer options as this gives parents some flexibility too.
...But don’t offer the sponsoring company’s product
One thing that is completely off limits as an incentive is offering a product of the sponsoring company or a voucher that could be used to purchase client goods or services. Although it might seem like a good idea, according to the MRS Code of Conduct, offering branded products from the sponsor falls under direct marketing, not research, and may breach data protection regulations.
Don’t forget the parents!
Last but not least, we’d also recommend offering the parent or guardian an incentive too as they are likely to have a lot of involvement whilst supervising the child through the recruitment, pre-task stage and the research itself. By offering them an incentive as well it will show that you are grateful for their time as well.
Market research with children and young people is an extremely important area that is growing in popularity, but we have to appreciate it’s also a sensitive area and therefore has to be managed appropriately and effectively. If you would like to find out more about how best to carry out qualitative market research with young people, download our checklist to find out more...
.png?width=110&height=61&name=MRS%20(2).png)
