Every year, parents, retailers, and morning DJs try to grapple with figuring out what’s the hot new toy of the season.
I remember past year frenzies like the Tickle Me Elmo incident that had parents paying outrageous amounts of money and running around like crazed weasels. But hard-to-find toys are something of a holiday tradition. There were those crazy Cabbage Patch Kids during the Christmas of ’83. Ty’s Beanie Babies were the rage in 1996, while Nintendo’s Wii had everyone lined up outside stores a mere ten years later. (I was one of them.)
But this Christmas, it’s a different story entirely. That’s because the hot toy for kids isn’t really any single product nor is it really a toy – it’s a hi-tech product category.
Tablets.
And the iPad is the front and center tablet in demand. I wouldn’t be surprised if you want one, too. If so, you’re in good company and on the leading edge with today’s “influencers.” That’s because nearly half (44%) of kids between the ages of 6-12 have made it the #1 gift on Santa’s List. That’s according to Nielsen research conducted in October across the entire U.S. population.
That tells us a great deal about where tastes, habits, and desires are heading. Most trends start very young, and that’s something Apple has understood for decades when their computers started being shipped en masse to schools all over the U.S. Trends, habits, and brand loyalties form in our early years – something broadcast radio should be thinking about. Check out the wish list among these 6-12 year-olds:
And even among the entire 13+ population, iPad is still #1 (24%), while eReaders and computers are tied for second place (both with 18%).
What does this tell us about the trajectory of gadgets for 2012? In this past year’s Techsurvey 7, about 8% of our sample owned a tablet. But of the rest of the population who did not, about one-fourth,said they would be very or somewhat likely to buy one sometime this year. So we knew that the trend line for tablets was going up, up, up.
But now we’re thinking that our projections were on the low side, and that tablets will become an even more important part of the technology menu, especially after this upcoming holiday season. And we’re excited about fielding Techsurvey 8 in late January to find out. By the way, this year’s survey is open to all commercial stations in all formats. This is an inexpensive opportunity to participate in the largest radio survey of all time, as we explore what audiences are doing, buying, using, and sharing – when they’re not listening to the radio. Click here for details.
The tablet revolution is upon us. Paul and I will be heading to CES in Las Vegas early next year, and we’re expecting to see a lot of these little babies. It makes you wonder at what point tablets and eReaders will reach that tipping point where newspapers and magazines will finally stop printing hard copies, and deliver their content electronically. That day may not be as far off as some people think, and it will be turbo-charged by the coming ubiquity of tablets.
And to leave you with an exclamation point, check out this photo released by the White House over the Thanksgiving holiday, printed in the Huffington Post. Note the iPad sitting on his desk in the Oval Office.
And this from a President who said when the iPad was first debuted, “With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations – none of which I know how to work – information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. All of this is not only putting new pressures on you. It is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy.”
That was less than two years ago. For everyone who thought that tablets were just bigger versions of iPhones, think again.
What’s on your wish list?
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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