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Understanding what boys want
April 21, 2009
It seems that the Walt Disney Company understands girls and now wants desperately to understand boys as well. At least that’s what we learn in a very intriguing New York Times article, “Disney Expert Uses Science to Draw Boy Viewers.” Here is how the article begins:
“Kelly Peña, or “the kid whisperer,” as some Hollywood producers call her, was digging through a 12-year-old boy’s dresser drawer here on a recent afternoon. Her undercover mission: to unearth what makes him tick and use the findings to help the Walt Disney Company reassert itself as a cultural force among boys.”
It seems that Peña actually has a team of anthropologist who help her find out what boys 6 to 14 want for entertainment. I studied the article and here is what I distilled about what Disney has learned:
- Boys want fun with a purpose
- Boys are into personalization
- Boys are concerned with improving more than winning
- Boys have a strong desire for recognition
- Boys move quickly between types of entertainment (i.e. TV to video games to physical activity)
It will be interesting to see how toy companies employ some of what Disney learned.
Posted by Richard Gottlieb on April 21, 2009 | Comments (2)
