Matel Case Stusy Essay

“Cradle to grave” and “Brand loyalty” these slogans are the goal of many companies which target our kids to get us to spend our money on unnecessary things. The article “Kid Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser, an American award-winning author and journalist. He studied in both Princeton and Oxford. One of his most well-known writings is “fast food nation” and the other is “Kid Kustomers”. “Kid Kustomers” published in is one of Schlosser’s best articles, he discussed the fact that there is a market targeted exactly and specifically to our children, and this is not a new phenomenon, this way of marketing has been invented and followed for at least 25 years. Schlosser’s Kid Kustomers is a very good essay published in 1959, it has many ups and

Some companies even target little children just because they know that they are innocent and that they are most likely going to go to their parents to buy them the product that they want. In some occasions the parents are going to buy the product because they want the best for their children; which might not be the right thing in these type of situations. Most parents do not know that the companies are targeting their children and they give no importance to what they are doing. The only thing that the parents are thinking are that they are choosing the best for their children by satisfying them. Most children in this century already know what each brand is or what is trending before even learning how to add or subtract. In this type of situation I strongly agree on what Barber said that “... parents can refuse to relinquish their gatekeeping roles and let marketers know they won't allow their kids to be targeted anymore.” Moreover it explains that parents should not let their children believe what social media or producers say that they need. It is their job to teach children to know what they need on their own and not what producers tell them they

The problem surrounding Mattel Inc. is their mismanagement of international subcontractors and vendors and the production of certain toys (the manufacturing process), as well as their inability to adapt their marketing strategy or product to the constantly changing “demographic and socioeconomic trends.” This is supported by Mattel’s legal battle with Carter Bryant and MGA, their forced recall of certain toys that were manufactured overseas, and the increasing rate at which traditional toys are becoming less appealing to today’s young audience. Essentially, Mattel’s mismanagement and oversight lead to violations in terms of ethical and social responsibilities and safety standards.

The author is set out to target companies such as the fast food industry and its affiliation with child targeted advertisement. The article begins by

This paper will particularly focus on the food industry and will outline the ethical issue of food marketing towards children by reviewing the existing marketing ethics literature. The paper will evaluate the ethical responsibilities of marketing managers towards the issue of food marketing towards children and its impact. The paper will also explore and propose how managers of marketing can change their strategies to improve the ethical performance of the company by analyzing theories such as business ethics, social marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It will discuss various theoretical approaches to marketing.

Mattel is starting to take a step in the right direction, according to Renae Merle from The Washington Post, “Mattel said it was strengthening its process for preventing the use of lead based paint, it will only permit paint from certified suppliers and require every batch to be tested, company officials said” (Merle 1). 80% of toys in the United States are imported from China, according to Renae Merle, and 65% of those toys are created by Mattel. Although that is a step in the right direction, that still leaves 15% of the toys in the United States at a higher risk of having high traces of lead on them, going undetected. Stores like Toys ‘R’ Us that sell toys sold by companies other than Mattel, should be required to post the percentage of how much lead is in each toy directly next to or near the toy so that parents can be aware of this problem. If parents are not made aware of this problem, it is going to cause more concerns health wise. Michelle Albert, a stay at home mom of two children states that “I feel our country should be more careful about the things we import” (Albert 1). She fears that her children may have been exposed to these toys and has no way of knowing until it may be too late.

Companies are continuously in search of innovative marketing techniques by encouragingly establishing individuals to purchase their advertised products. As intelligent as marketing companies are, they are indeed aware of the fact that adults are more likely to watch an advertisement and detect why they should or should not purchase such product. In such instances where the company cannot reach the focus of an adult, parent, or parental figure, marketers will target young children and teens in their advertising campaigns. Advertising campaigns targeting the youth have significantly impacted the ethical consideration in the children’s market through media, ethics, as well as food advertising to children.

Marketing to children is not a new phenomenon; however, there have been many ethical debates on its rightness; is advertising to children a gentle persuasion of the innocent or a sinister threat to our society? There’s too much as stake if we remain silent and simply assume that marketing companies have our children’s best interests at heart; the truth is they don’t. This paper will explore to implications of marketing to children and the overall effects it has on our society. I will argue that advertising to children is a social problem. In the first part of my paper I will discuss why advertising to children is ethically wrong, I will then discuss what has changed; this will be followed by a discussion as to why it is a social problem and finally, I will conclude my paper by discussing what should be done to change it. Please note this paper is written in the first person as I have children and I have a vested interest in this topic.

Additional risks can be in the production itself. Toys are in a very regulated industry and any defects in production that are not within the regulatory standards can be either recalled if they are already being sold to consumers or cause the entire production run to be discarded or destroyed. Both instances are very costly but taking the initiative to create a safe work environment that is compliant with all regulations can mitigate that risk.

In 2009, Mattel opened Barbie’s first flagship store, House of Barbie, in Shanghai, China. Known as the ultimate Barbie dream house (Voigt, 2012), Mattel spent millions on setting up the most fashionable boutique where you could go to have all Barbie’s needs met for bot child and adult, to include dolls (Wang, 2012). Being that the boutique offered large quantities of products and services in variety, the company had a hard time deciding which product would catch on, how much consumers were willing to pay for the product and which ones to localize and the price of localizing in advance (Voigt, 2012). Mattel would eventually discover the magnitude of their mistakes would eventually overwhelm their ability to learn and adapt due to their dealings with too many parts moving in the dynamic yet unfamiliar market in China.. These mistakes caused them to eventually close doors two years later.

To achieve this about 65 percent of its toy manufacturing was moved to Asia where its products could be produced cheaper. In doing so Mattel now has to work within the culture of its manufacturing facilities to ensure healthy and safe operations to its employees. This means that wage, possible child labor, and other ethical issues could arise, thus as stated before the Global Manufacturing Principles were created and implemented.

In the past four years, Mattel has had to recall nearly 30 million of toys due to safety concerns such as lead level in paint, magnets and dangerous toy parts or design.

In today’s society, the food and beverage industry is faced with an ongoing ethical dilemma because they are far more concerned with making money than providing a good, safe, and healthy product for consumers. The biggest victims in this unethical marketing scheme are children. Children are the least informed and most influenced of all potential consumers (5). Although children usually don’t directly purchase these products themselves, their desires strongly influence their parent’s decision on what to buy and what the child will eat. Most products geared towards children are unhealthy, processed foods that are high in sugars and low in nutritional content (6). This has led to a rise in childhood

1. Do you believe that Mattel acted in a socially responsible and ethical manner with regard to the safety of its toys? Why or Why not? What should or could Mattel have done differently, if anything?

MATTEL TOYS RECALL CASE STUDY Product  recall:   On  August  14,  2007,  the  U.S.  Consumer  Product  Safety   Commission  (CPSC)  in  cooperation  with  Mattel  announced  five   different  recalls  of  Mattel's  toys.  On  September  4,  Mattel   announced  three  more  recalls.  Some  were  due  to  the  use  of  lead   paint,  while  others  were  due  to  small  magnets  coming  loose.             On  August  2,  2007,  Mattel's  Fisher-­‐Price  subsidiary  recalled   almost  one  million  Chinese-­‐made  toys,  including  the