Specific of the marketing mix of cosmetics brands for 4-9 years old children. Case of Snails brand

<p>The problem of consumer behavior of children and their parents is still an object of interest for many researchers. And yet this problem is not fully understood, leaving many unanswered questions. But the specific of the marketing tools such as marketing mix for children&rsquo;s products is still an almost blank page, although we can find publications on the related topics. &nbsp;Taking into account that Russian market of children&rsquo;s products is growing (average annual growth rate from 2006 to 2013 is 13%) and still not saturated, the practical value of this research is important as well.</p><p>In this research we identified specific of the marketing mix of cosmetics brands for 4-9 years old children. We studied consumer behavior as the main factor for marketing mix. The case is the Snails brand &ndash; the first in the Russian market cosmetics brand from Europe for children, positioned in the middle and high price segment.</p><p>As a first phase of this research we conducted a desk research, studying theoretical works on the topic, scientific publications and statistics, as well as the corporate information about Snails brand. We made an important conclusion that Snails brand should spread their target audience from girls of 4-9 years to 3-11 years old. The second phase was a qualitative research: in-depth interview of parents. During which we interviewed 12 people from Moscow and Moscow Region to form hypotheses about their consumer behavior when choosing children&rsquo;s make up: define criteria for selecting children&rsquo;s cosmetics, identify the price sensitivity to children cosmetics and circumstances of it&rsquo;s purchase. As a third phase we conducted quantitative research to test all the hypotheses (survey for 140 people from Moscow and Moscow Region), formed in the second phase. As a result we formulated target audience &ndash; children and their parents - and presented recommendations on the formation of the marketing mix for Snails brand.</p><p>Our research still leaves field for further research and understanding of the consumer behavior of children and their parents, as well as field for practical recommendations for companies, working for this unique audience.&nbsp;</p>