Abstract:

Advertising has long been taboo in public education, but budget reductions and shortfalls have annulated schools as “commercial free zones”: it represent the growth of “businesses that offer advice on how to sell to children.” (Molnar, 2007:7). This study is built on an analysis about the state, market and society working together and demarcates one another to enhance a win-win relationship, a legitimacy/visibility one.

One strand of my research uses the school as the unit of analysis, trying to understand how in-school marketing activities are taking place according to the headteachers perceptions in the last 5 years in Portuguese public schools (10-15 year olds). The majority of studies have focused more on a passive type of marketing, that which children see, hear and read (Alves, 2002), rather than forms of interactive marketing (Moran, 2006). Here a national survey were used to show that interactive marketing found in schools includes activities to be carried out revolving around a given company.

Other strand, looks deep in the position of directly or indirectly involved state, market and civil society players (26 semi-structured interviews were made to WFA's National Advertiser Association Member, Ministry of Education, teachers, parent/guardian representative,marketers and advertising agencies, consumer rights-related institutions, town councils, Federations) to illustrate the inherent paradoxes: How may a profit orientated commercial activity be distinguished by a social responsibility one? What are the general views of in-school marketing? Is it morally controversial? In fact different view points came up here.

Other purpose was also testing a developed Working with Schools-Best Practice Principles checklists as a business decision-making tool for schools and partners to ensure that both schools and their commercial and non-commercial partners can build an ethical and responsible relationship.

Keywords:

In-school marketing, school commercialism, child consumer, captive audience.