TEEN MARKETING

INTRODUCTION Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Teens ages 12 to 19 soared to 32 million, an increase of nearly 4.5 million. Their 17 percent growth rate far outpaced the growth of the rest of the population. Needless to say, it is facing a massive population shift. With this large number of Teens on the cusp of becoming young adults, the behaviors and attitudes they exhibit now are important to marketers in the present and in the years to come.The current Teen market represents the most multicultural population. It differs from previous generations in other distinctive ways as well. While today’s Teens exhibit a strong need for individuality in their self-expression, they also display a deep attachment and respect for family. In addition, they marry an interest in fashions of the moment with a sincere desire to purchase products from companies that have a social conscience.Teens are also a robust part of the economy. They have a significant income of their own to spend and also wield increasing influence on household purchases. For example, in 2003, nearly half — 47% — of 9- to 17-year-olds were asked by their parents to go online to find out about products or services compared to 37% in 2001. This Teen Market Profile is designed to help marketers understand and connect with Teens effectively. It includes a Teen market overview, an examination of the media habits of Teens, and evidence about how magazines reach, connect, and influence Teens and their purchase decisions.Market DefinitionThirty-two million strong, the Teen market is a force to be reckoned with. Teens are active consumers in terms of the money they spend, as well as in the influence they wield in their families and on societal trends. Despite be ing raised in a period of rapid change, they display a remarkable self-confidence in their judgment. Teens do their research prior to making large purchases because they want to make informed decisions and are particular about what they buy.With eight out of ten Teens reading magazines, this medium is one Teens depend upon to become informed. And the numbers show Teens reading a wide variety of magazines. In addition, Teens trust advertising in magazines the most — more than television, radio, or the Internet — and Teens tend to multitask less when they read magazines than they do with other media.Teens are a diverse, vibrant, growing, and crucial market in the world today. Their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors will affect the marketplace for many years to come. With their considerable trustworthiness, reach, and effectiveness, magazines remain a powerful way to connect to this valuable market.

The current Gen Y teenagers are the hottest demographic segment in the world worth many billions. Teens have become the targets of the marketers due to

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rosy revenues that can be generated from them as they are the adult consumers of the future, as they build the brand loyalty and lend recognition to the products they use and prefer to have. But marketing to them is not as easy, as the teen consumers are unique in terms of attitude, communication and purchasing power. It requires special tricks to be in connection with them and to market their products/services. The success of teen marketing campaigns lies solely on two components – the delivery mechanism and the messenger. A teen’s consumer behavior is very much influenced by the heavy advertisements done by the company marketers and the promotion buzz of their reference groups. Television advertisements plays a major role in introducing the new products/services and in reinforcing the sale of existing products offered to this target segment, which in turn influences their shopping decisions and helps them make a better choice while buying the products. A company can be successful if one is willing to capitalize on the linkage between teen marketing and increased profits.

Marketers adopt various marketing strategies to reach and market their products to the teenagers. Lot of marketing and promotions are being done at places where they are more generally seen or hang out – schools, colleges, streets, malls, restaurants, dance floors and coffee shops. The product information can be made to reach this highly sought-after target market not only through TV ads but also through various other ways as they are the ardent users of latest technologies and equipments like mobiles, the Internet, and the use of web2.0 technologies like – Blogs, social networking sites, podcast and vodcast. Being brought up in a digitized age, they have all the information at their fingertips as they are well connected with rest of the world via Internet. Such being the nature of this teen customer segment, targeting them requires knowledge of various tricks or ways. The prevailing trends and benefits, led to revolutionizing the marketing arena for the marketers and made many big and small companies use the Internet for marketing to teenagers and influence their buying patterns through improved accessibility on 24x7 bases at less cost.

On the flipside, some of the marketers are using advertising that is adult-like in content. The TV commercials aimed at teenagers by the tobacco and liquor industries to promote their products, has become the hot discussion of families

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that form the target market towards which the marketing companies need to be morally conscious. If the marketers are ethically strong in their practices and sincere in their effort to build a good relationship based on trust with teens, it will certainly lead to long term business success and increase the ROI as teens are exceptional practitioners of “viral marketing” and are future brand loyalists.

“Advertisements and Adolescence: The Impact of Advertisements on Teenagers” is an invited article written by M S Sivakumar. It highlights how television and advertising together have become an integral part of modern society and a most convenient route to reach the teenage consumer. It details how adolescents are being manipulated by promises made in advertisements and how it impacts upon the buying patterns of the teenagers. The article details the factors that influence their purchase of different items and their preference to buy a product.

The next article “How Good a Shopper Am I? Conceptualizing Teenage Girls’ Perceived Shopping Competence” penned by Lynnea Mallalieu and Kay M Palan and sourced from www.amsreview.org examines how teens define a competent shopper and how they perceive themselves as shoppers within their own normative framework of shopping competence. It helps to understand the shopping behaviors the teens exhibit, the purchase decisions they make and the limitations they feel they must overcome in order to become fully competent shoppers.

The outcome of various brand relationship studies has been that a remarkable part of consumers stay loyal to their childhood brands, so brand marketers are understandably motivated to influence future consumer as early as possible. The author Samil A Aledin in the article “The Meaning of Brands at Early Teenage: Brands “in Private” and in Social Interaction” sourced from www.cbs.dk reveals that teenagers prefer rational, price- and quality-conscious consumption, to more spontaneous and emotional “gotta have it” approach. The article highlights brand relationships, characteristics of Finnish teenage consumption, youth brands, and throws light on teenage consumers,

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their self identity and social identity. It explains the marketing environment to teens like the promotional action, advertising and distribution of a brand.

The objectives of the marketer are to make the youth enlightened consumers of the society and turn them into ‘aware adults’. The last article in this section “Children and Business: Ethics of Marketers” authored by Debdatta Gupta and sourced from Icfai Press highlights the urgent need for the marketing industry to lay the foundation of a code of ethics as the adolescents have become the target of the malpractices by the marketers. It talks about the role of the marketers and their decision-making responsibility and the organizational ethics of a company. The article concludes that parents and teachers should take proper steps to make their children aware of the advertisements and their impacts.

The first article in section II “What’s With These Kids Today?” is written by Jay Thomas and sourced from www.pmq.com. It highlights the necessity of the retail and restaurant markets to take this teen’s demographic segment seriously. It points out the fact that price is an important factor for the teenagers and they want to get the most for the cheapest price. With the help of examples the article discusses some successful strategies for teen marketing.

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A Teen Marketing Hedge Fund Disclaimer

by Jeffrey K. Rohrs and Morgan Stewart, Thursday, July 8, 2010

While watching television the other night, I wandered into an ad for some financial services firm seeking to get me to put my hard-earned cash in some sort of investment. What caught my attention was the lightning-fast disclaimer rattled off at the end -- something we've all heard a million times before in similar commercials.

Past performance is not an indication or guarantee of future performance.

It's such a beautifully simple disclaimer that I find it hard to believe a lawyer wrote it. In fact, it must have been written by a marketer -- probably a marketing researcher who once had the formidable task of trying to extrapolate long-term marketing technology trends from the behavior of teens.

I imagine that this marketer went about his task with incredible diligence. To really know teens and the impact they would have on society, he probably conducted countless surveys, observed their use of technology first-hand, and crunched data until the wee hours of the morning. At the end of this quest for truth, he also probably prepared an impressive tome filled with findings about the attitudes of teens from his era and how their free-wheeling use of technology would radically change the world as we know it.

And then, the teens got older. Some went to college while others entered the work force. Still others married and had kids. And all of them gained new responsibilities -- fiscal, social, and personal -- that dramatically altered the behaviors and attitudes they displayed mere years before when they were carefree teenagers. They still used technology, but now the social and entertainment aspects were shaped more by work and family and bills.

Rather than panic, the marketing researcher continued to observe until one day, he returned to his office and wrote that profound statement that inspired a million financial services disclaimers:

The past behavior and attitudes of teens are not indicators or guarantees of their future behavior as adults.

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"the next big thing," we run the risk of losing sight of the biggest influence on consumption -- life stage.

Pundits continue to make proclamations about the future of media based on the habits of teenagers, all the while forgetting this important fact: Teens are in the midst of a life stage distinct in its absence of adult responsibilities and abundance of energy devoted to friends and entertainment.

Move ahead just a few years to the twenty-somethings, and you find a vastly different landscape. There's less time for games, friends, and play. These pastimes are replaced with real world responsibilities such as work, family, and bills. And these responsibilities require different modes of communication. It's not generational, it's relational -- and marketers who fail to understand the difference run the risk of betting their portfolio on past performance rather than future realities.

Two weeks ago, just after Facebook's COO proclaimed that "email is probably going away" based on her observations of teens, I sat next to a young woman who had just graduated high school. In the midst of a two-hour conversation I learned that in an average month she sent and received over 20,000 text messages. When I asked if she ever used email, she informed me that she "was learning" -- while she never really needed it in the past, she knew that she would need to use it as she moved away from home and entered college.

Are there generational differences that impact marketing? Sure. Do teens require a different touch from marketers? Absolutely. Marketers need to be especially creative when talking to teens -- the audience has its priority on building personal relationships, not building up loyalty club points or looking for discounts.

However, just because teens communicate primarily through texting and social networking sites does not mean these embody the entire future of one-to-one

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marketing. At least no more so than the fact my generation talked incessantly on the phone meant the future was in telemarketing.

To be successful marketers we must not get so caught up with youth fad-finding and trend-spotting that we abandon the one thing that shapes generation after generation -- the responsibilities we gain from life stage to life stage.

Mobile Marketing : May 12, 2010

Survey: Teens talk text

When it comes to conversation, teens are as likely to text to communicate as the actually speak. That, according to a recent survey by teen marketing hub ChaCha. The platform polled teens to determine how they prefer to communicate. With so many noting a preference for text it then makes sense for marketers to utilize the medium.

by Kristina Knight

Researchers polled about 1500 teens and young adult consumers. They found that nearly 68% prefer to communicate via mobile text. Mobile calls/voice ranked second with about 10% of the vote. Nearly 9% of the youth market prefer to communicate via Facebook, but only about 3% communicate via instant message.

What does this mean for marketers? The potential to reach into the youth marketplace for clothing/apparel brands, tech brands or even mobile companies is quite strong. In the past research has shown that teens and early-twenty-somethings are rarely without their mobile devices and most are open to ad messaging for brands or products in which they are interested.

A recent comScore report found that there are 234 million teens and young adults who are mobile subscribers with nearly 64% reporting that text options are the most important/most used features on their phones. Nearly one-third (30%) are also using the mobile browser or downloading apps (28%).

"Teens rely on their mobile devices as their primary medium, and they ask ChaCha over a million questions each day providing insights on their brand attitudes and actions," said Scott Jones, CEO of ChaCha. "For example, traffic patterns can be analyzed to determine the impact of a particular ad campaign,

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ascertain the popularity of different TV shows among the youth segment, and even to determine regional interest levels for a particular product."

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Gender, Behavior Influence Teen Buying

Sept 22, 2009

- Stacy Straczynski

Marketers may want to fine-tune their advertising to target “jockettes” and “young metrosexuals.” These are the two largest teen segments, according to new behavioral segmentation created by Euro RSCG Discovery.

Euro RSCG Discovery teamed with American Student List, a youth and teen marketing data provider, to develop "Teen Segments." The behavioral marketing segmentation identifies 11 key teen markets based on demographic and psychographic characteristics, which are meant to help marketers better target direct marketing communications to teens, according to Euro RSCG Discovery. The segmentation is comprised of six male and five female groups.

When it comes to teen males, the behavioral segmentation findings show that "young metrosexuals," those classified as individuals who focus on their outward appearance, make up more than 25 percent. The other male segments include "big man on campus," "technosapiens," "red-blooded boys," "tuned inward" and "under construction."

"Jockettes," young women who embody active lifestyles and participate in sports, are the most common female segment that makes up over 25 percent. Girls are also categorized as "in-style socialites," "most likely to succeed," "style meets thrift" and "traditionalists."

“Brand marketers that target teens have so many variables to consider, including their interests, brand loyalties, shopping behaviors and Internet usage,” said Don Damore, CEO of ASL, in a statement. “This segmentation breaks down not only what teens are interested in, but where and how they shop, and how they respond to direct mail, digital advertising and in-store marketing. It also shows how teens use different forms of traditional and new media.”

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The segmentation data found that gender influences teen buying habits. Fourteen percent of both male and female teens shop online, but are more likely to make in-store purchases. Despite increases in teen Internet usage, most still rate traditional media—TV, radio and magazines—as their most trusted sources of information; however, online sources did dominate some male segments.

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Advertising to Teens

Why and How Marketers Target Teens and Kids

Feb 23, 2007 Susan Carney

Confession: I Love Magazines - Astrid Hagen

Kids and teens are a valuable market to advertisers. Helping them become more critical of marketing messages can help protect them from exploitation.

Why do marketers love teens? A number of reasons. They have money to burn, and the items they buy are largely “luxury” items, like clothing, electronics, and music. They make many, if not most, of their purchasing decisions independently. And they have significant influence on family purchases. Perhaps most importantly, companies know that once they have “branded” a child, he or she is likely to be a customer for life, or from “cradle to grave.”

How do they reach kids? Everywhere. Advertising is in magazines, movies, TV shows, and on the internet. Licensed products, in the form of clothing, toys, and accessories, abound. Schools make deals with soda companies and sell naming rights to their gyms to the highest bidder. Companies glean important demographic info about kids spending habits from seemingly innocuous internet “quizzes” and “surveys”. Marketing comes at kids from all directions, twenty-four seven.

How do marketers do it? They know how to capitalize on important teenage issues and anxieties, like body image, peer acceptance, coolness, and a need for power. They use these themes repeatedly in advertising geared towards children and teenagers. Marketers also often hone in on themes and attitudes that parents might find inappropriate or offensive, like sex or alcohol and drug use, further escalating the “coolness factor” of the product.

Why is advertising so effective? Advertising works best when it creates insecurity about something, such as appearance. A successful ad convinces the viewer that they have a problem that needs fixing, and then proposes to offer the solution, which just happens to be the product they are selling. The message is that teens aren’t good enough the way they are. Many kids unwittingly buy into that message, and as a result, end up being hypercritical of themselves because we don’t fit a certain “image” that they believe is necessary for their happiness.

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Marketing To Kids and Teens

Diversifying for Long-Term PPC Search Marketing Effectiveness

Developing Copy for Pay-per-Click Advertisements

This generation of kids is growing up in what is perhaps the most materialistic society we have ever had. They are surrounded by images of excess and the idea that buying “things” will bring them satisfaction. They are given things easily and rarely have to delay gratification. Worst of all, many of the things that are advertised to teens do not promote healthy development.

How can you help? Teens need to become more critical viewers of advertising. Help them recognize what’s behind the hard sell. Ask them to identify the themes the advertiser is using to try to connect with them. Ask them to point out what “need” is being projected that the product can supposedly “fill”. Is the product really going to have the impact that the ad implies?

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A survey released by virtual world Habbo has revealed that over half of teens say that brands do not influence their purchasing decision – but familiarity with brands is key.

According to a report from Revolution magazine, The Global Habbo Youth Survey (GHYS) Brand Update 2009 found teens have complex and often contradictory relationships with brands.

The survey, which questioned 112,000 teens online from over 30 countries, found 61 percent prefer brands targeted specifically at them, but half said they do not want to buy the same brands as their friends.

According to the survey, close to two-thirds of teenagers said they always buy their favourite brand, but half said brands do not influence their purchasing decisions. The survey also confirmed familiarity is important to teenagers when making purchasing decisions.

Teens in the US and UK see brands as a way of defining individuality and standing out from the crowd, whereas teens in other markets use brands to show membership of a certain group.

The Habbo online survey found that teens favour the following brands:

WebsiteGirls - BoysYouTube - YouTubeFacebook - FacebookMySpace - GoogleGoogle - RunescapeBebo - Minijuegos

ClothingGirls - BoysH&M - NikeZara - AdidasRoxy - LacosteD&G - BillabongBillabong - DC

ShoesGirls - BoysConverse - NikeNike - Converse

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Adidas - AdidasPuma - PumaVans - Vans

SportswearGirls - BoysNike - NikeAdidas - AdidasPuma - PumaHummel - UmbroConverse - Under Armour

Personal hygieneGirls - BoysNivea - AxeL'Oreal - NiveaAvon - GatsbyDove - GarnierHabbo — an international online virtual world for teenagers with (according to their own numbers) 135 million registered viewers — recently released its Global Habbo Youth Survey Update 2009. The survey incorporates data from 112,000 teenagers across thirty different countries (ages 11-19) about their favorite brands. Following is a list of these brands for your viewing enlightenment, but first, let’s take a look at the buying power of teenagers in the US to underscore the relevance.

According to a 2004 article entitled "Driving teen egos--and buying--through branding," teens influence 600 billion dollars worth of spending every year in the US, and a 2008 study by the market research firm Harris Interactive cal"Youth Pulse" posits that teens have a literal purchasing power of 132 billion dollars annually—that "the influence they exert on their families’ purchase decisions is enormous." (Which is not necessarily news to many reading this.)

Wow. To think that today’s teens with their hyper-solvency could have single-handedly bailed out AIG. Here’s the list:

ElectronicsSonyAppleNintendoSamsungHewlett Packard

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WebsitesGirls | BoysYouTube | YouTubeFacebook | Facebook

ClothingGirls | BoysH&M | NikeZara | Adidas

ShoesGirls | BoysConverse | NikeNike | Converse

SportswearGirls | BoysNike | NikeAdidas | Adidas

Personal hygieneGirls | BoysNivea | AxeL'Oreal | Nivea

It’s interesting to note that according to CNET News Sony started to develop its marketing strategies specifically for capturing the online hive mind of the teen market as far back as pre-2K. Looks like it's paid off for them.

And by the way, don’t worry if your brand isn’t on today's top teen fave list" — in today's hyper-faddish, jump-cut culture, it'll probably change again by tomorrow.

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SNAPSHOT OF THE TEEN MARKETWhy Focus on Teens?Beyond the growth in the Teen population, marketers cannot afford to ignore Teens for numerous other reasons. This growing powerbase of spenders and influencers are important because they:¡ Have significant discretionary income�¡ Spend family money as well as influence their parents’ spending on both large� and small household purchases¡ Establish and affect fashion, lifestyle, and overall trends�¡ Provide a “window” into our society — a view of how it is now, and what it is� likely to becomeLifestyle, Attitudes, BehaviorsToday’s Teens live in a time of sweeping technological advances, relative affluence, and a flattening divorce rate. Consequently, their attitudes and cultural awareness exhibit a number of distinguishing characteristics. For example, they:¡ Are realistic and optimistic with a strong sense of individualism, but not with �the fierce independence of the previous generation¡ Like to be in control and are “hip to hype,” but not to the point of cynicism�¡ Want and expect to have control over their media experiences�¡ Have access to evolving and new technologies — such as DVRs, instant �messaging, and wireless phonesMany Teens feel that “most grownups are really stressed out,” and they don’t want to follow this example. “Being really good at your job” and having “control in your life” are important components of Teens’ definition of success. But, they also value relationships — family is very important to them, and a good marriage is a sign of success.

Teens today understand the need to be able to turn on a dime because they live with short-term change and volatility on a day-to-day basis. Unlike previous eras, Teens also live with paradox, realizing that their choices are filled with a mix of good and bad. Even so, they have a strong sense of empowerment and believe that they can conquer any challenge, actively seeking out causes to support. They are self-assured, with three-quarters or more of them agreeing with the statements “I trust my own judgment a lot” and “I have a very clear idea of my objectives and goals in life.”Sources: Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), October 2003; Yankelovich Youth Monitor as cited in MediaPost’s MediaDailyNews“Echo Effect: A New Generation of Media Users, Ad Distrusters” 2/17/04

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About Themselves86% People should be free to look, dress and live the way they want whether others like it or not80% I have a very clear idea of my objectives and goals in life75% I trust my own judgment a lot70% On things very important to me, I always tell the truth68% I often buy a different brand just to see what it is like67% Most grownups are really stressed out62% I’m smarter than most kids my age

Teens and EducationToday’s youth may well end up being the most educated generation to date. Nearly nine out of ten 17- year-olds plan to attend college — and these are the Teens whose advanced education decisions are on the immediate horizon. Younger Teens plan to attend college at even higher rates. Only 26% of the 75-yearold and older crowd attended college for any amount of time as compared to 59% of 25- to 35-year-olds.

¡ � Teens are a growing market. The Teen population will expand from 32.4 million in 2000 to 33.5 million in 2010.

¡ � Teens have money to spend. As Teens age, their yearly discretionary income increases from nearly $1,500 at age 12 to 13 to nearly $4,500 by age 16 to 17. As a group, Teens of all ages spent a projected $112.5 billion dollars in 2003.

¡ � Teens influence household spending. Parents consult the computer and market-savvy Teens in their households for large and small purchases.Market Challenges

¡ � Teens have more choices than ever. How will advertisers get — and keep — Teens’ attention in the face of so many products vying for their attention?

Teen Marketing? Fo’ Shizzle Dizzle

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by Mitch McCasland

February 10, 2004

In the days before format radio, I listened to KLIF-AM in Dallas. KLIF played an amazing array of music not found on commercial radio stations today.

I particularly liked the R&B program hosted by Cousin Lenny. He began his broadcast at 10:00 p.m.—about the time I was supposed to be in bed sleeping. I’d pull out my blue Panasonic Toot-A-Loop radio and lie there listening to Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, The Stylistics and other R&B legends.

That was about the time I started taking drum lessons. Much to my parents’ regret, I actually stuck with it. During the decade to follow, I studied and performed classical, jazz and rock. But still I loved R&B.

Over the years, I have cultivated an appreciation for R&B and its offspring, including hip-hop, house, rap and urban, in general. A benefit of my musical upbringing and interest has been a greater ability to understand youth culture in a manner that is decidedly non-adult-like.

In the research I conduct for Fortune 500 brands, this has been particularly helpful.

Why? Because in recent years not only has urban style become a part of mainstream music, fashion and culture, but also urban values have become drivers of trends in America. Many teenage consumers are in the sweet spot of this important segment.

Simply put, teens are the consumers of today and of the future. When a brand connects with a teen, it could tap into a lifetime of loyalty. On average, US teenagers have more than $90 per week in disposable income. This astonishes uninformed marketers who believe that teens have no purchasing power. In reality, teens have more than $190 billion annually in primary purchasing power and influence.

A skeptical client once remarked, “Yeah, but teens purchase only video games and pizza… they don’t really buy expensive items.”

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That depends on whether your definition of expensive would include a $160 pair of Nike Shoe or a $300 MP3 player.

Like most consumers, teens will spend disproportionately larger dollars in those categories in which they have a high degree of interest or involvement. Those categories include footwear, clothing, music, mobile phones, home electronics and entertainment.In the beverage category, Sprite learned the strategic importance of teen marketing more than a decade ago when it tapped into America’s youth with its “Obey Your Thirst” campaign. As a basis for its strategy, Sprite relied on consumer research that revealed vital insights:

Brand preference patterns are formed during preteen and teen years. As young consumers grow older, they have greater access to money. Increasingly, they are able to make their own decisions about brands. Preferences and habits are formed that extend into their adult lives.

Young consumers recognize when they are being courted by marketers. They are often skeptical and very aware of what they see in advertising.

These insights led Sprite into a long-term brand strategy and advertising campaign in which sports celebrities spoofed traditional product endorsements. Beneath the blatant and humorous advertising was the real message to young consumers: “Marketing is nothing—Taste is everything. Don’t believe the hype—Obey your thirst.”

This message bucked the marketing system and led Sprite into market share leadership.

Teen Marketing Tips

Apr 22, 2010 Brian Theriot

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Teens Are Hip, Fast, and Aloof - Brian Theriot

Attracting and understanding teen consumers starts with the marketing premise that teens want immediate satisfaction in a high tech world.

Whether you are Nike, Adidas, Red Bull, or face being saddled with the mundane task of attracting teens to enroll in your college or university, the teen audience is a tough crowd to capture.

Marketing professionals focused on the teen consumer must have an understanding of social media, online sites, virtual worlds, YouTube, twitter, facebook, MySpace, and text messaging, the latter being the number one vehicle of teen communication.

Teens Are Fast In Life

Teens are fast moving multitaskers. Capturing their attention for any long period of time is a thing of the past. Kids from age 8 to teens up to age 19 are experts in virtual communication. Knowing this fact can help you establish teen marketing success.

Teens want to be a part of the action. Look at YouTube, millions of teens are searching for attention and posting grabby little videos touting their lifestyle, wants, needs, and emotions. It is important to engage the immediate audience with interactive contests, voting challenges, and to empower the teen audience with the opportunity to help a company with new ideas, commercials, and brand names. There is a marketing reason behind the interactive voting model showcased by television’s number one show American Idol.

Engage The Teen Consumer

Many companies are creating teen board of directors both nationally and internationally with perks to each member. Companies now have a little teen think tank interacting from all parts of the world with marketing specifics relevant to their market.

Engage the teen audience and make them a part of product development, advertising, or product launch solutions packages. The only fear a company can have is its own fear of having to interact with real live teen consumers.

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Teens have no patience and want content, product, services, clothes, and personal items on demand. Look at the craze over Ebay and the ability to buy now and buy fast. Teens pre-buy movie tickets. Reserve tickets for many events online. Teens don’t want to wait in line. The corporate message to teens across all fronts: “There is no wait…get it now…you are first in line”.

The teen quest for immediate satisfaction applies to personal entertainment. Look at the success of the wildly interactive Halo video game within the online gaming world or Call of Duty, both are online killing games, where teens can blast away with guns, bombs, and stealth versus live game players across the world. Emotion and satisfaction is sold in the gaming world by the same marketing message of “get the feeling and satisfaction now”.

Twitter, the instant messaging craze is another example of get the feeling now and converse now. Twitter teens do actually want to know what hipster stars such as Paramore, Panic!at the Disco, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Cobra Starship, Miley Cyrus, Tokio Hotel, Muse 3oh!3, and Justin Bieber are all doing each hour of the day. Immediate satisfaction is the luxury of Twitter.

Marketing to the Teen Brain

by on 11 September, 2006 - 10:13

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by: Roger Dooley

Any parent whose kids have reached teenage years can tell you that teens think differently than adults. Now, neuroscientists are finding just how differently the teen brain works.

Of particular interest to those involved in neuromarketing and neuroeconomics is that the areas of the brain used to make decisions differ between teens and adults. From Why adolescents put themselves first in New Scientist:

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a cognitive neuroscientist from University College London, UK, has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 19 adolescents (aged 11 to 17) and 11 adults (aged 21 to 37) whilst they were asked questions relating to decision-making. Questions such as: “You’re going to the cinema, where do you look for film times?”

Blakemore found that teenagers rely on the rear part of the mentalising network to make their decisions, an area of the brain called the superior temporal sulcus. In contrast, adults use the front part, called the prefrontal cortex.

The superior temporal sulcus is involved in processing very basic behavioural actions, whereas the prefrontal cortex is involved in more complex functions such as processing how decisions affect others. So the research implies that “teenagers are less able to understand the consequences of their actions”, says Blakemore.

Other tests showed that teens were slower to respond to questions about the feelings of other people than adults were, implying that the adults were more readily able to put themselves in the position of others.

What’s the marketer to draw from this preliminary work? I’d say the key takeaways are that teens tend to be more self-centered in their decision making and that they employ fewer cognitive processes in their decision-making. (Feel free to exclaim, “Well, duhhhhhh!”) These conclusions won’t be a surprise either to parents or to marketers already selling to teens, but it’s interesting to get a better understanding of the underlying neuroscience. The work suggests that marketing pitches based on comparative data or other

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information that requires cognitive processing are less likely to work with teens even if they test well with adults.

I’d be a bit cautious about applying the conclusion that teens are less likely to be concerned about the feelings of others. While it’s probable that their altruistic inclinations and overall emotional intelligence are indeed less developed on average than those of adults, that doesn’t mean that teens are oblivious to how others react to them. A parent who has tried to convince a teen that a non-iPod MP3 player is better than a more costly Apple product with fewer features, or that a well-made pair of unbranded jeans will serve just as well as the pair with the trendy designer label that costs three times as much, knows that teens are excruciatingly aware of how their social peers will react. In the complex social networks formed by teens, individuals are very concerned about how others will respond to their clothes, their behavior, etc. and will indeed make buying decisions based on these concerns rather than logic.

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MARKET SEGMENTATIONWhen it comes to ethnicity and race, Teens are the most diverse market segment. They are not, however, overly concerned with ethnic designators. According to market research firm Cheskin, theynare “intra-cultural”— they do not identify themselves as solely African American/Black, Hispanic/ Latino, Asian American, or Caucasian. Teens blur the lines between ethnic and racial identities.One out of every three Teens age 12 to 19 belongs to a minority racial or ethnic group, according to Interep Research, as compared to one out of five in the Pre-Boomer generation. Some 15% of the 12- to 19-year-old population is African American/Black, 15% are Hispanic/Latino, and 4% are Asian American. The remaining two-thirds are Caucasian.Source: U.S. Census Bureau: population projections 2002. Teens 12–19. Baby Boomers: 39–57.Pre-Boomers 58+; Demographics; Youth

Did You Know?¡ Today, the Hispanic/Latino Teen market is 4.6 million strong. By 2020, it will �balloon to a size 62% larger than today — growing six times faster than the rest of the Teen market.

TEEN BUYING BEHAVIORSource: NOPWorld 2003Top 10 Items Teens Plan toBuy with Their Own Money By Percent (%)Overall Teen Rank Males Females1 Clothes 24 482 Shoes 19 213 CDs or Recorded Music 19 184 Video Games 21 65 Jewelry 7 166 Food 10 107 Soda or Soft Drinks 7 97 Car or Car Parts 10 68 Candy 6 69 Lunch 4 710 Magazines 6 3.

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What Teens Purchase and Plan to Purchase with Their Own Money

Teens spend in a wide variety of categories, from durable products such as clothing, CDs, video games, and jewelry to nondurables, such as food, soda, snacks, and ice cream. Some specific observations about Teen behavior and purchase intent include:¡ Clothing topped the list of both what Teens planned to buy and what they �actually purchased.¡ Entertainment items, such as video games, CDs, and magazines, figured �prominently on Teens’ planned purchases and what they actually bought.¡ Food, candy, and soda were the most common items recently bought.�¡ Magazines were on Teens’ top 10 lists for both items they plan to buy and �what they recently purchased.Teen males and females’ spending habits vary in a few significant ways, such as:¡ Twice as many Teen females bought clothes last time they made a purchase �and projected purchases compared to Teen males.¡ Three times as many male Teens bought and planned to buy video games�than female Teens.¡ More females tend to consume food and beverages, including candy, soda, �snacks, lunch, and ice cream.¡ Twice as many males plan to buy a car or car parts as females.�

WHERE TEENS SHOPWith “mall rat” officially part of the American vernacular, it’s not surprising that shopping malls top the list of where both female and male Teens shop. Teens also shop in numerous other venues, including discount stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, and more. As the age goes up, so does the percentage of Teens who shop in any/all locations measured.Overall, girls shop more frequently than boys at nearly every shopping venue studied. After shopping malls, apparel and discount stores are girls’ most frequented venues. After shopping malls, boys most often shop at electronics and convenience stores.

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TEENS, MAGAZINES, AND MEDIATeen Magazine ReadersMagazines appeal to Teens, with eight out of ten Teens reading magazines. That translates into 19.3 million readers today who strongly influence fashion and purchasing trends for the rest of society. In addition, more Teens trust magazine advertising than advertising in other media, and they do not tend to spend time with other media when reading magazines.Prime-TimeTelevision270Magazines109Teens Trust Magazines the MostIn an era when skepticism is a common reaction to media messaging, magazine advertising has been and continues to be the advertising medium that Teens — like other market segments — trust the most.

Teens and Advertising Trust by MediumMagazine Ads 29%Radio Ads 22%TV Ads 22%Internet Ads 18%

Top 25 Magazines Outperform Top 25Prime-Time TV Programs in Reaching TeensThough the perception may be that Teens are geared toward television, the reality is that magazines offer high reach to Teens. Initiative recently released a crossmedia comparison (a report that adds up the ratings of each of the top 25 vehicles in both media) and found that the top 25 magazines lead against the top 25 prime-time TV programs in reaching Teens 12 to 17.Note: Total GRPs were arrived at by adding the rating of each of the top 25 vehicles for each medium.

Teens Pay Attention to MagazinesMedia fragmentation affects Teens, as it does other groups. However,Teens are least likely to multitask media when reading magazines.

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Teens and multi tasking media

TEEN INFLUENCE ON PURCHASESThe role of Teens in influencing household purchases is growing as parents rely on Teens’ advanced computer skills to research products online. However, Teens who read magazines, especially heavy magazine readers, are even more influential in the household purchases than the average Teen. In addition to everyday household items such as food and personal care items, theseTeens who are heavy magazine readers have considerable influence on high-end items such as CD players, computers, and video games when compared with average Teens.

Did You Know?¡ Older Teens have more influence than younger Teens on household purchases �of personal computers, cell phones, and deodorant.¡ Older Teens have about the same influence as younger Teens on purchases of �fast food, soft drinks, toothpaste, chewing gum, potato chips, and sunscreen products.¡ Younger Teens have more influence than older Teens on video games, ice �cream, candy, pretzels, and vacation travel.

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TOP MAGAZINE ADVERTISING CATEGORIES AND TEEN BRAND LOYALTY

Advertisers and TeensMarketers advertise for the most part in the categories where Teens spend money, such as clothing, cosmetics, and entertainment. Many of the top categories advertised to Teens reflect their influence on household purchases, such as hair products, cosmetics, and sporting goods.

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When compared to all Teens, Teens who are heavy magazine readers are also more likely to be brand loyal across a variety of product categories. For example, they are:¡ 21% more likely to be loyal to their brand of sneakers/athletic shoes�¡ 25% more likely to be loyal to their brand of shampoo�¡ 21% more likely to be loyal to their brand of disposable razors�Of heavy magazine readers, older Teens are more likely to be brand loyal than youngerTeens to a variety of products, including jeans, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, facial cleanser, body soap, disposable razors, toothpaste, sanitary napkins/pads, and tampons. Younger Teens are more brand loyal to salty snacks and cookies.

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WHAT TEENS READTeens read a wide variety of magazines, especially those or including those that are targeted to their own particular interests, life stage, and gender.When examining the titles that Teens read, whether it is by circulation or by percentage of audience, a few distinctive features emerge, such as:¡ Teens read a variety of magazine types, ranging from fashion to automotive to �electronic games.¡ Teens read about their leisure pursuits.�Many of the titles that are popular amongTeens are enthusiast titles.�¡ Gender is a major driver of magazine title selection.

Did You Know?¡ Teens who read magazines are engaged in more activities, ranging from sports� to music to organized interests, than Teens who do not read magazines.

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THE FUTURE OF THE TEEN MARKET

Although the economic downturn has made teen consumers more price conscious and caused a dip in their apparel purchases, their spending is already on the rebound. Compared with consumers in general, teens are more eager to spend their extra money on clothes. While older consumers may still hesitate to spend on apparel, teens are reporting plans to buy more apparel in coming months, including more of their wardrobe staple, denim jeans.

THE TEEN AGE. They're also a robust part of the economy, wielding increasing influence on household purchases. For example, in 2003, nearly half -- 47% -- of 9- to 17-year-olds were asked by their parents to go online to find out about products or services, vs. 37% in 2001. And surveys show that today's teens are among the biggest consumers of iPods and cell phones.

For many companies, the junior customer is the fastest-growing market. "That set of young consumers of girls aged 9 to 17 has been one of the fastest-growing segments in apparel in the past two years," points out Harry Adjmi, CEO of One Step Up, a New York company that supplies clothing to retailers Wal-Mart (WMT) and Macy's (FD), as well as specialty stores like Charlotte Russe and Forever 21. Adjmi has hired 3iYing to develop his own One Step Up line.

"Once [major retailers] realized how big this customer segment is, figuring out how to service this consumer has leaped to the forefront," says Stan Greenstein, chief operating officer of Sara Max, a New York manufacturer of sleepwear and undergarments for retailers like J.C. Penney (JCP). Greenstein is working with 3iYing to develop a line of junior sleepwear and lingerie for J.C. Penney, exploring the dramatic change in the way teenagers view lingerie. One key insight: Boundaries between bed wear and outdoor wear are falling fast and hard.

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Case Study-1Mobile marketing solution gets Nivea’s teens talkingCase Study, 01.05.08

INTRODUCTIONNivea launched its online magazine FYI (Fun, Young and Independent) to engage teenage girls with its Nivea Visage Young brand. An MSN Mobile marketing solution played a crucial role in capturing email addresses for the FYI mailing list, delivering a 15 per cent conversion rate and maintaining crucial momentum for the magazine. 

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES  Engage teenage girls with the FYI magazine Capture email addresses for the FYI mailing list Provide a channel for regular site news updates Develop ongoing dialogue.  

CREATIVE EXECUTIONBanner ads running across MSN Mobile engaged young phone owners with the promise of ‘Girly gossip, news and tips’, driving traffic to a specially designed micro site that mimicked the layout of the FYI site. Visitors filled out a single field to add their name to the magazine’s mailing list, ensuring that the mobile marketing solution captured email addresses as efficiently as possible.

RESULTS The month-long campaign delivered 119,000 page impressions The mobile marketing solution delivered a conversion rate of 15 per cent.

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Questions

Q1) Will nivea be able to do same sale in future?

Q2) Will this mobile marketing be effective for future?

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Case Study-2

Teen Market Boosts Maturing Product for Gillette

The Gillette Company officially entered the teen market last spring when it reconfigured its Sensor for Women razors for girls. Sensor for Women Brights also represents the first time the company took an existing product and changed it for another audience. Gillette credits Brights with a sales boost for Sensor and is marketing a similar product this year based on Brights' success.

Brights were created as an "in-and-out" product, specifically for the "peak shaving" season (April-September) for girls 12-18, says Leslie Card, Gillette's communications manager.

The design was a response to last year's trend toward "bright colors, a return to `flower power,' mini skirts, hot pink," says Card. Razors came in six colors, such as Funky Flamingo, Gossipy Grape and Gotta Go Green, with the flower-power theme promoted on marketing materials. The trend insights came from talking to market research companies, focus groups and immersion in teens' TV programs and movies.

Although Gillette hadn't planned to continue Brights beyond the summer, the razors sold so well that key retail accounts reordered for fall, says Card. "We shipped over a million razors in the U.S. (a typical shipping for a new product).”Remember this is not a new product, simply an enhancement of a product. For a one-time product, that was significant."

In fact, the product sold out, says Lisa Rosenberg, SVP of consumer marketing practices at Porter Novelli, the PR agency that works with Gillette. Additionally, Brights produced payback for the master brand, Sensor. Sensor's market share grew to 65% after the launch of the summertime product in May '98, a 13.2% increase over May 1997, Rosenberg says.

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CONCLOSIONI can conclude by saying that today’s teenagers (youth) are definitely going to be the future of tomorrow. When a girl or a boy enters her/his teens they have to be very carefull. It is this age duration that can spoil one completely or make one like the best. It is the highly influential stage of that person. By this I mean one can get influenced for either wrong or right at this age. You could either rise or fall.From here we can say that today’s fashion influences the teens most and they are getting influence mostly by reading magazines and by advertisement.

Marketers adopt various marketing strategies to reach and market their products to the teenagers. Lot of marketing and promotions are being done at places where they are more generally seen or hang out – schools, colleges, streets, malls, restaurants, dance floors and coffee shops. Teens have money to burn, and the items they buy are largely “luxury” items, like clothing, electronics, and music. They make many, if not most, of their purchasing decisions independently. And they have significant influence on family purchases. Perhaps most importantly, companies know that once they have “branded” a child, he or she is likely to be a customer for life, or from “cradle to grave.”

Teens read a wide variety of magazines, especially those or including those that are targeted to their own particular interests, life stage, and gender.When examining the titles that Teens read, whether it is by circulation or by percentage of audience

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

WWW.YAHOO.COM

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.ANSWER.COM

www.cbs.dk.com

www.pmq.com.

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