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Tom Pirovano
Retailing Insights,
ACNielsen
If you’ve never visited YouTube.com, listened to Gnarls Barkley or used the acronym ROTFL while instant messaging, then find yourself a teenager and get educated. Today’s younger generation, typically called Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000), represent a group of well-
connected, over-stimulated, media-savvy consumers who
are open-minded, optimistic and well-educated. They
represent the future. Tune in to what drives this very diverse group of consumers and you will not only score points on the “uber-cool” chart, but will also deliver messaging that resonates with the world they live in.
Test your teen aptitude
If you are thinking that teens do as teens did, then think again. While it is true that all teens go through the same growing pains, history tells us that each generation leaves behind its own distinctive mark (see U.S. Teens Through
the Decades). To test your knowledge of today’s
teen market, see if you can answer the following questions:
1. Who is one of the lead singers for the Black Eyed Peas?
2. Who said, “Don’t be jealous that I’ve been chatting online with babes all day”?
3. Who hosted MTV’s 2006 Video Music Awards?
4. What is an emoticon?
5. Who is known for the phrase, “That’s Hot”?
6. What is the starting price for a Tracfone?
7. Billie Joe Armstrong is the lead singer of which band?
8. What is Naruto?
9. Who is Shiloh?
10. Who are two main characters on “Degrassi the Next Generation”?
Answers: 1. Will.I.Am or Fergie; 2. Kip Dynamite; 3. Jack Black; 4. Emotion Icon =) made using
punctuation or type; 5. Paris Hilton; 6. $29.99; 7. Green Day; 8. Japanese anime series; 9. Daughter
of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; 10. Emma Nelson, Jimmy Brooks.
So how did you do? If you were able to answer 8 out of
the 10 questions, then you are either: a) the parent of a teenager, b) an actual teenager, c) a teenager wannabe, or
d) a superbly in-sync teen marketer. However, if you are
like most of us and had some trouble, then it is time to brush up your knowledge of this influential and lucrative market segment.
A moving target
Teens are a moving target. They were born and raised during a digitized age where change happens rapidly. Born into the MTV generation where the rally cry was “I want my MTV”, they have learned that what they want, they get. In their world, everything is immediate. From instant messaging to microwave meals, instant gratification is their mantra.
Millennials are the first generation of true multi-taskers,
easily balancing e-mail, text messaging, music downloads, homework and a strict schedule of sporting and other
activities, simultaneously. This generation is more adept at communications than any of its predecessors. The wireless Internet is their central nervous system, and simply put, they just don’t need much else.
If they’re that connected, then connecting with teens should be simple, right? Not necessarily. While it may seem easy to develop a systematic marketing plan (if teens = computers, then website advertising = success), connecting in the right places at the right time to the right audience is a challenge at best.
Equally different
All teens are not alike, and grouping them together could be a roadmap for disaster. Take, for example, a typical eighth grader compared with a college student. While Disney’s “High School Musical” is all the rage for one, the other is much more engaged by the latest drama on MTV’s “The Real World.”
And don’t discount the hugely important gender differences. Anybody with kids knows how different boys are from girls. Therefore, when analyzing teens, boys and girls need to be viewed separately. For example, girls believe that they are more grown-up than boys, and spend their money on very different things, such as jewelry and clothing, while boys’ interests trend toward games and electronics. However, both spend money on music and movies, which increases as kids shift from the 12–14 age bracket to the 15–17 one.
It is also important to realize that “what’s hot” can be polarizing, because for each teen fad with adoring fans, there is a subset of teens who simply hate it. Finding a teen idol as a spokesperson for a brand could divide an audience. For each loyal fan of Justin Timberlake, there is another teen who simply abhors him. Interestingly, this love/hate relationship seems to be more common with the “beautiful people” than with stars like John Heder or Jack Black, who garner more universal appeal.
Stay ahead of the curve
For the most part, young people take their cues from those a few years older than themselves for trends. This may be why the Harry Potter books and movies which feature teens have their strongest appeal to younger children. Or why movies with a PG-13 rating are more enticing to teens. Or why Paris Hilton, who is in her mid-twenties, is a fashion icon for many teenage girls.
Whether the new fashion is Crocs or Lacoste, whether the latest video craze is Nintendo DS Lite or GameTap, you
can be sure of one thing: what’s hot today is not tomorrow. Rather than focusing on what’s hot right now, it is more important to develop tools and approaches to monitor and anticipate changes.
For example, tap into the fickle world of teen trends by checking out websites such as Billboard.com for the most popular ringtones, which btw, as of this writing, is the Nintendo Super Mario Brothers Theme by Koji Kondo, or the hottest digital songs (Fergie’s London Bridge), or number one album (the self-named Danity Kane), or top single (Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack”). Another popular teen website is MySpace.com, where teens connect with others, blog, rank music, and much more.
Cash or credit
The fact of the matter is, teenagers represent a powerful buying force in the U.S. market. According to the 2005 Roper Youth Report, kids are earning $29.20 per week, two dollars more than in 2004, with 29% of their money coming straight from parents. Chores (37%) and gifts (23%) account for other popular sources of teen income. Nearly one-third (30%) of 8Ð17-year-olds say they are involved in making family purchase decisions, up four percentage points from last year, as parents increasingly turn to their kids for advice on what to buy. Teens also indicate that they influence purchase decisions on everything from cell phone service to the right cable provider.
For better or worse (probably the latter), teens are also enamored by the magic of credit. According to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, an educational organization, nearly a third of high school seniors reported having a credit card of their own or one co-signed by a parent.
Products with appeal
If you live in a household with a teen, get ready to stock
up on deodorants, grooming aids, acne remedies and
other personal care products, instant meals and school
supplies—in that order. According to information from ACNielsen Homescan, categories such as these are greatly overdeveloped for the teen market.
While that may not come as a complete shocker, consider the fact that many of the brands that have risen to the top of this typical list are those that cater to this trend-conscious segment by offering something new, different or cutting edge. Take for example Unilever’s AXE deodorant for men. Appealing to the raging hormones of boys (and young men), the product comes complete with its own risque website where the “AXE effect” promises to attract the opposite sex “when used responsibly.” AXE now generates $269 million per year in the food, drug and mass merchandiser channels (including Wal-Mart).
Another product high on the dollar volume index scale purchased by households with teens offering a unique edge is Hershey’s Ice Breakers gum that explodes with a burst of mouth-freshening extra mint taste. Cutesy advertising featuring Hilary and Haylie Duff appeals like a gem to their target audience.
While these products get high marks for originality, there is a tremendous untapped opportunity to cross-merchandise. For example, most cereals are marketed to either young children or adults, but not teens. Offering a free iTune download on the package would certainly have more appeal to this audience than would an action figure from the latest kid movie.
Aligning the cross hairs
For marketers, targeting households with teens is just a start. For some products in which consumption is driven by individuals, however, a more granular approach is necessary. Using Simmons Teen National Consumer Survey (NCS) data, Spectra has developed a Teen Targeting Solution that helps to understand the teen consumer and identify the best way to reach and locate teens in their neighborhoods.
The NCS Simmons Teens Survey is a comprehensive survey of American teens aged 12–17. It provides single-source measurement of major media, products, services and in-depth consumer demographics and lifestyle/psychographic characteristics. Fueled by this survey, the Teen Targeting Solution allows marketers to more precisely market their brand to the teenager who buys the product.
The importance of analyzing teens by both age and gender is illustrated in the following example. Young males ages 12–14 are twice as likely as the average teen to spend their allowance on video games. Interestingly, teens in Struggling Urban Core neighborhoods are also 38% more likely to buy.
By contrast, female teens are much more interested in the fashion scene, spending far more than average on clothing. Thus, marketing programs designed only for the household or for the adult consumer will not offer the most effective way to reach heavy teen consumers. See charts 1 and 2.
Zooming in
Once the teen consumer has been identified, direct marketing can begin. Using the Spectra system, a targeted profile of the Brand A teen consumer is devised to reveal what magazines they read, what TV shows they watch, what websites they surf, how they spend their free time and where they shop.
In addition, subtle neighborhood differences are also exposed. For example, in the upscale urban areas characterized by Cosmopolitan Centers, teens are more likely to be achievers. They have good access to home computers, are savvy with money, and are less likely to watch TV. Teens in more downscale areas, Struggling Urban Cores, are more likely to access the Internet at school, and are very music oriented. They know what songs are in the Top 10, wear clothes that reflects their musical tastes and are likely to characterize themselves as rebels.
Understanding the unique demographic nuances of teen consumers allows the execution of a precise marketing strategy among all the consumer segments that purchase the brand. In addition, not only do teens represent a large share of some productÕs volume, they also are the next generation of consumers who will fuel growth for all brands in the CPG industry. A successful marketing campaign to teens will provide the foundation for brand loyalty and growth among this generation well into the future.
The next big thing
Keeping abreast of the next big thing on the horizon is critical. Think back to when the iPod Nano was introduced in September 2005 and the Video iPod in October 2005. At that time, Apple discontinued their older models, but several mainstream retailers continued to advertise these models while selling the incompatible accessories. Only a very few nimble retailers were quick to align themselves with the new iPod models by including photos and information on the front page of their websites.
While we can only speculate about what will happen in the future, simple observations can be made to help keep in tune with what teens are buying and what they are interested in. A few recommendations include:
- track what kinds of gift cards teens give and receive and find out what they redeem;
- visit popular teen web sites such as MySpace.com and see who advertises there;
- view videos posted on YouTube.com;
- check out iTunes and discover the top podcasts. Look
for ways to connect with the iPod and podcasting craze, which shows no sign of slowing;
- learn about Zune, Microsoft’s answer to iPod. This may be the next hot device;
- be careful to speak their language and donÕt use terminology that is old news (“da bomb” or “bling-bling”—now just “bling”);
- use bright colors and splashy graphics to complement their fast-moving lifestyles and personalities.
The bottom line is this: understand your audience. In order to make a difference, you have to think differentlyÑeven if that means stepping back (or perhaps forward) in time to relive those dreaded, wonderful teen years. :)
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