Marketing To Teens & Tweens - The Big Payoff
Remember the old slogan that “children should be
seen and not heard?”
Clearly, that no longer applies to teens and tweens,
prepubescents 8 to 14 years old. These days, teens
and tweens are seen and heard, loudly and clearly.
What should business people do about these two
groups? Just wait until they grow up? No, not at
all. You need to take action now.
Though not always old enough to buy our products,
we need continuous marketing communications to teens
and tweens, starting now.
Properly done, that can develop a positive relationship
between tweens and teens and your business, positioning
you for future long term success.
As author Anne Southerland writes, get to them at
age 8 or 9 “at the cusp of tweendom.”
For years, the tobacco and liquor industries have
tried to reach kids with messages saying, “when
you’re old enough to drink or smoke, please use
our brand.”
The fast food chains market to kids, too. They aim
their TV commercials at children, since kids often
decide which fast food store to visit, after mom
decides that “she deserves a break today.” Dad
lamely completes the deal as chauffeur and treasurer.
The marketing payoff for fast food companies comes
from promotion to tweens and teens when they
reach the 18 to 24 age group, the heaviest fast food
user group.
A majority of 18 to 24 year olds eat most meals in fast
food places.
Extensive market research shows that those 11 and
older don’t consider themselves children anymore.
As an example, 70% of boys and girls at age 13 select
their own clothes. 60% of tween boys make their
own fast food dining choices.
Most boys at age 10 already know what kind of car they’d
like to buy.
In their own minds, those over 11 are now adults.
The 25 million tweens in the USA spend $51 billion
each year, and another $170 billion is spent on them
annually, mostly by parents and relatives.
The teen market has $175 billion in annual sales.
One high school senior in three carries a major credit
card. And 63% of teens are very well wired, mostly
by having their own cell phones and/or laptops.
Very interesting, you say-but what’s really at stake
here for me, as a business person? Plenty! There
are four major issues to consider:
1. The authority of parents is waningbecause some
parents are too wimpy to “train up their children in
the way they should go,” the Bible way.
Coneheaded, permissive Doctor Spock mushiness prevails
in many homes (”the children are our friends and we dare
not offend them”).
2. In the absence of consistent, wise parental
leadership, tweens and teens are strongly influenced
by peer groups and marketers, research shows.
3. Marketers have been blessed for many years by
Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964). But Boomers are
starting to retire and, within 10 to 20 years, their
purchasing power will wane.
4. Serious marketing futurists think that today’s
tweens can eventually replace boomers financially,
since tweens are extremely quality and brand conscious
and are very glib spenders.
That being the case, why shouldn’t long term
marketers start cultivating tweens now?
While we deplore the decline in effective parenting,
my business believes that we should start relationship
building with tweens and teens right now to help create
our long term business success for these reasons:
1. Tweens and teens are excellent practioners
of “viral marketing,” today’s term for word of mouth
advertising. This is a cost-efficient way to
communicate.
2. Tweens and teens are unaware of the benefits of
self-employment, since parents often don’t know
these things and most schools are still creating
employees suitable to staff the Industrial Revolution,
which no longer exists.
Tweens and teens need to learn about selling, business
planning, and how to develop themselves personally
and professional to be successful self-employed
persons.
3. Since 10 year old boys know what kind of car they
want, they should learn from marketers now how to take
care of a car–specifically, which products and
services they’ll need.
Now what is my busines doing to start communicating
with tweens and teens?
We’re taking the Tony Bennett approach. Explaining
Tony’s career resurgence, his son and manager, Danny,
said, “We didn’t make it cool to be Tony Bennett. We
put him in places where it was cool to be.”
These include Tony in concert with BB King, the late
Ray Charles, David Letterman’s Show and appearances
on the Simpsonsto name a few.
So, we’re starting to put my business and myself in tween and teen places where it’s cool to be.
John just got a “space” in the wildly popular with
tweens and teens www.myspace.com website.
In just one week, he’s been contacted by a local
computer service and repair firm and a lady selling
mortgage refinancing.
John has added Internet Messenger, because IM is very
popular with younger generations, as is text messaging,
especially tweens and teens.
Major portals recently launched their versions of
www.myspace.com. John has created “spaces” there as well.
And one consulting professional is teaching clients
how to mine existing portal directories to find business partner prospects, “talking” with prospects using IM.
That’s just our initial start toward teens and tweens.
What will yours be? How soon will you start?
John J. Alquist owns and operates Alquist Enterprises. John is a professional speaker, Platinum Author, and business consultant.
Visit him online at http://www.tell-it-well.com or contact him by email
john@tell-it.well.com or by Yahoo IM (screen name: Emancipator21).
