Marketing to the new generation of techno kids

By Ted Mininni | July 1, 2006

Reading time: 5 minutes

Abstract

Web- and tech-savvy kids are reachable via marketing, but companies must take care when developing their promotional methods. Kids value quality, innovation and ease of use, among other attributes, in the products and services they choose to use.

Research Topics:: Market Segmentation Studies | Online Research
Industry/Market Focus:: Children | Teens
Content Type: Research Methodology

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Snaring the Netizens

Editor’s note: Ted Mininni is president of Design Force, Inc., a Marlton, N.J., brand identity and packaging consulting firm.

What are the best methods to market to today’s teens and college-aged kids, who are still engaged in conventional activities but spending more and more of their time on technology-driven activities? How can we reach them right where they are?

Savvy marketers know that the potential of the Internet, cell phone and viral (a.k.a. buzz) marketing initiatives have to be fully explored and better utilized. That also means assessing the value and impact of the latest Web-fueled craze: social networks.

While teens watch a lot of TV, they spend even more time on the Internet. Conventional advertising doesn’t work with teens or college students. Advertising on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines is out of synch with a group that uses TiVo, iPods and satellite radio. In a survey titled “Born to be Wired,” commissioned by Yahoo and Carat, the Internet was found to be the top medium among kids 13-24 years of age.

Teens spend more time online and they multi-task, watching TV, listening to music, doing homework, talking on their cell phones or instant-messaging friends. Teens seem to be able to do any combination of these things simultaneously. Their brains are now wired to multi-task at a high level, and they seem to thrive on all of this stimulation, thanks to being born into the great Technology Age.

Teenaged “Netizens” are adept at using search engines to research school work as well as information about the newest brands, products and trends. Research shows it is just as important to this group to be able to research information as it is to find cool new activities and products online. When surveyed, teens cited their preference for the Internet, which they feel lets them manage and personalize their experiences. This demographic wants control over their brand interactions, and they expect enjoyment from their Internet activities.

Along with instant-messaging, teens use news groups, chat rooms and blogs among large groups of users and peers to spread the word about cool music, fashion and consumer products, which have all given rise to viral or buzz marketing. Buzz marketing is perfectly suited to the Internet and teens. Savvy marketers go out to metro areas, finding the trendsetting kids in their communities and seeking their approval by having them use or wear their new products. When the all-important endorsements are given, the buzz begins.

Create a bond

Research has found that, for teens, cool status is not achieved for a brand or product unless it is perceived to possess the attributes of quality and value. It must also deliver on an emotional level. Research by my firm has shown that if a product or service’s “Enjoyment Assets” are uncovered during the pre-branding process, an undeniable emotional connection is made. Then, the brand image of being cool is established and reinforced for and by teens. Products and services that appeal on an emotional level - that is, that deliver “enjoyment moments” - truly create a bond with their audience.

Another major opportunity for reaching teens exists in marketing using cell phone technology. While advertising via cell phone is a fact of life in Europe and Asia, only 20 percent of U.S. mobile phone users received advertising text messages on their cell phones in 2004, and the majority of them deleted them.

Media experts have said it is always advisable to reach demographic groups using the platforms they use and enjoy. Teens, tweens and cell phones are a natural. In order to be effective, marketers will have to be sensitive and not appear to be engaged in hard-sell advertising to these groups also. Cell phone marketing should become a factor in the U.S. in the near future. There are almost 200 million cell phones in use in this country now, and brand advertising dollars are being redirected by many major consumer goods companies away from television and print and reinvested in the Internet and other tech platforms. Creative marketers will find a way to effectively reach teens through their cell phones to develop meaningful dialogue between them and their brands.

Social networking

With the Internet, there is far more to consider than the utilization of banner ads and pop-ups on sites frequented by teens and collegians. The newest online vehicles that are already reaching millions of kids are social networking Web sites. On the scene for a very short time, they are already a force to be reckoned with. This phenomenon has large corporations queuing up to tap into these sites to test new products and create brand consciousness in a highly desirable demographic: teens and collegians.

Social networking Web sites are increasingly a medium of choice for American youth. The numbers tell the story:

MySpace.com has 40 million members.
Xanga.com has an estimated 21 million members.
Facebook.com, used by the college crowd with an 18-25-year-old demographic, is hot. Facebook was involved with 882 colleges as of last fall, of the estimated 2,000 in the U.S. including community colleges. That’s 3.85 million members! Facebook is now seeking to expand by creating a high school network. The site accepts advertising from regional and national advertisers. This offers brands wanting to reach young consumers a huge bang for their buck.

There are also regional and metro social networks popping up all over the country. This has caused corporate giants like Coke, Apple and Procter & Gamble to find creative ways to market to teens and collegians using these social networks. Just by sponsoring the sites, Coke and Apple have both enjoyed the status of becoming part of these networks. Apple, for example, gives away iPod Shuffles in weekly contests, makes product announcements and provides links to its student discount program on some of these networks. Companies that have done this are, in essence, making themselves lifestyle brands. Kids don’t buy because ads tell them to; they buy because the buzz generated by their fellow netizens tells them to.

However this new phenomenon unfolds, and whatever form social networks take as they grow from infancy into a more mature communications platform, one thing is certain: Generation Online will be the ones adapting it to make it their own. And we, as marketers, also need to adapt and be part of it.

Brand values

No matter which of the kids’ demographic groups marketers are trying to reach, basic brand values speak loudly. When a large group of teens were polled by researchers (the Yahoo-Carat study cited above) as to the top requirements on which products and brands have to deliver, they cited: worth the money/value for the money; high quality; keep the brand promises; make appropriate products for teens; make products that are easy to use; know what teens like and listen to them to develop products they want to buy and use; always exceed teens’ expectations; friendly; fun; innovative.

Note that the majority of these brand attributes really center around Enjoyment Assets, as we’ve previously cited. Perhaps kids’ criteria aren’t much different from ours as adults!