Advertising to Teenagers

When dealing on a day-to-day basis with a surly adolescent who used to be the apple of his parents' eye, it can be hard to remember just how tough it is to be a teen. While children are happy to be protected by the family unit, teenagers are busy trying to define their own identity beyond it.

Tough Customers

While many critics see teenagers as being particularly vulnerable to advertising, today's teens are actually pretty media savvy. Studies show that an average teenager spends more than 38 hours a week using different media, from magazines and newspapers to television and the Internet. Despite (or because of) their high usage they tend to be hyper-critical of adverts that they don't like, making them a target group which can be difficult to reach. Still, the potential profits are worth it for the brands that come across with the right cocktail of elusive 'cool'.

Creating Cool

When talking about teenagers, psychologists often use the word 'oppositional'. Because they want to create their own identity, teens are keen to reject parents, teachers and anything that comes from the adult world. Therefore, rather than risking alienating their audience, modern marketers are increasingly letting teenagers persuade each other that a certain product is cool. Since the late nineties 'street teams' have been a popular (and relatively cheap) way for advertisers to get their message across in schools and youth clubs.

Street teams are teens employed by clothing labels and record companies to spread the word among fellow teenagers about a product. By supplying them with free promotional merchandise to give out to their friends, marketers can ensure that teens are reached directly, while bypassing parents or teachers.

Social Networking and Mobile Phones

As anyone who's seen their phone bill bumped up by their teenage son or daughter will know - teens love to communicate. These days they have more chances to chat than ever before, through social networking sites, instant messaging systems and mobile phones. Because all the methods above reach teenagers on a one-to-one basis (often unsupervised by parents) advertisers have been keen to get on board. Teens are more likely than any other group to use a text message or email to enter TV competitions. That means advertisers are working with TV companies to offer marketing messages along with the response that confirms the votes.

Using a mobile phone can be expensive for cash-strapped teenagers. In fact, advertisers have said that the fact they tend to have hand-me-down hand sets inherited from older siblings means marketers can't employ all the multi-media functionality available when developing advertising messages. Advertisers are tuning into this fact by offering calling credit in return for users being sent a certain number of specially-targeted adverts.

As many social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace are primarily used by teens they also offer advertisers huge potential. By setting up a profile page for their products advertisers can create a buzz and also gain direct access to core consumers. Owners of social networking sites have access to users' addresses, ages, and interests - information that would be invaluable to marketing experts. So far the users of such sites have opposed this information being sold to advertisers, but as the market becomes more lucrative increased advertising may be inevitable in the future.

Star Power

Teenagers often don't want to be seen seeking advice from parents or teachers - but there's one adult group that they do look up to: celebrities. Advertisers have been aware of this trend for some time and work to get celebrity approval in different ways. Pop stars are often sent free clothes because they know a pair of branded sneakers will be even more appealing to teens if their favourite rock star is seen wearing them. Marketers are also increasingly linking teen brands to pop concert sponsorship, or ensuring film stars are paid to be positive about their brand in magazine interviews.