Of all the marketing jobs out there, I’ve always imagined that marketing to teenagers has to be one of the most difficult. Teenagers can be brutal, merciless critics, ready to trash any company that they feel is trying to be "cool" and "speak their language" by peppering their ads with the latest slang. And they’re notoriously fickle consumers, seemingly changing their tastes as often as their moods.
But they’re a market you can’t ignore. Not only do they spend huge amounts of money themselves, they also have a say in how their parents, friends and siblings spend their money. And, for many product categories, they can be a valuable source of lifelong customers. Earn a teenage consumer’s trust and loyalty and they may be yours for life.
If your company markets to teens, or better yet, if you’re thinking about it, you’ll want to check out Peter Zollo’s book. Zollo, president of Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), Northbrook, Ill., has written "Wise Up To Teens," a quick-reading 300 pages of insights gleaned from years of talking to and listening to teenagers and from TRU’s syndicated Teenage Marketing & Lifestyle Study. The company has conducted the semiannual study for more than 12 years, asking a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 12-to-19-year-olds about everything from soda pop to social concerns.
If you have questions about the teen market, this book likely holds the answers. Zollo covers every aspect of marketing to teens, including teens and the media, their activities and interests, how to choose the right celebrity endorser and how to reach them with advertising.
The book is a fun read. Zollo doesn’t crusade for the teen market with windy proclamations. Rather, he gives the reader plenty of substance, with clarity and wit. An example: "I would be less than candid," he writes, "if I didn’t admit that, over the years, a few of our clients have asked us to test what teens rightly call ’crap.’ Evidently, some marketers think that if they package their products in hot teen colors, use a popular celebrity, or shoot an MTV-style commercial, teens will buy. They are mistaken."
Of course, my favorite chapter is the one on how to research teens. In about 30 pages Zollo neatly covers what he calls the "perils and pitfalls" of teen research, summarizing the various approaches to talking to teens and what you can expect to learn from them.
Billions and billions
In 1994, TRU estimates teens spent $63 billion of their own money and $36 billion of family money. These amounts alone are staggering, and they don’t even include the additional billions of dollars of family spending that is influenced by teenagers.
According to TRU’s findings, teens have an average weekly income of $67. They spend on average $39 of their own money each week and $27 of family money. About two-thirds have savings accounts. Almost one-third of 18-19 year-olds have a credit card in their name. Nearly 20 percent of teens have checking accounts.
"Today’s teens have the means to move brand sales in a big way," Zotlo writes. "Although most adults earn more money than teens, a larger share of teen income is discretionary. Teens aren’t saddled with mortgage or utility bills. They can spend their funds freely. This fact, coupled with their rising incomes, makes teens an attractive consumer segment. If you sell traditional teen products, you already know this. Marketers of adult brands are just beginning to realize it."
Not immune to ads
Teens may be quick to disdain a company that throws a lame, calculated ad at them, hut they aren’t immune to the powers of advertising. As Zollo reports, their favorite television commercials correlate to their favorite brands. When asked about their favorite ads, teens typically mention those from the brands that sit atop the list of cool brands - Nike, Levi’s, Sega, Coke, Pepsi, Reebok and Nintendo.
The book shows that while marketers shouldn’t overestimate the value of appearing "hip" to kids, nor should they underestimate teens’ judgement when it comes to choosing products. Just because they’re young doesn’t mean they use trivial or unrealistic criteria to choose the products they buy. Of course, it helps if all of their friends use it, but when TRU researchers have asked teens what makes a brand cool, 66 percent have said that "quality" is the characteristic that’s most important.
Many marketers are realizing the importance of forging a bond with younger consumers but they worry about teens’ fickleness. How brand loyal are teens? In the chapter "Teens, Products and Brands" Zollo elaborates on TRU’s efforts to use research to more fully understand the relationship between brand loyalty and brand choice. Particularly interesting is a section where he analyzes a quadrant map illustrating the interaction of brand loyalty and brand importance.
Worth the effort
At the end of the book, Zollo offers the marketer who is interested in reaching teens some ammunition for their battle to convince corporate management why it’s worth the effort to get to know this challenging and lucrative segment:
"We often tell gun-shy potential teen marketers that trying to understand teens need not be so trying. Teens are not so enigmatic, so difficult to understand, and so fickle in their likes and dislikes that they cannot be swayed by well-crafted advertising and marketing efforts.
"In the past five to 10 years, the collective knowledge about teens and an understanding of how to reach them has grown enormously, allowing more companies to create relevant and compelling marketing communications directed at teens. In fact, many of today’s most successful brands are thriving in large part because of their teen efforts.
"Go ahead, make the case to management. Tell them why and how the teen market can grow your business. By marketing to teens smartly and creatively, the reward will be well worth the risk."
"Wise Up To Teens: Insights Into Marketing and Advertising to Teenagers" ($34.95, cloth, 311 pages) by Peter Zollo, is published by New Strategist Publications, P.O. Box 242, Ithaca, N.Y., 14851.