Marketing To Tweens
Our research into the tween market led to many
discoveries about this group of
current and future purchasers. We looked at
statistics, marketing approaches,
and responsibilities of those involved with
this demographic group. Who are the
tweens, what do they like, and how do
they spend their time and money were areas
where we probably gained the most
insight from the research. Other areas looked
at included how marketers
target tweens, ethical responsibilities involved, what
are the
responsibilities of the parents of tweens, and the future of marketing
to
tweens. Children between the ages of seven and fourteen make up the
consumer
market known as the tweens. About 75% of them have dual-income
parents and about
50% of them have divorced parents. The tweens are very
brand oriented,
requesting brand-name clothing like Nike, Levi, and Calvin
Kline. This group of
young people have a significant amount of money to spend
and influence an even
larger amount. A survey of 2.5 million Canadian tweens
show that they spend $1.4
billion a year on themselves and influence the
buying decisions of their parents
to an astronomical ten times that amount.
This age group is an emerging market
for financial services. Many of them
already have their own bank accounts and
ATM cards. The top three things
the tweens spend money on are food,
entertainment, and clothing. They are
influencing family decisions on everything
from what to watch on television
to what type of car to purchase. The title of
one of the articles says it
all, "Today’s Tweens Are in the Money --$1.5
Billion –and Have Major
"Kidfluence" on Household Purchases, Says YTV
Survey." This generation is
media-wise, sophisticated, technically-savvy, and
influential trendsetters
who are growing up much quicker than previous
generations. Tweens spend 50%
of their waking hours in school and are very
involved in after-school
activities. The majority of tweens plan to attend
college and research shows
that some are actually saving to help finance their
college education.
Today’s kids are putting away the traditional toys like
Barbie and action
figures by the age of eight and moving on to what most of us
would consider
more adult type entertainment. Fun, friends, and fulfillment are
very
important to these children who are interested in music, fashion,
video
games, computers, and on-line chat. They frequently socialize with
friends via
e-mail instead of face-to-face and some Internet forums offer
chats among tweens
only. They are attending concerts and having a direct
impact on the popularity
of groups like the Spice Girls. These children are
maturing earlier which leads
to earlier sexual activity and struggling with
appearance and self-confidence.
The tweens are taking on adult-like
responsibilities while still dealing with
normal teen issues. Marketers are
spending a lot of time and money targeting the
tweens. As James McNeal,
Professor of Marketing at Texas A&M puts it,
"Tweens have more market
potential than any other demographic group simply
because they have all their
purchases ahead of them." Marketers are hoping
that by selling these kids on
ideas now they will become loyal consumers who
continue to respond to their
products. There are many of the typical media such
as television, magazines,
in-store advertising, and private label catalogs used
to attract the tweens.
However, some marketers are producing products aimed
specifically at tweens.
Some of these include cruise lines which offer them
their own program of
activities, hair care products targeted at tweens, and the
new Burger King
Big Kids Meal which offers more food along with the toy which
research shows
is still important to this age group. Marketers realize how
financially
powerful this demographic group is and that they need to continue to
focus on
reaching them. As marketers target the tweens, they have to keep in
mind the
ethical responsibilities that come along with marketing to them. They
must
not only get the attention of the children but must also get the buy-in
of
the parents. If the marketing aimed at their children is unfair or
unduly
enticing, it may result in alienating the parents. Marketers need to
avoid
seductive advertising and be careful to protect children’s privacy,
especially
when advertising on-line. Another ethical responsibility of
marketers is to help
educate young shoppers about financial responsibility.
New technologies and
products permit teens to make purchases without credit
cards. Online checks,
debit cards, and different types of accounts are a few
of the ways children are
gaining the freedom to purchase products. Merchants
are taking a risk of a lot
of returned items if these purchases are made
without parental consent. The
important thing for marketers to remember is
that even though the tweens are the
purchasers of the future, right now they
are just children who need guidance and
they must help to develop them into
the savvy consumer they want to attract as
adults. Parents need to take
responsibility for what their children are doing,
how they spend their time,
and what they are purchasing. The first thing parents
need to ask themselves
is "Who’s in charge?" If the answer to this is the
parents, then they are off
to a pretty good start. It is very important to the
tweens to be heard, so
parents can keep the lines of communication open by
asking for their opinions
and listening to them. If the children want to go to a
concert, a parent can
go along. This is what Stuart Rosenstein, Nickelodeon’s
director had in mind
when he sponsored the All That Music and More Festival. As
Rosenstein
said, "It’s a family experience. It’s a great thing for parents
to have their
first live musical experience with their kids. The great thing
about this
festival is we see 11, 12, and 13 year-olds rocking out with their
mothers.
To me that’s a success." Parents should be watching their children
for signs
of inappropriate behavior such as early sexual activity and eating
disorders.
They also need to reduce the amount of time children spend alone and
closely
monitor their activities. Parents need to realize they may not be able
to
control how the marketers are targeting their children but they can
control
the amount of influence they have on their children. Marketers
realize the
tremendous marketing potential youth present and want to find
ways to capitalize
on this in the future. They are increasing advertising to
tweens as they grow up
and in some unusual ways. In the United States there
is a program called
"Channel One" which offers closed-circuit newscast
with commercials
included. Marketers use these commercials to promote
products while the newscast
teach regular lesson objectives. So, lesson
objectives are being met while
absorbing consumer values developed by
marketers. As stated earlier tweens,
spend the biggest portion of their time
at school, so marketers are taking
advantage of this by infiltrating the
school system with product promotions.
Marketers realize that the trend
of maturing earlier is likely to continue so
they will keep looking for ways
to reach this demographic group of financially
powerful individuals. The
research we did opened our eyes to just how
influential this group of seven
to fourteen year-olds, known as the tweens, have
become. They influence their
parents buying decisions, what products are being
produced, and how marketers
are marketing. In-school "hall-talk" plays a big
role in whether new fads,
trends, and brands will succeed or not. For these kids
to be successful
future consumers, parents and marketers alike need to realize
that they have
the responsibility of helping them to learn about financial
responsibility.
"Kidfluence" is running rampant and there is no slow down in
sight. So,
marketers need to buckle up and settle in for the wild ride of the
future
being piloted by the group of young people known as the "TWEENS."