Marketing the teenage in the United States
Marketing the teenage in the United States
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Marketing the teenage in the United States
My position paper is about marketing and targeting the new “tweens” and teens generation in the United States. Ten years ago, marketing was not that big deal as it is today. Today, marketing is playing an important role in any business. The reason could be attributed to the fact that competition is growing much faster than before and every time it is becoming fiercer and thus differentiation becomes crucial.
The word “tween” means children who are in the life stage between being a kid and being a teen. However, today the definition of “tween” has changed the way toy manufacturers market this products to target audiences in the United States. An Industry research has released that children 11 years and older do not consider themselves as children anymore, and that in part can be attributed to the marketing industry influence that has forced or influence “tweens” to grow up quickly. Unfortunately the blame for this rapid and immature growth cannot solely be attributed to marketing and media but rather to families who allow their children to view such mature informational contents. Teens today represent an important demographic to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, plus they have influenced their parents' buying decisions and they are the adult consumers of the future.
The industry has been spending ten times more money than what they used to spent ten years ago on advertising for children. This was an increasing from a mere $100 million in 1990 to more than $2 billion in 2000. This shows that they are focusing more on advertising to this new demographic segment. Sexuality and body image are the primary focuses in advertising. Today’s ads are basically about thin, fit, beautiful and highly sexualized young people. The principal marketing message is that there is a relationship between physical beauty and sex appeal, and popularity success, and happiness. Fashion marketers such as Calvin Klein, Abercrombie and Guess have been using provocative marketing campaigns featuring young models. These ads have been sold to the teens more than their clothing products.
Today's kids have more independence and decision-making power within their families than in previous generations, so it follows that kids are speaking for what they want their parents to buy. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power, because advertisers know what a powerful force it can be.
According to the 2001 marketing industry book Kidfluence, pestering or nagging which is repeated over and over again can be very effective. This method appeals to parents' desire to provide the best for their children, and plays on any guilt they may have about not having enough time for their kids. To effectively market to children, advertisers need to know what makes kids tick. Advertisers now have access to in-depth knowledge about children's developmental, emotional and social needs at different ages. With the use of research that analyzes children's behaviors, fantasy, art work, and dreams, companies now have the ability to create complicated marketing strategies to reach young people.
Canadian author Naomi Klein had tracked the birth of different brands in her book “No Logo”. According to Klein, in the mid-1980s she experienced the birth of a new kind of corporation. Such as, Nike, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfige, which changed their main business focus from producing goods to creating an image for their brands name. By moving their manufacturing operations to different countries with cheaper labors, they have saved up money to create their powerful marketing messages. It has been a extremely profitable method, and has led a lot of business people to start new wealthy and powerful multi-national business.
Marketers plant brand recognition in most children so that when they grow up, there will be good relationship between them. According to the Center for a New American Dream, babies six months of age can recognize mental images of company’s logos. this means that brand loyalties can be established at the age of two, and when these children start to go to school, high numbers can recognize these brand logos.
The challenge for buzz marketing is to create a new segment to target children. It is basically getting the most famous teenagers and having them use or wear these products in order to create a buzz around it. Buzz, or street marketing, can help companies to be successfully connected with the children by using leading light to give their products "cool" position. Buzz marketing is mainly founded on the Internet, where most children spend their time, such in newsgroups, chat rooms, games and music sites.
A long time ago schools were the place where children were protected from the advertising and consumer messages. Now, companies are offering and giving schools cash which is needed, computers and educational materials in order to allow them to access to students. These corporations have realized the importance of the school environment for promoting their products and names. Examples include Kraft telling children that their products are healthy for them, Supplying schools with technology in exchange for high company visibility, and making deals with fast food or soft drink companies to sell their products at a school. Another way of advertising in school is, hanging posters in the classrooms, or school buses, or on computers. All of these types of advertising happen in school in exchange for money.
In conclusion, I think that businesspeople in the United States are cleverer than others in many different countries. This is because of how hard and they are trying to cutting cost in order to advertise and get the perfect resources. Marketing for teenager seem to be a good strategic approach for companies since not only they will get revenue in the present from the family of the teens and also given the fact that these children actually have their purchasing power, but also because they will build brand loyalty and recognition. The methods that are being used are sometimes very adult-like in content and thus it becomes the talk of families and marketing companies to be morally conscious to their target market. Sexuality even though it sells it also corrupts so we must make an effort that as a society we don’t blur that line.
Citation:
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/marketers_target_kids.cfm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0216/p13s01-usec.html
http://www.packagedfacts.com/pub/799225.html
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The above essay was written by a college student and merely states opinions of a college student. However, if you feel strong about responding to the opinions stated, please write to articles@directorym.com and express your concerns.
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