Youth Consumer Insights

Implications - Parents have always sought ways in which to teach their children to manage money, but today’s youth are hitting the web - so parents are coming up with novel ways to teach these responsibilities. Also emerging are non-tech yet highly modern approaches to neoteric parenting.

Implications - Computers and technology are being integrated in courses for students from kindergarten to university, and their evolution must be on par with the development of the students. Progressive institutes understand that their level of new tech integration directly correlates with the success of their students.

Implications - Children have the most incredible imaginations, and the ability to dream beyond adult comprehension. While some artists have attempted to infuse their own work with the limitless creative qualities of children, others are harnessing the raw visions of real kids and bringing them to life.

Implications - They say history repeats itself and nowhere is this more evident than in the fashion industry, which is experiencing a 1980s revival. Interestingly, the revival is being fueled by children of the 80s and not those who lived their heyday in the decade. Thanks to the Internet and free media sharing, seeking inspiration from the past has never been easier.

Implications - The desires of today’s tweens and teens are beginning to mirror that of adults as they express urgency to adopt grown-up activities, fashions and lifestyle values earlier than ever. Their embrace of new technology and exposure to media and the web has sparked curiosity for products and services typically targeted at older generations.

Implications - In large part, young people define themselves by their images and take great pride in creating their own unique styles. Older, more established brands can reinvent themselves by enabling users to customize designs that align with their personalities. Converse is a retro brand that has reinvented itself through customization by collaborating with other fashion houses and gaining endorsements by stars like Johnny Knoxville, thereby repositioning itself as a symbol of counterculture and self-expression.

Description - Almost every tween marketing article we’ve posted has soared in popularity. More interesting is the fact that this demographic has entire virtual worlds being created for them. Sites like Barbie Girls, Webkinz and Club Penguin are huge with the tween audience. Overall, Bebo (not shown) has been the most successful social network for this demographic.

Implications - Marketers who reach tweens in these new worlds are teaching them to become brand conscious at a very young age. The sophistication of these virtual worlds allows for brand interaction and targeting that far surpasses that of television. Brands that want to reach tweens will need to stay plugged in to the development of these worlds.

Implications - Products encompassing the traits of bubbles appeal to consumers seeking entertaining. Items covered on the site include digital and chocolate bubble wrap, colored soap bubbles, glow in the dark bubble bath soap, and even chicken-scented bubbles for dogs.

These products illustrate the continued fascination with products typically associated with childhood into adulthood. Innovations that harness a consumer’s playful side hold massive appeal.

Implications - Public pillow fights are pre-arranged events in which people are informed on the location of the fight often with little warning. Pillows are hidden at these locations beforehand and, at the sound of a whistle, are unleashed for public bashing. Pillow fight clubs have become a cultural form of flash mobbing around the world. The majority of promotion for these events takes place online, with people learning about them through blogs, social networking sites and instant messaging (a tactic known as smartmobbing).

Implications - MTV's 'Jersey Shore' has inspired a wave of attention in mainstream pop culture, and savvy creatives are capitalizing on the chance to finally win the youth market with spin-off mobile apps, crafts and mash-ups. Celebrity makeovers and Facebook fan activism only fuel the 'Jersey Shore' fire further.