MP3 (or 4...), instant messaging, portable and mobile phones are keywords to a generational change that translates in teens (and even younger kids who are drawn into this by their older brothers and sisters) turning away from their parents' TV to welcome all these toys... And it's meant to be a tidal wave, according to a profusion of studies and surveys all around the planet. No one can resist -well, I should know, I just have to look at my twelve year-old one, and no need for any survey!
Mobile phones are in fairly common use within the teen world (12 to 21): 50 pct of 12 to 14 years old children have a mobile phone, three quarter of our kids do as well. But they are not just "toys" -with the exception maybe of game consoles- they're more perceived like a critical, entire part of THEIR way of life. MP3 come first in the wish list hierarchy (according to Forrester "Young Consumers and Technology" survey on 5000 US and Canadian teens), with 25 pct of them planning to buy one within twelve months.
As for time spent, well again, a single experience, and any conversation with any other parents confirm what's written in these very serious reports, wherever they come from: They are passionate gamers -I would have said addicts, but there are not the clients of my clients- nearly nine in ten 12 to 17 boys have a game console, sometimes more, with one for home use, and that portable one that you've bought to buy some peace whilst travelling with them-, they spend more than 20 hours per week online, and they love it more than TV -again, a look at home and I'm more than convinced!
They are your best "viral", i.e. word of mouth marketing, or network marketing vectors -and this phenomenon alone could well impact more than one channel of distribution- they're listening more carefully to their friends and relatives, and seek more advice than adults would, yet they are, like the adult world, fairly ambivalent regarding ads, or the editorial content brought to them by media channels about these digital tools. When it comes to enquiring about new high-tech devices, teens and students turn to friends (72%), to the Internet (70%), then to television (70%), magazines (58%), and even to school (44%).
Any marketing, PR, ad planning or advertizing specialist integrates this, and most, if not all brands are quite aware of such phenomenon. No wonder, then, that they are one of the most targeted markets for consumer electronics. In the US, more than half of American teenagers will spend more than $100 on their next consumer electronic purchase, according to a study by the Consumer Electronics Association. More than nine out of ten of them live in a household equipped with TV(s), VCR (well less and less), DVD player(s), desktop or portable computer(s) and mobile phones -I don't need to put brackets here...!. Among the top four electronic products teens want as gifts are laptop computers, mobile phones, MP3 (Aah! the iPod) players and videogame consoles. And they KNOW what they want...! While parents actually pay for every electronic gadget for their teens, it is the teens that know what will actually be purchased. Most information comes from friends and the Web sites they visit.
Viral concept again, teenagers first look at what their friends are using and are more likely to act on that advice than anything else. More than 70 percent of teens said they want something if a friend owns it, according to the CEA study.
"Students are more educated not only in terms of what devices they want to own, but also which brands," says Lee Smith, president and COO of Insight Express, one of the survey companies that had started to carefully monitor the teen world. "Teenagers hold a tremendous amount of influence when it comes to the devices they select, and savvy manufacturers will recognize the opportunity this audience represents."