Tweens are kids aged 9-11. Not quite kids and not quite teenagers, these youngsters are media-savvy, fickle, and always changing their style. America's 25 million of them spend and influence more than 50 billion dollars a year! With these numbers, it's easy to see why this group is so popular with marketers.
With Tweens always changing their minds, advertisers struggle to keep up with the latest trends. In Tina Wells' article, " Buzz Focus: Cracking the Fickle Tween Code", the constantly changing market is examined. Through surveys and focus groups, researchers have found out that Tweens are smarter than we thought. These kids love commercials, celebrities, and all media in general. Wells' article remarks, "From US Weekly, "Entertainment Tonight," and tons of online gossip sources, tweens know what celebs actually love and what they are paid the big bucks to pretend to love. " For this reason, Tweens pick up on product placement. They feel that products featured on tv shows are cool, while promotions featuring Jessica Simpson are fake.
Many parents and organizations protest advertising to children. They feel like kids don't understand that advertising is for a profit. Kids are smarter than we think. At 11 or 12, most girls love learning about new lip glosses and cds. Why do you think they buy TeenPeople and CosmoGirl? They Tweens crave information about new products just like everyone else.
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