REPORT - TEEN POWER 2000: Paradox of the teen market still tripping up youth marketers

<p>Attempting to find out what makes teenagers tick is a mind-numbing task </p><p>at best, however, a balanced theme is critical in any ad campaign </p><p>targeted at the youth market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Even the notion that ads targeted at youngsters should be crazy falls </p><p>flat if the craziness is simply for the sake of it. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>FCB's Mind & Mood teen surveys in the US and Asia, for instance, found </p><p>that while youngsters want to be independent, they also want to fit in </p><p>with the cool crowd; they want to rebel, but they want their </p><p>rebelliousness to be approved of by their friends; and they want to be </p><p>novel, but not too trendy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the recent Teen Power 2000 conference in Hong Kong, FCB's regional </p><p>director of client service, Matthew Dodds, said the youth market had </p><p>numerous paradoxes which had to be clearly understood before marketing </p><p>strategies and creative were formulated. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"They want to be independent but, at the same time, they want to fit in </p><p>with the cool crowd. How do they do that? They go out and get the right </p><p>clothes, sneakers and hairstyles. They learn to have the right look and </p><p>speak the right words on specific topics," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But the ultimate teen paradox is that, while individualism is important </p><p>to them, they are doing what other people want them to and not what they </p><p>want to." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Dodds said, therefore, that a winning brand strategy included helping </p><p>teenagers position themselves as individuals, providing fun and escapism </p><p>and creating a community feeling. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Being a teen, then, was like being a marketer, he noted, because </p><p>youngsters felt that image was all-important because "image shows who </p><p>you are". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But Mr Dodds stressed that while Western individualism meant standing </p><p>out from society, in Asia, it meant standing out within society. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Asian teenagers are rebellious, but they seek approval from their </p><p>closest friends. This means that they seek to be different from the </p><p>masses from within a safety zone." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Among Asian teenagers, cool means being adventurous, independent, </p><p>individualistic, novel (but not too trendy) and smart. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Uncool means being too cutting edge, ostentatious, crazy and </p><p>conforming. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Youth marketers have to bear these in mind when creating a campaign, Mr </p><p>Dodds said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>