If you’re marketing to teens, your brand better be mobile.
Young adults are chasing life faster than ever before. According to a national survey by Nielsen//NetRatings, kids aged six to 17 are dedicating an average 6.2 hours a week to the internet, up by an hour since 2003, with 15 to 17 year olds spending 15 hours a week online.
With the uptake of broadband, 62% of them are surfing at high speed, using the internet to email, play games, source product information and chat via instant messaging.
And when they’re not in front of a computer screen, teens are still wired to the world via mobile phones, portable music and video players and personal entertainment that is made to move.
For teenagers seeking independence and control, gadgetry has put the power in their hands. According to Roy Morgan research, 44% of 14-24-year-olds believe computers and technology have given them more control over their lives.
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) will release its Playstation Portable (dubbed PSP) this month, giving consumers a new level of control. SCE Australia project manager, Adrian Christie, says the PSP offers “entertainment to go” from the one device.
“Young people don’t want to be trapped to keys or a PC. They like variety and choice and this product really delivers that,” Christie says.
Targeted at 16-34-year-olds, the Playstation Portable offers the flexibility to view short films, play MP3s, games or surf the internet.
“The PSP offers entertainment on your terms. It brings life to convergence. It lets people be as flippant as they like with their entertainment sources.”
Mobility has been the key driver for Sony’s Portable Playstation, with countries like Japan already allowing online video streams to the PSP from wireless spots.
The hottest phone news is the 3G network, poised to allow for video on mobile phones—with teens keenly awaiting its application for reality shows like Australian Idol.
Youth website Youthfacts.com.au reveals that the average age for under-18s to begin using mobile phones is 13, with many spending more than half their income on bills.
Legion Interactive’s general manager of entertainment, content and portals, Steve Watson, believes advertisers need to acknowledge the mobile phone as an integral part of teen lifestyle.
“It is a 24/7 entertainment device, and people will go out of their way to personalise and use it as an expression of themselves,” Watson says.
He cites mobile marketing strategies by big brands such as Ford, Holden, Stussy and Mooks as evidence that mobile content such as ringtones and wallpaper continues to engage teens.
Watson argues that virtual communities like Habbo Hotel, which receive around four million unique users per month from a pool of 23 million registered users across 16 countries, is now mobilising its content.
“It’s been a PC-related community up until recently and now it’s moving to mobile. You’ll be able to download ringtones, games and emoticons to your mobile,” he says.
The teen-targeted meeting place has recently teamed up with EMI in its latest promotion that will see the band the Gorillaz going on a ‘world tour’ of the Habbo hotels online. Bonds, Nike and DMG Radio’s Nova have also associated themselves with the popular online destination—evidence of the internet’s growing power in the media mix.
Director of interactive media agency Tribal DDB, Adam Good, thinks youth brands need to find a way to align themselves with consumer-generated content, like online forums and blogs, which have seeped into the teen conscience as the ultimate form of self-expression.
“Websites where you can post jokes, videos or photos are like tribal communities. How brands become associated with that consumer-generated content—which they can’t control—is the challenge,” Good says.
He thinks advertisers underestimate the time and value teens have for the web. He says a recent experiment by Yahoo, which took the internet away from teenagers for several weeks, showed they felt lost and disconnected from the world. Another study, which questioned teens on what single item they would take with them on a desert island found the internet to be the one thing they couldn’t live without.
“This is where brands have to be. Youth are spending 30% of their media consumption online, but 30% of the advertising dollars aren’t there,” he says.
And while Good agrees that mobile marketing has been huge, it’s now at the point of saturation and he believes teens are now waiting for next-generation communication.
“SMS-ing product codes isn’t that exciting anymore. It’s about as much fun as clicking on spam,” he said.
“What’s the next way to engage with the brand and start a conversation? If you can crack that strategy you can get more loyalty from teens,” he said.
Chairman of the ADMA Mobile Marketing Council and CEO of Legion Interactive, David Burden, agrees that clutter is threatening the impact of mobile marketing.
“I think we’re starting to see clutter as marketers find they’re getting better response rates from interactive and digital activity. The most important thing for brands is to focus on building the relationships and seek permission,” he said.
While Burden says finalists in ADMA’s 2005 Mobile Marketing & Advertising Awards have set new creative standards, innovation remains crucial when communicating to worldly teens with a global network at their fingertips.
“As the marketplace gets more cluttered, each offer has to be more compelling. Youth want to see fun—something quirky and new.
“There are just so many things to do in the digital environment.”
