Also in this report:
– Playland plays up thrills to woo teens p.21
– Marketers go to school to reach young target: Partnership approach can work, but companies may risk backlash p.23
– Sponsors in Master Control: Club to promote show to young viewers allows marketers to extend involvement p.26
– Packaging must speak the language of youth: The best way to understand the visual cues that appeal to the youth market, designers argue, is to immerse oneself in youth culture p.28
When targeting the youth market, media planners and buyers live by the golden rule: know what’s hot – and what’s not.
Regulations on advertising to young children, the fickle behavior of tweens and teens, and the general elusiveness of young people are just some of the factors that make reaching youth a particular challenge.
For those who buy media, vigilant tracking of trends and habits is still the best way to even the odds.
It’s also important to recognize that reaching the different segments of the youth market – kids, tweens, teens and young adults – calls for very different strategies.
Sue Poland, vice-president, media for Toronto-based Griffin Bacal Volny, says that when it comes to kids (ages 3 to 8), no other medium comes close to delivering the impact of television.
Given the choice, she says, kids are avid tv watchers, averaging just over 15 hours weekly.
‘As a mother of a five-year-old daughter myself, I am constantly amazed by what she retains from her viewing,’ says Poland.
Because youngsters in this age range are a diverse bunch – the differences between a four-year-old and an eight-year-old are huge – making the right programming choices is a delicate balancing act.
‘We have to look for shows that would trend more boys than girls, or vice versa,’ Poland says. ‘Skewing products in early morning versus later afternoon might also give you an advantage in more specifically skewing to the appropriate demo.
‘I would look more towards afternoon and/or early fringe properties for older kids and tween brands, and look more to Saturday morning and weekday morning for younger kids.’
However, because of the programming strategies of broadcasters, this approach isn’t always feasible.
Many broadcasters, such as CanWest Global, sell programming for children as a broad rotation, Poland explains.
‘I may have something I don’t want to run in a girls’ show, but I have no control over where that spot is going to run. It’s up to the discretion of the station. You’re not allowed to zero in specifically on shows you feel would be better suited to your product.’
Poland says it’s important for clients wishing to target kids to be aware of the legal restrictions on advertising to young children.
Guidelines for creative call for realistic portrayal of products, and caution against urging a child to buy. Celebrity endorsement and comparative advertising are also ruled out.
To complicate matters, in Quebec, marketers cannot legally direct advertising to children.
‘What we and a lot of others do is advertise quite heavily on u.s. border stations out of Vermont, which we know are being picked up on cable in Montreal.’
Tweens (ages nine to 14) and teens are even harder than kids to pin down.
Mary Minos, vice-president, group media director at McKim Media Group in Toronto, calls youngsters in this age range ‘a moving target.’
The approach she recommends: look for opportunities to reach them in as many places as possible, as often as possible.
‘What’s worked well for us is using television very tactically, in high-rated programs that teens view – and, in addition to that, utilizing out-of-home media.’
Because public transit is the main mode of transportation for tweens and teens, Minos says the use of interior transit, transit shelters and posters can be particularly effective.
When it comes to television programming, Minos simply looks at top-ranked shows such as The X-Files, since there aren’t many significant differences between viewing by teens and adults.
As a rule, she doesn’t recommend any long-range tv buys.
‘As a planner and buyer, you really have to be on top of what they’re tuning to, because they’re very fad-oriented.
‘If a program is hot among their peers, they will watch it – but very quickly that fad can disappear, and then they’re on to something else. The trick is keeping on top of it, looking at the overnight meter data to [stay aware of] the total audience and where it’s moving to.’
A summer 1995 project for Nike Canada, by Cossette Communication-Marketing of Toronto, serves as something of a model approach for hitting this ‘moving target.’
The ‘Toronto Attack’ campaign blanketed the city with outdoor boards, transit and subway shelter posters and wild postings on construction-site boards in areas where kids tend to hang out.
The campaign, which targeted tweens to young adults, ages 12 to 24, also incorporated city buses painted with murals inside and out, and subway cars with Nike-only advertising.
Lauren Richards, Cossette media director, says one of the advantages of using transit to go after this target group is the cost-efficiency of the medium. ‘Doing something with a bang ended up being really feasible,’ she says.
One reliable indicator that the campaign was successful: the posters kept disappearing.
‘We doubled or tripled the allotment you usually need to print,’ Richards says.
Perhaps the most elusive group of all is the 18 to 24 segment.
Rob Young, senior vice-president, planning and research, for Harrison Young Pesonen & Newell, says this group’s media usage habits have undergone significant changes over the last few years.
Radio remains a viable means of reaching them, he says. Television, however, is another matter.
‘They are very light tv viewers. Ten years ago, that age group watched about the same amount [as older groups], but their tuning levels have dropped off remarkably.’
Generally, says Young, they are shifting a lot of their time in front of the tv set to vcr use.
Most of the shows that do appeal to them tend to be high-rated properties – and therefore more expensive for advertisers to buy.
Rather than broad-scale usage of television, Young recommends careful selection of particular programs and stations.
As light readers of daily newspapers, young people in the 18 to 24 range are also difficult to reach with print.
There is, however, high TV Guide readership among this age group, since light viewers are less familiar with programming and need navigational aids.
‘What it boils down to,’ says Young, ‘is that with the exception of radio, mainstream media is not a particularly good way of reaching these people.’
The new media, however, don’t yet offer much of an alternative.
While a large portion of the 18 to 24 age group are university or college students with access to the Internet, only about 10% spend time on-line in the course of a week, Young says.
‘We’re talking about some teeny numbers here.’
