• by Michael Drexler , May 7, 2001

There's an awful lot being written about teenagers today. Not only sociologically but economically as well. And it's the latter that often makes advertisers stand up and take notice.

The fact is that the buying power of teenagers today is greater than ever before. Research says it's a total of $155 billion a year or an average of $100 bucks a week. Even more impressive is that it's growing at a rate of 6% annually. Are parents getting this kind of salary increase or are the kids themselves earning more each year than the growth rate of the GDP? If not, that's a lot of gifts.

Much of it is discretionary spending because teenagers today are more independent and hold part time jobs to supplement their allowance. In many cases, they are free to spend as they wish because parental approval usually is not necessary for the relatively small stuff anymore. So for Generation Y, instant gratification is not only desirable as it always has been, but now affordable.

I'm not trying to paint a psychologically disturbing picture of teenagers because in many ways they are no different today than they were in the past. Every generation of teenagers has its sense of "ownership" in the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, the books they read, the movies or TV shows they watch and the beliefs they covet. Remember, kids think they know who they are but the fact is they are really trying to find a comfortable identity that can also fit in with their peers. They can also spot bullshit a mile away and hate when advertisements exaggerate or try to communicate with them too obviously.

In addition to understanding how to effectively market to teenagers, it is necessary to recognize that their media habits are also fickle. They are an elusive media target so it's important to constantly survey what's "cool" at the moment. It requires a special strategy and knowledge of media insight to capture them.

I thought it would be interesting to interview my fourteen-year-old daughter about her media behavior. Maybe I could learn a few things. And I did, so I'll share them with you. First of all, she loves teenage magazines. Reads them all the time. Can't wait to get the next issue so I got her a subscription to her favorites (it's cheaper that way and a lot more convenient). She likes them for the ads as much as the editorial.

Her taste in music is limited to a few local radio stations but she has an enormous number of CD's. Loyal to her favorite artists, she plays them over and over again but there's always a new song she "absolutely must have," even though the radio station will play it a hundred times a day. And she burns CDs on her computer like I burn toast -- every day.

She also has a number of must-see TV shows, watches them without fail, then discusses them regularly with others by phone, email or in person (no chat rooms yet).

Movies are not a terribly big thing with her unless "everyone" is going to see "it." Then she has to go. While she has no particular movie idol it's just the opposite with recording artists. She would kill for tickets to a favorite artist's concert.

Then I asked her about her online habits. How did she use the Internet, when and why? She confirmed my belief that day parts are just as important on the Net as they are with TV or radio. She spends most of the time online between 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm (late afternoon) and 8:00 to 10:00 pm (prime time) weekdays. On weekends, she's too busy with other activities but is always close enough to a web-enabled device to check her email.

At multitasking, she's a star. Homework, TV, telephone and PC all going at once. And music also coming from somewhere. I don't know what kind of brain can handle all this stuff simultaneously, but it does. Napster was her favorite music source. She created her own file and downloaded everything. Now she has to find a peer-to-peer alternative.

Does she shop on the web? You bet! It's not only convenient, but instantly gratifying, as she says. Sometimes, even more fun than the mall, unless it's a social thing. Not much surfing because she already knows what she's looking for. When she can't find it, search engines and keywords often supply the answer. We got her a debit card so we can control the damage.

About online advertising? Well, she says she notices almost all ads but responds or remembers only when she's interested in the product. Then, she clicks through or goes directly to the site later on. She says creatively static banners, animation or other forms of rich media don't make much difference. It's all about product interest so a banner has the same chance of getting her attention although she claims to hate pop-ups finding them "irritating." Loves games and entertainment but not sweepstakes. Has a few favorite sites bookmarked. Mostly fan pages, popular cable networks or networks with her favorite TV shows and, of course, several e-commerce sites.

So this is my kid. All in all, I suspect fairly typical of Gen Y. Thanks Lauren for the time and the insight.

- Michael Drexler is Executive VP at Mediasmith, Inc. an integrated Interactive Media planning and buying company. During his 41 years in advertising he has been Media Director of Ogilvy, DDB and FCB as well as Chairman of TN Media. He may be reached at mdrexler@mediasmithinc.com