The number of youths across Europe and the US with access to the Internet is large and growing. Growing up in the 'double-click generation' as a net-savvy consumer will become the norm. For marketers,
the Internet represents an opportunity to capitalize on the US $60 billion spending power of the double-click generation. That's according to the latest report from Datamonitor, a business information
company specializing in industry analysis.
Datamonitor looked at the online youth population across seven European countries and the US and found that a considerable proportion of today's
youths already have access to the Internet, either at home or through school computers. 65.3 million individuals in the 5 to 17 year age group have access to the Internet at home while 54.1 million
youths have access to the Internet at school.
When the number of online youths is combined with their total annual disposable income of US $60 billion, it is clear that this is an important
consumer audience.
The potential for marketing to this set of consumers becomes even more apparent when it is considered that they currently spend 5 billion hours online annually.
The rate of
Internet penetration varies widely from country to country. Spain has the lowest levels of Internet penetration among youths; Sweden, the UK and the US all have a high proportion of online youths. By
2005, 74% of the youth population in Western Europe and North America will have regular access to the Internet. They will spend increasing amounts of time online as they become more familiar with the
medium.
Despite the parental concerns that may be raised by the amount of time that their children spend online, recent studies found that teenagers place greater emphasis on being online for
academic research than for games. This pattern reflects the importance of the Internet as an educational tool. However, teenagers will also use the Internet to research extra-curricular interests and
young children use the Internet primarily as a gaming resource.
Children Still Prefer Fresh Air
In a survey conducted in 2001 by the Intelligence Factory among European youths, 84%
said that they now spend more time online than they did last year. However, 85% agreed with the statement that they "would rather spend a great day outside than a great day online," which indicates
that the Internet is not necessarily regarded as a way of life, but as a useful tool and an interesting diversion.
More Affluence Among the Double-click Generation
Although the youth
population will remain stable, the number of online youths will increase as the number of households connected to the Internet grows. The increasing use of the Internet in schools will act as a driver
for this, as children with school access will also seek access at home. The income of online youths will also continue to grow. Historically, pocket money has tended to increase faster than inflation.
Between 1999 and 2001, pocket money in France increased by 21% over inflation and GDP, in Germany by 35% and in the US by 10%. If this trend continues we can expect to see a rise in the disposable
income of online youths above the rate of mere population growth.
Online youths are very demanding consumers. To attract and retain them, Datamonitor says websites must be designed around the
specific characteristics of their target audience. Crucially, boys seek novelty and entertainment, while girls enjoy fulfilling goals and prefer to feel part of a community. As a general rule, teens
are rarely impressed by generic teen-oriented websites, preferring to find websites that support their interests.
The sheer diversity of websites available mean that there is no shortage of
competition for youths' attention. As youths become more proficient users of the Internet, competition between web pages to be on their PC monitors will heighten. Datamonitor analyzed several youth
orientated websites. Each case demonstrates different yet successful approaches to online youth marketing, but despite these differences there are several common themes. Website design must be clear
and uncluttered making it easy to discover what is on offer. The prime purpose of all of these sites is to provide a valuable service to the browser and only then to engage in some form of marketing.
The key to success for these websites is providing the browser with a good reason to return.
Piers Berezai, Datamonitor consumer markets analyst, said, "The Internet has now become a fully
functional alternative marketing and selling medium. The escalating number of online youths means that this medium will grow in importance. Youths' browsing exposes them to brands and marketing in a
new and fundamentally different way. For the first time, youths can interact with and, to some extent, influence the marketing that they receive. If used responsibly, the Internet will act as powerful
advertising medium, if not it can just as easily turn-off his web-savvy set of consumers."