How do you know you may have a winner in the ever-fickle, hit-or-miss, trend-obsessed teen demographic? Well, you never do, but if after four years of research, scores of focus
groups, polls, and online surveys you can seriously say no one in your target audience thought yours was a bad idea, then you may want to call in a few venture capitalists.
Grassroots research - and lots of it - is the key to developing any initiative aimed at the savvy under-21 demographic, which has spending power in the hundreds of millions and
a wary attitude toward any marcom message.
Susan Tierney knew she would have to get "in the trenches" with teen girls when she began investigating the salon market four years ago and discovered that the customer base
was likely to expand dramatically in the teen demographic in the near future. Tierney had the benefit of 11 years in the teen market as an ad rep for Seventeen magazine, and she
knew her teens.
In addition to accessing Seventeen's extensive research, she and her three partners contacted everyone they knew with teen daughters. They sent 102 girls 20 copies of a four-
page survey, asking each to distribute them to friends at school. Over 180 surveys came back, proving the power of "viral" marketing among teens. The surveys showed an
overwhelmingly positive (89.7 percent) response to the idea of a full-service teen-only salon that also sold beauty products.
Subsequent focus groups (Tierney and partners now do one a week) revealed that hanging out in coffee shops and Web surfing also occupied teen time. Tierney is now president of
the Seventeen Studio/Spa/Salon. The concept is a teen-savvy mélange borne of her research: a Seventeen magazine-branded teen-only salon, combined with a beauty supplies shop,
personal party venue, Internet café and video arcade.
"There was not a single teen who didn't love this concept," crows Tierney. "We combined all of the elements teens like." (Well, all except snide remarks and bitchy in-fighting,
which we presume the teens will supply themselves.)
Tierney and her partners are pumping over $2 million into the project, and they hope that the Seventeen brand will help supercharge marketing and communications. In a licensing
deal with the Primedia publication, Teen Studio (the Studio/Salon/Spa parent company) will promote the magazine and its merchandise throughout the shops, while the magazine will
help get the word out to readers.
The first 8,700 square foot pilot shop will open in the Dallas area in June, with more to come if that one flies.
Club Libby Lu, a five-store chain, beat Teen Studio to the punch on the salon concept two and a half years ago and also relies heavily on research conducted directly with its
clientele - tweens who are not quite ready for the teen marketplace. These accessory/party/makeover/ dress-up shops were started by former employees of the Claire's teen
accessories chain. And because they aggregate one of the toughest demos to touch, they are lucrative marketing vehicles themselves. Tina Spagnoia, SVP of merchandising and
marketing, has a database of 30,000 kids who joined the Libby Lu "Club" and with whom the company communicates constantly.
Do You Know Where Your Children Are?
Because the tween/teen markets are so notoriously hard to access, the art of grassroots promotion has become de rigeur in this field as well, and many communications execs with
experience in the teen market advise that venues like Seventeen Studio will need to go off the beaten PR path again in order to make themselves known.
Web sites have become an important venue for PR pros like Karen Gaynin, account manager, HWH, which handles the Helen of Troy line of hair accessories. "I pitch the teen
sections of well-known [75,000 unique users/month] Web sites." Teens are notorious for their surfing habits, and getting the word out online leads to mentions in chat rooms and
more word-of-mouth marketing.
No one sells a teen product or service better than another teen, communicators say, so hire opinion leaders from within your target's peer group to distribute coupons at school
or even work in a store, which is great for word-of-mouth. Tim Garrett, SVP, McElroy FCB, who represents a teen apparel manufacturer, organizes "Street Teams," teens distributing
promotional posters, stickers and post cards.
Garrett also recommends events involving music, a local group or a DJ. Discounts are less effective with this segment than add-ons or giveaways, he finds.
But whatever you do, make good on any promises made in promotions. "Dogs and teens can sniff out a fake at 100 feet," says branding expert Rob Frankel.
(Contacts: Rob Frankel, [email protected]; Tim Garrett, 949/567-9412; Karen Gaynin, 212/355-5049, ext. 108; Tina Spagnoia, 773/638-
5466; Susan Tierney, 972/625-6688)
Advice from a Real Teen Marketer
Barely out of his teens himself, 21-year-old Kevin Colleran, is president of BlabberForce Enterprises and already a veteran of grassroots youth marketing. He passes along his
basics for campaigning to local market teens:
- Sponsor events with demographically targeted radio stations
- Hire teen reps to distribute coupons and do viral marketing in high schools
- Sponsor HS sports teams, contests, promotions, dances
- Promote contests with gift certificates as prizes
Contact: Kevin Colleran, 781/239-6218, [email protected]