MARKETING TO TEENS
Hot Properties On The Internet by Mike Freud
September 4th, 2002
Youth culture, Generation Y, punks, pop-stars, and crybabies –gen next marketing is here and corporations want in. The numbers show there are 58 million U.S. teens that account for over $250 billion of disposable income.
Companies selling fashion are focused on capturing youth mind share. Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, J Crew, and Billabong have large sites that show new trends and provide e-commerce. Interactive properties are all over Internet and companies are quickly building their own or partnering with online teen hangouts.
On August 16, Target showed the world that they know what’s hot in fashion, beauty and music. Sally Mueller said their new site, “Bullseye” is at the center of today’s pop culture. Style-savvy teens will find Bullseye to be a quick and easy resource for the latest news and trends in areas they care about most, such as music and fashion. It’s a hip, youthful way for Target to engage our growing teen audience.”
On September 4, Avon launched a new business unit for teens and hired an executive from Conde Nast Publications as President. Avon has already been credited by investment analysts who noticed value in their marketing department’s move to use tennis pros Venus and Serena Williams in ads.
Avon and Target should take a look at Candie’s, a footwear company that has caught attention from the market. According to Candie’s corporate, their brand “has become synonymous with young, fashionable, footwear marketed by exciting advertising and celebrity spokespersons.”
Candies.com showcases an expose of Destiny’s Child and features live celebrity chat events. Their focused marketing has brought their brand to licensors for cosmetics, fragrances, sunglasses, watches, and apparel. But as of September, Candie’s isn’t using their site to generate revenue. The site currently sends shoppers to a partner site to transact business. They are however, implementing e-commerce strategies in the upcoming months according to their second quarter earning call on September 6.
They should all be looking at Alloy the only company in the group already making money from the net. Alloy attracts 15 million teens each month and is projecting $160 Million in revenue, mostly from online merchandise sales.
Companies in this article:
Avon (www.avon.com)
Target (bullseye.target.com)
Candies (www.candies.com)
Alloy (www.alloy.com)
