Merchants of Cool
Teenagers make up a huge portion of the actively consuming population. They spend their money, they spend their parent's money, and that money goes to the products that best targeted the teen audience.
Teenagers want nothing more than to fit in while standing out and what better way to do that then by buying into trends. But what decides trends? Marketers advertising to teen audiences are constantly drawing inspiration from real teens they observe and have identified as trend setters. They compile many of these teens into focus groups where they listen to their ideas and make marketing decisions based on that information. Advertisers have to respond to the general audience in order to be successful.
Sketchers Commercial: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7Wp9/skechers-gowalk-teen
This commercial is from 2014. The teens portrayed in the video are likable for the teen audience because they are dressed in the clothing styles considered 'cool' at the time. This makes the teen audience viewing the commercial want to be the stylish teens in the commercial and they are manipulated to think they can do that with sketchers. The teens in the commercial are doing things that were considered cool in 2014 like going to the boardwalk, buying your girlfriend an impractical oversize stuffed animal, taking selfies, going out with your friends without parent supervision and riding roller coasters. This makes the viewing teens want to be affiliated with these individuals that stand out.
Many advertisers have used these techniques in order to catch the attention of teenagers and tap the market of the younger generations.
Teenagers want nothing more than to fit in while standing out and what better way to do that then by buying into trends. But what decides trends? Marketers advertising to teen audiences are constantly drawing inspiration from real teens they observe and have identified as trend setters. They compile many of these teens into focus groups where they listen to their ideas and make marketing decisions based on that information. Advertisers have to respond to the general audience in order to be successful.
Sketchers Commercial: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7Wp9/skechers-gowalk-teen
This commercial is from 2014. The teens portrayed in the video are likable for the teen audience because they are dressed in the clothing styles considered 'cool' at the time. This makes the teen audience viewing the commercial want to be the stylish teens in the commercial and they are manipulated to think they can do that with sketchers. The teens in the commercial are doing things that were considered cool in 2014 like going to the boardwalk, buying your girlfriend an impractical oversize stuffed animal, taking selfies, going out with your friends without parent supervision and riding roller coasters. This makes the viewing teens want to be affiliated with these individuals that stand out.
Many advertisers have used these techniques in order to catch the attention of teenagers and tap the market of the younger generations.
While reading this article I was able I notice a few things that I constantly see in many ads. Lots of brands use this technique to try and create more revenue for themselves. I think that it is a smart thing for brands to do because it works and teens still feel like they are unique.
ReplyDelete