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Consumer
electronic companies target teens Washington, DC, Mar. 28 (UPI) -- The first thing Caitlin Conlee, an eighth grader from Arizona, would buy if she had all the money in the world is a better cell phone. "You know, one of the really small ones with all the great features," she said. And then? "Duh, an iPod," she rolls her eyes and all her friends giggle at the stupidity of the question. Conlee and her peers make up one of the most targeted markets for consumer electronics, teenagers and "tweens" aged 13 to 18. More than half of American teenagers will spend more than $100 on their next consumer electronic purchase and one quarter more than $200, according to a study by the Consumer Electronics Association. More than 90 percent of teens live in a household with a TV, VCR, DVD player, desktop computer and cell phone. The top four electronic products teens want as gifts are laptop computers, cell phones, MP3 players and videogame consoles. "Getting them early on will make them a customer for life," said Rebecca Gertsmark, communication manager for the CEA. "Teens are extremely targeted, they know what they want and they follow trends and set them." Companies target teens early hoping that they will become "early adopters" and develop a taste for more features and higher-end equipment, Gertsmark said. "When teens start off with an MP3 player it gives them an appreciation of an audio product. Then they will buy better headphones, and better audio equipment when they get older," Gertsmark said. While parents often buy electronics products for their teens, it is the teens that influence what is actually purchased Gertsmark said. Most of their information comes from friends and the Web sites they visit. Teens want to know what their friends are using and are more likely to act on that advice than anything else. More than 70 percent of teens said they want something if a friend owns in, according to the CEA study. "If all their friends are text messaging, then they're going to get a wireless phone they can text on," Gertsmark said. "Price, features, lifestyle it's all important though." Mobility is a main concern of teenagers, they want to talk, listen to music and play games on the go, according to Gertsmark. Teens are more likely to buy something that fits into their lifestyle. The popularity of cell phones, portable game systems and MP3 players is indicative of this wireless drive, Gertsmark said. Younger people are more likely to purchase MP3 players than older, according to a study done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Households with teenagers are also more likely to buy consumer electronics, according to the CE study. Boost Mobile is an Australian cell phone company that branched out in New Zealand and America in 2002 and is focused on teen lifestyles. The company's main customers are "independent, irreverent" high school and college students, according to Andy Colley the communication manager for Boost Mobile. Because teens are so mobile and tend to be media savvy companies are finding different ways of marketing to them. "It's the last great frontier, the youth and elderly markets had not been penetrated in 2002," Colley said. "Youth market recognition and credibility that cannot be cultivated simply by splashing out a large marketing budget," Colley said. Boost Mobile's most effective campaigns are local sponsored sports or music events and nationally a ringtone donation drive of the National Anthem. In 2004, Boost Mobile hosted and sponsored some of the world's largest action sports events, including the "Boost Mobile Pro of Surf," the only ASP World Championship Tour event for surfing on the U.S. mainland, the "Boost Mobile Pro of Snow," showcasing snowboarders with live performances from multi-platinum hip-hop artists and the "And 1/Boost Mobile Mixed Tape Streetball Tour," Boost's first national tour sponsorship and its first urban-focused streetball sponsorship. The company uses focus groups and asks top action sports athletes what they would use to make sure they are following trends, Colley said. The cell phone, especially among girls, is turning into a fashion accessory, Colley said. To market to this group Boost Mobile works with highly recognized brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy, DUB, and And 1. "There were these girls who had two to three phones for different occasions. One for going out at night, on for at school, and they would just switch the Sim card," Colley said. Kristine Kenner, a Maryland high school student, would never date a boy with a "busted phone," she said. Kenner and her friends all agreed that the perfect thing would be a good looking phone with all the features. "First I would get the phone and then the perfect outfit to match it," Sierra Wilson said. "It would have to have a video camera and recorder too. That's important because then you can watch things as they happen." The price of a plan is also important to teens, Colley said. "We concentrate on simplicity and affordability, the walkie-talkie has really taken off because it's cheap," Colley said. "More than 50 percent use it." Luke Wynecoop, from Washington state, said he would buy a lot more games, a new cell phone and MP3 player if he had more money. "Right now my parents pay for my cell phone, I just don't have any money," he said. "But tech stuff is important, without it, there wouldn't be anything to do."
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