It's 2007 and Hannah Montana is the latest craze for tween girls and parents are ponying up several hundred - and in some cases thousands - of dollars to see the live concert version of Disney's mega TV hit.
Tweens (in yesteryear referred to as "kids") are a highly coveted segment of society spanning in age roughly 8 to 12 years old. Over the last decade plus, companies and their marketers across the globe have discovered the increased buying power of this segment, which in 2006 has been estimated at $170 billion worldwide according to Euromonitor.
Aside from the eye-popping dollar figures associated with tweens, what are the top 5 reasons that makes these mini-spenders so powerful in capitalist societies?
1. Their pampering parents and other family members.
At virtually no other time in history have parents and grandparents spent as much on their children for products and services that go beyond basic needs. This translates to designer-inspired room decor, cell phones, specialty dolls, elaborate video game systems...and concert tickets for Disney rock stars.
2. They have their own money.
In case it wasn't clear from the figure above, they have money to spend directly and indirectly - money that comes from mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc. as allowances, birthdays, chores. Or they simply ask one of the above family figures to buy for them.
3. Their spending is purely discretionary.
Tweens are in the remarkable position at their stage of life that, aside from saving, they have nothing else to spend their money on but cool stuff that they like. Tweens have no worries about mortgages, aging parents, credit card bills, first cars, or even dates or proms to pay for.
4. They're brand loyal.
Tweens know what brands look, sound and feel like and recognize brands through traditional and Internet/mobile media and marketing. Unlike price sensitive, brand fickle adults, tweens know what they want and will buy it again, and again, and again.
5. They are brand evangelists.
No one articulates the glories and disgraces of a brand quite like a passionate 9-year old. They'll not only sell all the adults they know (perhaps to sell-in Christmas and birthday wish lists all-the-more effectively) they tell all their friends, too, and can talk about it as the fodder for social bonding. "You like Harry Potter and Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, too? Hey, we have something to talk about..."
Tweens - those funny little beings who secretly wish they were already a teen - you have to love them. And it's obvious marketers around the world do.
The Quiet Moments
5 years ago
