How Companines Market Their Products to Teens

On average Americans see over 3,000 advertisements per day. They are not only on TV and in magazines, but on billboards, gas pumps, stadiums, on the side of buses and on park benches. Advertising is becoming impossible to avoid. Even outer space is not ad free, in 2000 the Russian space program launched a rocket with a 30 foot Pizza Hut logo on it. Some companies are even looking into placing ads in space which would be visible from earth. Imagine staring up at the night sky and seeing a billboard for Nike or Starbucks instead of the stars.
Companies also advertise to consumers by purchasing naming rights to stadiums and arenas. The Philadelphia Phillies play at the Citizens Bank Park and the Pittsburgh Steelers play at the Heinz Field. Because of this fans often associate their favorite teams with these companies and their products.
Most of the time viewers do not even realize what they are watching contains advertisements. Remember the 1982 movie E.T.? After Reese’s Pieces was featured in a scene the sales of the candy skyrocketed 65 percent, assuring advertisers product placement was an effective advertising tool. Do not forget about animated movies, after the Disney and Pixar film Toy Story was released, Mr. Potato Head sales went up 800 percent.
Product placement is not just in movies anymore, but TV shows as well. At their judges table Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul sit behind red Coca Cola cups on the popular TV show American Idol and contestants compete in a reward challenge for a Visa gift card on Survivor. If the average viewer is wondering why, the answer is simple, TiVo.
TiVo allows viewers to edit out commercials so advertisers need another way to reach consumers. By placing products in the TV shows themselves viewers cannot avoid seeing the product. Another method is giving viewers the information on how to purchase products seen on the program. After and episode of Will and Grace where a character wears a pink Polo shirt, NBC ran a 10 second clip telling the viewers how to purchase one just like it. In the following five days the company sold over 3,000 shirts.
With the onset of digital TV, viewers will be able to directly purchase products from their TV with their remote. For example, a consumer is watching TV and says, “Wow! I really like those jeans/shoes/curtains!” The consumer uses her remote to click on the item and a window pops up which reads, “Only $25.99 at Target. Click here to purchase.”
There are many other places for companies to advertise other than on TV, but the group of people who watch the most TV is also one of the largest and fastest growing groups in America, teenagers.
Companies focus on marketing their products to teens for many reasons. In the year 2000 the teenage population in the US was 32.4 million. It is expected by the year 2010 the population will expand to 33.5 million. The main reason for marketing to teenagers is, teenagers have money to spend. In 2007 teenagers ages 12 to 17 spent over 150 billion dollars on clothing, entertainment, and food. The average weekly paycheck for a teenager is 70 dollars and most have few, if any, bills to pay, and are able to spend their money on what they would like.
Teenagers also influence what their parents buy. Parents often ask their teenagers for their opinion on computers, digital cameras and other electronics. Also parents are more likely to buy items their teens suggest such as clothing and food brands.
Because teen’s ideas about what is cool and what is not is constantly changing, advertisers need to constantly think of new ways to market their products to teens. Who knows what the future has in store for us, it may become even more difficult to stay away from ads.

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