Tweens (age 9–14) audience profile
Who's point of view is important?
Parents still play an important
role in a tween’s life. As tweens are looking ahead at the next
generation’s (teens) behaviour, they
are still checking in with their parents.
Apply It! Campaigns could include messages delivered from both parents
and teens.
Apply It! Campaigns
could include a component that empowers parents to support andadvise their children.
Most teens are comfortable with both sexes.
Apply It! Ads incorporating unisex images or both genders could
be attractive to tweens.
Tweens lack media literacy skills. They believe that what they
see in ads is the gateway to the freedom and independence of teenagers.
Friends are very important to tweens.
Apply It! Campaigns could incorporate peer-to-peer involvement.
Apply It! Campaigns
could include images of real teen models that tweens can aspire and
relate to.
Who do they respect? Who are their role models?
Friends are key to this age group.
Apply It! Finding
the "early adopter" to influence the
group is key to a successful campaign.
Tweens are constantly aspiring to be "teens."
Apply It! Good teen role models could be incorporated into campaigns.
Celebrities are becoming more important to tweens but there are
no universally admired celebrities among tweens and the
coolness factor changes rapidly.
Apply It! Campaign
messages could be endorsed by a celebrity but only for a limited
time and in combination with other strategies.
Where do they get their health-related information?
This is the age when youth are beginning to look for information
independent of their parents. The media is one important
source of information for them.
How do they spend their money?
Tweens are very involved in family purchasing decisions.
Tweens have independent sources of income.
Tweens are becoming more independent in their own purchasing decisions.
High quality is an important factor in brand loyalty.
Clothing and shoes are an important factor to “fit in” with the
crowd.
Apply It! Campaign message development and production could involve
a review of clothing and shoe advertising to incorporate similar
elements.
This generation is entertainment driven and they are not afraid
to spend money on items they desire.
“Fun” can be defined in many different ways.
Apply It! Campaigns
could offer a variety of different activities to engage and involve
tweens.
What are their values, beliefs, aspirations, objectives, and
attitudes?
Branding is important; however, branding must be continually updated
with new, cool image associations.
Successful brands are built “with” tweens not for them.
Tweens want to be teens.
Apply It! Campaign messages should refrain from calling them tweens.
Apply It! Teens
should be engaged in the branding and message development
process.
Some tweens are beginning to feel expectations and pressures in
school.
Tweens are "growing up."
This is a time when tweens are forming their values and beliefs.
Apply It! Messages
could position the desired behaviour as the tween’s choice and
provide an opportunity for tweens to "decide for themselves."
What are possible media channels and vehicles
to reach them?
Marketers are aggressively targeting this group, so it is necessary
to break through this aggressive marketing environment.
Tweens can be reached through both traditional (television, radio,
teen magazines, movies, music) and non-traditional (internet, concerts,
sports events, movie theaters, malls) communication channels.
Apply It! An effective
way to break though may be to create a separate and relevant brand
identity placed in the entertainment media (e.g.,
The Truth Campaign).
Tweens watch a significant amount of television.
Apply It! Linking
campaign messages with current popular-culture shows with high youth
viewership (e.g., YTV, Much Music) and
the corresponding websites could reach this target audience.
Tweens are online and are using computers.
They expect quick, easy connections and interactivity. The have
high expectations of most products and services, and do not hesitate
to discard items that do not meet those expectations.
Apply It! Campaign planners could develop partnerships with popular
websites for youth.
Tweens follow popular culture trends.
Tweens are high consumers of magazines and short stories.
Apply It! Understanding
what is "in" right now is important
for developing effective campaign promotional items
that will capture the tween's attention and get the message to
other tweens.
About this profile
This profile was created after reviewing numerous documents and
books, identified in a literature and web search conducted
in April 2004. Although the search revealed some proprietary data
that may be relevant,
our budget did not allow us to acquire the documents.
For references backing up the generalizations you see above, as well
as additional
audience analysis data, please download one of the following documents:
Tweens
Audience Analysis Data (Updated June
25 Excel file, 62 kb)
Tweens
Audience Analysis Data (Updated June
25 PDF file, 37 kb)
This summary is only a beginning in terms of understanding the audience.
This information should be complemented by primary formative
research, collected using techniques such as focus groups, interviews,
or surveys.
This profile is a work in progress and will be updated as new information
becomes available. Please send any current research,
focus group data, or suggestions to
Jodi Thesenvitz
Resource Consultant
j.thesenvitz@utoronto.ca
Tel: (519) 837-3659
Copying
Permission to copy this resource is granted for educational purposes only.
If you are reproducing in part only, please credit The Health Communication
Unit, at the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto.
Disclaimer
The Health Communication Unit and its resources and services are
funded by Health Promotion and Wellness, Public Health Branch, Ontario
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The opinions and conclusions
expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and no official
endorsement by the funder is intended or should be inferred.
Acknowledgements
For their input and assistance in the development of this resource,
THCU would like to acknowledge Andrea Kita.
Version 2.0
June 25, 2004
