Adreka Gets Social - Decoding the Tween and Teenage Brains LOL

r u getting teh msg?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 6, 2007

Suwanee, Georgia - For most adults, the synopsis for this release reads like gibberish created by a semi-literate individual. In the eyes of many tweens and teenagers, it reads "Are you getting the message?" This disconnect between the terms that adults see and what young people use to communicate on a regular basis indicates a very distinct split between the methods of communicating between those two demographics. The failure to understand and adapt an advertising strategy for these young and potentially voracious consumers can mean the difference between a mediocre product launch and the next teenage cultural phenomenon.

With the advent of greater and greater choices in media, marketers have to further hone their message and method for reaching these teenage consumers. Gone are the days where a high-budget television campaign spread across a few time slots could hit the majority of relevant consumers and generate enough marketing momentum to produce sales. This is especially acute given the rate of early technology adoption among all teenagers and their declining use of traditional media relative to emergent media. "There's been an absolute explosion in the use of cell phones for text messaging and online communities created for young people," said Craig Tilley, VP of Marketing.

What does this mean for the savvy advertiser looking to increase awareness among younger consumers? For starters, teenagers have high media multitasking rates (over 60%), especially when using computers to download messages and converse with peers. Video games and music are also highly integrated in teenage media consumption and thus provide more avenues to get their attention. Mr. Tilley advises that "by creating an appropriately mixed and targeted campaign, an advertiser can reach teenage consumers multiple times per day per medium" thus resulting in far more effective youth advertising campaign that reinforces the overall message.