Eight Rules for Marketing to Teens

Ask any parent about getting their teenagers to eat healthy foods and you’ll likely hear a cacophony of sighs and tales of diets consisting of sugar, chips, and energy drinks.  

It’s no surprise that food and drink companies are using these less-than-desirable habits to sell products to teens and tweens alike. But savvy food marketers can drive strong messages around healthy options if they understand how to best market to this diverse, strong-willed, and tech-minded demographic. 

It’s all about speaking their language in a way that ties choices to lifestyle. Marketing to this group requires a different mindset structured around eight teenage paradigms:

1. Life is one big experiment. Teens are constantly searching for their unique identity through trial and error around diet, health, sexuality, and style. Exploration spans being a meat lover one minute and a vegan the next. Key to this exploration is teens making their own food choices as they get jobs and amass disposable income.

Food marketers can help teens “try on” healthy habits by linking them with identity or image. They also can link foods with favorite hobbies and celebrities.

2. Mix and match lifestyle. Teenagers constantly face a contemporary culture filled with mixed health messages. Idols and celebrities engage in both healthy and unhealthy habits (e.g., Lady Gaga is both a yoga enthusiast and smoker). They are less trusting of corporate messages and may be bombarded by “behind-the-scenes” reality perspectives that drive this mistrust.

Food marketers should target single behaviors, such as choosing a healthier snack option, and make the connection between healthy habits and how teens look/feel/interact. Talk about folic acid for healthy hair and omega-3s for clearer skin. 

3. Learn online; share online. Teens today are nothing if not technology hungry and savvy. They connect via sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Foursquare. They customize content for their interests and despise technologies that force advertisements on them.

Thus, food marketers must make promotional messages more visual (infotainment). Don’t believe that Facebook and Twitter are enough to reach teens. Expand to include as many channels as possible. Let them rate products and participate in the brand.

4. Reject mass; embrace social. Evolution has made teens into social creatures. They are connected and want dialogues with each other. Preach to them and they’ll tune out. When choosing healthy products, they value their friends’ opinions over traditional advertising.

Marketers should think locally because it’s what teens know and believe is better. Cross promote: integrate traditional media, the Internet, digital, mobile, and packaging. Find teens on their apps.

5. Going to extremes. Teenage life is all about extremes, such as mood swings, here todaygone tomorrow interests, and peer pressure driven choices. Much of this is normal teen behavior, but studies show both boys and girls can take it too far.

Marketers shouldn’t be afraid to use extreme colors and visual approaches. But also show teens there are many healthy options available. Provide examples of healthy habits and their benefits. 

6. Non-stop living. There’s no shortage of activity in a teen’s life. They must juggle before and after school programs, homework, sports, clubs, and dating. That can make for long, stressful days.

Protein bars and convenient packaging are staples for busy teens. Food marketers should help teens find ways to measure their healthy eating. Give them a social venue to share successes. Add messaging about the advantages of healthy foods for academic and athletic performance.

7. Drink up; liquid meals. Teens skip meals with family and substitute them with energy drinks, smoothies, sodas, and protein beverages. Why? The main drivers are to enhance performance, lose weight, boost energy, and convenience. Concern over the impact of energy drinks is growing, and there’s a push to force manufacturers to voluntarily display caffeine amounts on cans. 

Food marketers should embrace healthier formulations and add micronutrients. Use convenience and explore new delivery formats (gel pouches, shots, etc.). Add nutrients for energy rather than caffeine.

8. Divided attention. A teen’s world is built around four screens: mobile phone, tablet, TV, and computer. They are multitaskers whose attention is fleeting, fragmented, and hard to get. Even their shopping habits are device dependent. Studies show 81% of smartphone shopping is on a whim, compared to 58% for PCs. 

Food marketers should make websites mobile- and tablet-friendly. Use location advertising to capture impulse shopping. Cross-merchandise from one platform to another, and maintain message continuity from platform to platform. 

Today’s teens may not be enamored with healthy foods, but they are the next generation of purchasers who will morph their spending and consuming habits as they reach adulthood. The key to making them loyal customers is to speak their language now through channels they use and in ways that appeal to their sense of self.

Jeff Hilton,
is Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of BrandHive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
([email protected]).