Unfortunately, having a MySpace page doesn’t
make you an expert in the online habits of teens
and tweens. Not even if you have 100 friends linked
to your page. Despite the constant media stories,
there’s more to the online habits of teens and tweens
than a few popular social networking sites. These
young people make up the first generation to actually
grow up with the web. As such, they’re smart,
tech savvy and generally averse to the hard sell. So
how does a hardworking interactive designer create a
site that merits a bookmark? Do your homework. Be
creative. Leave the pandering at home.
Youth culture
As with any age group, one of the first keys to success
with teens and tweens is getting to know the
target audience. Clint! Runge, a creative director
at Archrival in Lincoln, Neb., says it’s important
to recognize the generational differences in the
way people use the web. In general, boomers go
online for information while the Gen X crowd often
looks for entertainment. Gen Y, however, takes a
completely different approach. “They use the web
for communication and membership,” Runge says.
“They want a sense of belonging.”
This means a website that resembles a slick
brochure likely won’t pass muster. It’s important for
teens and tweens to really feel like they’re part of a
website—not just passive users. Anything you can do
to increase interactivity will likely win points with
this age group. “Let them be part of the brand,”
Runge says. This might mean allowing site visitors
to vote on a product’s new tagline or even creating a
youth advisory board.
Michael Brandt, a creative director at the firm
mediumbold in Boston, says his team worked to
build interaction into the Keds Mischa Barton site. One section, for
example, features testimonials submitted by site
visitors on how they express themselves. There is
also an interactive quiz called “Finding Your Own
Style” that matches a user’s answers with her perfect
style decade and pair of Keds. The site strives to
be cool without telling teens what’s cool. Brandt
describes this light-handed approach as “leading
by example.”
While those of us over 25 might long for a
fountain of youth, most teens and tweens wish they
were several years older. The Keds site officially targets
19- to 25-year-olds, but this also gives it aspirational
appeal for 13- to 18-year-olds. “A 12-year-old doesn’t
want to be 12,” says Mark Lewman, a creative director
at Nemo Design in Portland, Ore. “They want to be
16.” The bottom line: When in doubt, skew a little
older. Kids are more sophisticated than adults typically
give them credit for.
Don’t be a poser
Young people hate it when you try too hard—to be
cool, young or just sell a product. To get them to your
site, you have to do more than promote a product.
“Create an experience that has some intrinsic value
to an audience,” says Mark Rattin, president and creative
director at 15 Letters in Chicago. For example,
his firm designed a micro-site called The Swarm for
M&M Minis. It’s an online comic book that plays
like an interactive movie with limited animation.
The story is engaging enough to warrant forwards
among the target audience, roughly 10- to 14-yearolds.
“This age group shares,” Rattin says. “Word of
mouth is important.” Make sure your site encourages
this kind of viral marketing with both appealing
content and soft prompts to share the site with
others. One section of The Swarm site, for example,
allows users to create their own drawings, and a
“Send to a Friend” button makes it easy to forward
on these masterpieces.
If you’re not careful, your online efforts could
get you mocked rather than revered among brutal
teens and tweens. Lewman says this age group has
a low tolerance for content that isn’t engaging or
authentic. “Be surprising,” he says. “Don’t copy
everything else that’s out there. They’re really sharp.
They don’t want to absorb derivative content.”
How do you guarantee your site gets positive
attention? “You come from the culture and you
understand what drives that kid,” Lewman says. His
firm works on Nike 6.0, the shoe company’s action
sports brand. One reason the site works so well is
that it gets all the details and nuances just right.
Lewman and others who work on the campaign grew
up participating in action sports, so they know the
culture firsthand.
Don’t worry. You don’t have to take up skateboarding
to be in the loop. But it would help if you
visited the skate shop, shopping mall, or wherever
your target audience happens to hang out. If you
went into both a skate and a surfing shop, Lewman
says, you’d immediately get a feel for how those two
cultures differ. Firsthand research can help ensure
your site doesn’t seem like an outsider created it.
Picture perfect
As you slide down the age spectrum, think visual
instead of text-based storytelling. The limited text
on a tween or teen site should have a purpose or
simply offer something unexpected. Product copy
on the Nike 6.0 site reads more like a fantasy novel
chat room than a traditional catalog. A blurb for
a T-shirt featuring an imaginary creature called a
Pegacorn starts off like this, “You’ve heard the argument,
usually made after a real hot and sweaty night
of playing ‘Magic.’ There’s NO way a unicorn would
mate with a Pegasus. Besides, Unicorns aren’t real.”
The Keds Mischa Barton site relies heavily on
videos and images rather than text to engage visitors.
“We wanted to create an environment and tell a
story,” Brandt says. Overall, the idea is to let teens get
to know the popular actress with behind-the-scenes
videos from her Keds photo shoots. This approach
promotes an insider feel and allows site visitors to
relate to Barton as a real person. The site also benefits
from strategic partnerships. Since independent record
labels provide the background music, teens may actually
discover hip new bands at the site. Plus, users can
download screensavers featuring illustrations by a rockposter
artist who designed a line of Keds.
But no matter how on-target your site, it can
take a little push to get the traffic there in the first
place. The Nike 6.0 site is part of a comprehensive
campaign that encompasses both TV and print. To
get into the lives of teens, Lewman says it’s key to
become part of their landscapes. Try placing banner
ads on other sites they visit and figure out other key
places to touch base with your audience.
Keep it fresh
Once you catch the eye of your target audience, it
takes regular updating to keep them coming back.
The Keds site gets updated every spring and fall
when the new shoe line rolls out. To keep the project within a budget, imagery and messaging get
changed out within a standardized site architecture.
Even small updates help keep things fresh. Are there
a few content areas that can easily be expanded or
updated? One compelling addition can help drive
traffic back to a site.
Then there’s the more serious side of marketing
to young people. “You need to understand what’s
appropriate and what’s not for those under 18,”
Rattin says. And this goes beyond obvious judgment
calls to keep things rated PG. There are special rules
about privacy and data collection with respect to
young people. A good starting point is a PDF provided
by the Federal Trade Commission called, “How
to Comply With The Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Rule.” Beginning to feel
like you’re back in high school cramming for a test?
That’s just your inner teen coming out to help.
SIDEBAR: Think Young
Even if you could magically
travel back in time to talk
with your 14-year-old self,
you’d still be struggling to
figure out exactly what turns
the heads of today’s techsavvy
teens and tweens. Try
these free resources to raise
your youth IQ … sans braces:
Ypulse
Keep tabs on all the latest
news relating to Gen Y with
one bookmark. This blog
offers a daily roundup—
complete with commentary—
designed for the media and
advertising crowds.
Pew Internet & American
Life Project
No time or money for focus
groups? Just type teen into
the search box and hit go
to uncover an avalanche of
free research on how this age
group uses technology.
Girl Scout Research Institute
This official arm of everyone’s
favorite cookie sales
force conducts original
research on lives of teen and
tween girls, including a study
on girls and new media.
Kaiser Family Foundation
Simply choose the internet
section under Entertainment
and Media Studies to access
relevant studies for nearly
any age group. It’s the perfect
backup material to
help bolster your cause at
client meetings.
