NEW YORK — Does the power of celebrities’ marketing connections lose some spark with tweens, as the group closes in on its teenage years?
Apparently so, based on an advertising study that BuzzBack Market Research conducted with more than 500 girls and boys, ages eight through 12 .
At stake is annual spending by roughly 21 million Americans in this age group, estimated at $946 per capita by Harris Youth Pulse. That comes to expenditures of approximately $19.9 billion annually.
When tweens were asked by Manhattan-based BuzzBack if seeing a star or favorite character using a brand in an ad or entertainment vehicle makes them want to use it, the most common response given by 11- and 12-year-olds was that such endorsements simply signal that the famous individual is making a lot of money to use the featured product. That answer was given by 45 percent of those older tweens, compared with less than one-third, or 31 percent, of tweens ages eight through 10.
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Further, 35 percent of the older cohort said they are not affected by celebrity ad images, versus less than one-quarter, or 23 percent, of the younger tweens.
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“Marketers still need to be creative and informative in their approach, perhaps sponsoring activities tweens enjoy,” said BuzzBack president Carol Fitzgerald, who conceded that a big name alone may not prompt a purchase.
The finding reflects the wealth of information accessible to kids and how much more quickly it spreads than in the past, Fitzgerald said. “The information available on the Internet feeds this, as does the speed with which [tweens] share their knowledge in instant messages and cell phone conversations,” she noted.
Population growth trends provide added impetus for marketers to tailor celebrity pitches to tweens and young teens. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and Packaged Facts, between 2000 and 2007, the number of Americans ages eight through 14 will increase an estimated 9.5 percent, to reach 28.7 million. (That group would represent spending power of more than $27 billion, based on the $946 per capita spent annually by eight- through 12-year-olds alone.) The country’s broader populace, by comparison, is projected to expand 7.3 percent, to 302 million people, during the same period.
Overall, only 35 percent of female tweens said seeing a celebrity use a brand meant “it must be cool,” versus 43 percent of male tweens.
Nonetheless, Fitzgerald said, celebrities ought not be struck from tween pitches, but placed in contexts that resonate more broadly for the group. To wit: 72 percent of tweens admitted that seeing a famous person or favorite character use a brand stirred their desire to use it themselves at least some of the time.
Per Capita Spending by Age
Age:????? Annual Spending Per Capita
8-12:????? $946
13-15:????? $2,330
16-17:????? $2,730
18-21:????? $6,339
Females 8-21:????? $2,564
Males 8-21:????? $3,427
All 8-21:????? $3,006
Source: Harris Interactive YouthPulse, July 2003