Teens as Brand Ambassadors

NEW YORK — Contrary to the popular view of teens as a group with a herd mentality who chase after the newest, hottest thing, American girls ages 13 to 17 are claiming they do not purchase items simply because they’re popular or trendsetting.

That’s one finding in a survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,313 teenage girls and young women, ages 13 to 29, conducted online by Harris Interactive and 20 phone interviews conducted by Harris with senior marketing executives of various industries. The study, “Brand Marketing To Teens: Why They’re Worth It,” was commissioned by Seventeen and CosmoGirl and undertaken during the spring and released this fall.

More than two-thirds of the 1,188 respondents in the 13-to-17 group agreed with a handful of statements, which suggest their independence:

86 percent said they do not buy something simply because it is considered hot.
83 percent stated they do not buy brands just because they are popular.
75 percent noted they buy brands that reflect their style.
67 percent reported they buy brands that express their personality.

Most broadly, the teens polled described themselves as independent, savvy, mature, sophisticated, influential, brand-conscious shoppers, who begin to establish loyalties to various labels during their teen years. “The average age girls are becoming brand-loyal is a few years younger than the previous generation,” noted Jayne Jamison, publisher of Seventeen. “Kids are getting older younger. They’re much more savvy about shopping. They’re making it about their personal style, versus what’s in style.”

Brand preferences today begin to take shape in the late tween and early teen years, with girls’ favorites in fine fragrances as well as cars, trucks and vans forming earliest, at age 12, found the study. When they’re 13, teens start to establish their favorite brands of better and designer apparel and accessories, portable electronics and prestige beauty products.

By comparison, 1,125 young adults ages 18 to 29, who were asked to recall when they began to favor different labels, identified later ages: 18 for better and designer apparel and accessories; 17 for fine fragrances; 16 for prestige beauty items and portable electronics, and 15 for cars, trucks and vans.

The 13-to-17-year-old set stirs a significant amount of buzz about the brands they favor, telling an average of 7.3 people about them, compared with the 5.3 people, on average, with whom 18- to 29-year-olds share their opinions. “Teens see themselves as chief brand officers of their households,” CosmoGirl publisher Kristine Welker related.

The role teens play as brand ambassadors came through in their take on how they influence others:

51 percent agreed parents or older siblings look to them for advice about what to buy.
47 percent said younger people seek their advice about what to buy.
76 percent stated once they find a store they love, they tell their friends to shop there.
35 percent reported if they have a bad experience in a store, they are unlikely to shop there again.

For the most part, though, today’s teens don’t define themselves as fickle, in contrast to marketers’ long-held belief about kids’ preferences at that life stage, Welker pointed out. Nor do they see themselves as cynical, stressed or distrustful, she added.

There were 32.4 million teens in the U.S. in 2000, a population expected to reach 33.5 million in 2010, based on projections made by the U.S. Census Bureau and Teenage Research Unlimited.

	13- to 17-year-olds	18- to 29-year-olds
Friends my age	97%	87%
Family	77%	81%
Classmates	71%	19%
Co-workers	12%	49%

Source: “Brand Marketing To Teens: Why They’re Worth It,” Harris Interactive, Spring 2004

AVERAGE AMOUNT TEENS SPEND ON CLOTHES MONTHLY:

2004: $99.77; 2003: $105.80

WHERE MOST CLOTHES ARE BOUGHT

(by teens ages 16 to 19):

Chain Stores

2004: 16%; 2003: 17%

Department Stores

2004: 23%; 2003: 25%

Specialty Stores

2004: 37%; 2003: 35%

Mass Merchants

2004: 6%; 2003: 13%

Factory Outlets

2004: 4%; 2003: 0%

Catalogues

2004: 1%; 2003: 1%

Off-Price

2004: 2%; 2003: 4%

Other/Don’t Know

2004: 11%; 2003: 4%

FAVORITE ITEM TO BUY

Clothes

2004: 60%; 2003: 68%

Shoes

2004: 22%; 2003: 17%

Home Electronics

2004: 6%; 2003: 6%

Groceries

2004: 8%; 2003: 5%

Home Fabrics

2004: 3%; 2003: 1%

NUMBER OF TIMES PER MONTH

TEENS SHOP:

2004: 3.25; 2003: 3.46

AVERAGE MINUTES SPENT IN STORES WHEN SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES:

2004: 124.17; 2003: 114.89

WHEN LATEST STYLES ARE BOUGHT:

Beginning of Season:

2004: 41%; 2003: 43%

Sale at End of Season:

2004: 52%; 2003: 50%

TYPICAL NEW CLOTHING PURCHASES:

Buying new and different:

2004: 79%; 2003: 65%

Replacing current:

2004: 19%; 2003: 32%

SOURCES OF CLOTHING IDEAS

Already own and like:

2004: 77%; 2003: 65%

Store displays: 2004: 54%; 2003: 49%

People see regularly:

2004: 46%; 2003: 43%

In catalogues: 2004: 38%; 2003: 32%

Family members:

2004: 38%; 2003: 34%

Commercials and ads:

2004: 41%; 2003: 35%

Fashion magazines:

2004: 48%; 2003: 41%

Salespeople in stores:

2004: 25%; 2003: 18%

Celebrities: 2004: 40%; 2003: 31%

NOTE: FOR FEMALES AGES 16-19; DATA COMPARE 2004 AND 2003 QUARTERS 1-3; SOURCE: COTTON INCORPORATED

Did You Know…

41 percent of female teens shop for clothing once a month or more.
37 percent of female teens shop for clothing every two to three months.
53 percent of female teens spend their money at value-based stores such as J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart and Target.
Teen girls spend an average of $109 on clothing in a three-month time period.
Teen girls spend an average of $29.30 on jeans.
The top stores for teen and tween girls are Hot Topic, Kohl’s, Pacific Sunwear and Aeropostale.

NOTE: RESULTS ARE BASED ON THE “BUYING HABITS OF TEENS AND TWEENS REPORT (OCTOBER 2003). SOURCE: NPD