The Intelligence Group's trend analyst explores the golden age of the tween and what makes this powerful -- and growing -- demographic group click with marketing messages.

Despite the stresses and responsibilities that come with adulthood, I'll always have memories of simpler times... when I was a tweenager. My generation did not have the noteworthy identity that tweens carry today and we were notably lacking in savoir faire, but we had it pretty easy when we were growing up. Young people today aren't getting the same kind of mileage out of the "good old days" that previous generations, like mine, were afforded. Today's tweens are growing up faster, looking older at a younger age and, because of modern technology, media and entertainment, they're exposed (for better or worse) to things we couldn’t have dreamed of at that age. The Intelligence Group's recently published Tween Report proved all this and more.

Here's a quick peak at tweens today, based on the 2007 Tween Intelligence Report:

Tweens are stressed
With high expectations set for them, tweens today feel great pressure to succeed. Eighty percent of tweens say they feel stress/pressure, with the root of their stress coming predominately from themselves, followed by their peers and then their parents. Stress factors include grades, pleasing parents, having friends/fitting in/popularity and looks.

As a result of this stress, tweens are hungry for tips, tricks, and lessons they need to get along in life, and practical information that they can use or have fun with. And because of this, it’s a perfect time for brands to establish themselves as filters, guides and lifestylists for tweens. Additionally, marketers should provide them with activities and skill building opportunities that will foster confidence and self-assurance.

Tweens are KGOY (kids getting older younger)
There is perhaps nothing that differentiates tweens today more from past generations than the rate at which they are growing up. As a society, the focus has shifted from letting children be children as long as possible to making them as capable and skillful as quickly as possible. Today's tweens are more exposed to media than any previous generation. As a result, they are deeply immersed in the dirty laundry of the young Hollywood set. It is common to overhear a 9-year-old girl maturely talk disapprovingly about the behavior of those twice her age while at the same time imitating to some extent their behavior.

In addition, one of the biggest contributors to an accelerated childhood is the fearful time in which these kids are coming of age. They take on the worries and concerns of their sometimes over-protected parents as they overhear stories about the Virginia Tech shootings, listen to mom and dad lecture them on cyber predators and read online about Al Qaeda, Iraq and suicide bombers. Tweens today are acutely aware of the dangers that surround them. At the same time, many of them are afraid of growing up too quickly and are quite content to reveal in the less pressured sweet spot of the tween years. The challenge for parents and marketers will be helping them do just that in an increasingly complex and demanding world.

Tweens are budding altruists
Fifty percent of tweens are concerned about protecting the environment. Thirty-eight percent of tweens (a pretty significant number given their young age) recycle at home and 36 percent of them have done something to support a cause, which indicates that quite a few of them are concerned enough about their world to do something about it. Tweens volunteer for clean up days, write essays about world peace and help the special needs children in their classroom.

Virtual worlds and social networking sites have given tweens easy access to public spaces where they can connect with like-minded peers to share social interests, stories, issues and action. Tweens are actually searching for direction and consequences; brands can serve as ethics guides for parents and tweens. A great example of this is MSN’s Windows Live Messenger "I'm Making a Difference" initiative, which gives tweens an added reason to use their free IM service by donating a portion of the ad revenue from every IM conversation to a charity of the users choice.

Tweens are living Second Lives
Although tweens have been connecting with peers through IM for quite some time, virtual environments now give them more ability to communicate, interact and explore a variety of experiences and worlds. They are instantly connected to people, places, information and brands while they are still very much tethered to the family. Whereas virtual worlds aimed at adult demos, like Second Life, are slowly gaining traction, tween virtual worlds, like Barbie Girls, Habbo Hotel, Webkinz and Club Penguin, gain popularity rapidly as tech-savvy tweens seamlessly incorporate them into their "first life."

Looking back, I'd liken my grade school experience to a sort of perpetual prepubescent purgatory -- the long winded, ho-hum time between getting lots of attention for being a cute little kid and getting lots of attention for being an out of control teenager -- I was neither here nor there. In contrast, today's tweens are everywhere! Approximately 25 million strong, the tween population in the United States spends $50 billion a year; by some estimates, these kids influence another $200 billion in household purchasing decision. In other words, tweens are important to marketers. But as you can see, just because they are young, doesn't mean they are easy; tweenagers today are more savvy and sophisticated than ever before. And if they are part of your business, you should take time to get to know them. 

For more information on the Tween Intelligence Report and other IG services, check out our website and for a more consistent dose of IG insights, you can subscribe to our free daily e-letter.

Rebecca McQuigg is a trends and lifestyle executive at The Intelligence Group, a trend forecasting, market research and consulting firm under the Creative Artists Agency umbrella. Read full bio.