Teens: The few. The proud. The... dirty
Ah, the leaders of tomorrow -- leading older folks in adoption of virtually every form of digital media. Because this group tends to be so platform-innovative, it should come as no surprise that media form plays a big role in marketing to them. But so too do values.
The military
No organization has a greater interest in appealing to teens than the military. It's certainly no accident that the imagery in many armed services ads shows great similarity to that of a first-person shooter game.
More on the ubiquity of gaming imagery: Most people know that the U.S. Army offers a multiplayer game online called America's Army. What you may not know is that the Army has many games designed to introduce youth to life in the service:
Gaming might be a keystone in military marketing, but so too are social networking, video, mobile, and tailored peer-to-peer experiences that enable prospects to speak directly with soldiers and hear firsthand accounts of life in the military.
And all this person-to-person marketing isn't just for guys.
Believe it or not, values and ideals are the central themes in all of these executions. In the sponsored games, virtue triumphs over evil. In daily activities, soldiers are more likely to be shown as relief providers after tsunamis than street-to-street fighters. You might disagree with such portrayals for moral or political reasons, but make no mistake -- they are central to virtually all of these communications. And that's because they are central to the sensibilities of today's teens.
Axe
Of course, many other brands are interested in appealing to teens. I am now going to talk about Axe, for no other reason than to see if iMedia Connection will let me discuss a viral effort called "Clean Your Balls" on these hallowed pages.
There's certainly a seminal idea here:
Millions of YouTube plays. 'Nuff said.
Some 200,000 people are also fans of Axe and the campaign on Facebook, where important conversations like this take place every day:
Axe has heavily integrated mobile into the mix as well, most notably in its "Hair Crisis Alert" SMS campaign:
"Thx 4 supporting
Axe Hair Crisis Relief efforts.
Guys -- Get girl-approved hair;
Girls -- Help guys get good hair.
Reply GUY or GIRL. Txt X 2 quit.
Std msg chrgs aply."
Overseas, the Axe brand has appealed to teens with an IM-delivered spin-the-can game that encourages teens to reveal sex secrets. Since few teens have a high privacy threshold, it offers the brand a prime opportunity to get intimate.
