Are images of diversity important when marketing to teens?

By: Eyeing Marketing Many baby boomers must look back and be amazed on how times have changed since they were kids, especially on how kids are being marketed these days.  Who do we have to thank for all this change?  Technology, baby!  Technology has revolutionized the way marketers market to teens and will continue to do so in the future.  However, technology is not the only thing that has changed the world of teen marketing, it’s also globalization.  Thanks to globalization, the media (for example, MTV) opened the doors to people from different races into TV shows.  By opening the doors to different races on TV, it also opened the door to diversity in marketing promotions. Although, marketers have placed more diverse images in their marketing promotions today than ever before, the number of Caucasian images continues to be high.  What do teens think – do they care about diverse images? Teens do pay attention to diverse images, but they only care depending on the messaging and what it’s being offered.  According to Gregg Witt, Creative Director/Partner of <a href="http://www.premisemarketing.com/">premisemarketing.com</a>, “cultural relevance is more important than racial diversity for the most part.  Therefore, if a marketer plans to market to teens in a specific demographic group, for example the Latin community, not only are images of this race important but also imagery that relates to their culture.  Witt also says when marketers are communicating to other demographic groups using only Caucasians is more lacking common sense than a diversity strategy. However, diverse images are crucial if a company’s goal is to attract a specific market.  For example, if a marketer wants to branch out and attract the Latin or Asian communities to buy their products, they have to include images of those races in order to build a connection with those teens.  Are there any demographic groups that don’t respond to diverse images in marketing promotions? There will always be a few demographic groups (from all races) that won’t respond to diverse images.  Unfortunately, those teens act in this manner based on how they’re brought up and their cultural surrounding.  How can a marketer change the negative way on how those teens view diversity? Many people don’t like change, which is why it’s important that marketers take baby steps when trying to change the way people think.  Marketers do this all the time by changing the way people look at promotions, respond to promotions, and how they receive them.  We are the people who forces change upon society. What are the steps companies need to take if they want to incorporate diversity? According to Witt: 1.    Figure out what your object is for including diversity 2.    Listen to your target demographic 3.    Immerse yourself in their world 4.    Partner with agencies and communities who know your target audience 5.    Test, Test, and Test

2009-07-24T15:15:02Z

2009-07-23 182 true diversity marketing, race marketing, marketing images By: Eyeing Marketing Many baby boomers must look back and be amazed on how times have changed since they were kids, especially on how kids are being marketed these days.  Who do we have to thank for all this change?  Technology, baby!  Technology has revolutionized the way marketers market to teens and will continue to do so in the future.  However, technology is not the only thing that has changed the world of teen marketing, it’s also globalization.  Thanks to globalization, the media (for example, MTV) opened the doors to people from different races into TV shows.  By opening the doors to different races on TV, it also opened the door to diversity in marketing promotions. Although, marketers have placed more diverse images in their marketing promotions today than ever before, the number of Caucasian images continues to be high. What do teens think – do they care about diverse images? Are images of diversity important when marketing to teens?

2010-03-10T04:44:20Z

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