A Teen's Perspective on Brands

Note: Image created by Christiaan Welzel from Critical Mass for the Sean The Tool blog

Hello there, distinguished readers of More than a Logo. My name is Sean, and I have been asked by Nicole to share some insights into teenagers and their relationships with brands. Being sixteen, I have been able to pierce the murky veil that is the teenage mind and harvest valuable nuggets of information for your benefit. This brain harvesting really just boiled down to some organized discussions and surveys, so do not fret, there was no actual mind invasion (that I know of).

I have learned much during my summer internship at Critical Mass, about the teenage mind and how they view brands. Teens, when first asked about their opinions on brands, will initially become angry and violent, spitting defensively, like llamas. However once you calm them down and clean off the spit, you’ll see that brands play a huge part of every teen’s life. But a brand has to do a lot of work to earn the trust and loyalty of a teenager. They have to be able to offer three things; relevance, quality, and choice.

Relevance is important, in that a teen will only connect with brands that have something to do with their lives. So they aren’t going to develop a deep loyalty to your company’s trash bags, no matter how hard you try. Quality comes into play in multiple ways. If a brand is associated with shoddy products, well you’re out of luck. Teens can spot bad products from a mile away, and it will be nigh impossible for you to reclaim their trust after they have associated your brand with poor quality. Quality is also vital when it comes to advertising. An entertaining ad speaks volumes about how much a brand cares about consumers, and teens recognize this.

The most necessary of the three is choice. Never force anything upon a teenager. This is a great way to get them to start the spitting, and trust me you don’t want that, their saliva is laced with toxins most foul. Instead of pushing teenagers through the proverbial doorway, you should just hold the door open for them. Let them look inside your metaphorical brand-house because they chose to, not because you made them. And trust me, if your brand is relevant to them, and has quality to back it up, you’ll have no problems with that.  And when you gain a teen’s trust, they will stay unwaveringly loyal to your brand, as long as you continue to provide excellence. Just ask any teen who owns a Mac if he’ll ever buy a PC.

Teens aren’t as strange or unpredictable as people make them out to be, we’re just a bit different. Some time and effort will allow you to better connect with us in ways we appreciate. Teens can say they distrust brands all they want, but in reality they are just as important to us as they are to anyone else. Which is to say, they are very important. 

See more of Sean's insights on teens from part of his summer project on Sean The Tool blog

Follow Sean on Twitter (@deus_ex_machine) or his blog (The Deus ex Machina Machine)