Sizing up Teen WOM

It might surprise some marketers to discover that the teenagers are big talkers... bigger even than their parents and their parent’s parents. In fact Keller Fay TalkTrack shows that 16-19-year-olds have more than 20 conversations on average per day, compared to about 12 a day for those aged 20-69. Time rich but cash poor, teens have the need to canvas the views of others before they buy, and love to share the results of their shopping trips.. As a result, not only do they have more conversations, they are also heavily engaged in brand WOM, with 41% more brand mentions per person than the over 20s => over 100 brand impressions per teenager per week.

A common misconception is that teenagers talk in detail about only a limited number of product categories and brands, but this could not be further from the truth. Our research shows that teens have a wide spectrum of interest and significantly over-index on talk in almost all sectors.

The topics of strongest teen interest are key consumer sectors such as beauty and personal care, technology, and fashion and retail, as well as telecom, media and drinks. These are also the sectors in which teens are more likely to be a Conversation Catalyst®, (’influencers’ whose WOM has greater reach, credibility and amplification effect). However, there are other sectors, such as finance and travel, which are widely discussed by this demographic but where innate interest and probably confidence is lacking; in these categories, the incidence of Conversation Catalysts in the teen age group is low.

Teen influence extends well beyond their peers – many brand conversations involve both teens and (those old enough to be) their parents, and these feature a broad range of product categories.

In terms of the actual brands talked about, teenagers over-index on youth targeted brands such as Clearasil, Hollister, BarryM, and Jack Wills, but they are also more likely to talk about big brands in general. The four most popular brands discussed by teens are the same as those for the total public = Apple, Coca Cola, Samsung and Tesco, although not necessarily in that order. In the top 20 brands discussed by teens there are some differences, notably New Look takes the number 10 spot (No. 45 amongst total public) but also some surprising similarities e.g. British Gas makes it into the teen top 20.

Teen WOM predominantly Offline

We are often being told that Teens rely heavily on social media to communicate and indeed they are twice as likely to converse about brands using online media compared to the general public, preferring texting, instant messaging and social networking to email, particularly in the evening and late at night. However our research shows that despite this, nearly 9 out every 10 teen conversations about brands continue to take place offline and the vast majority of these are face to face.

Marketing to Teens

Generation Z like to shop and they are also heavy and enthusiastic consumers of all kinds of media.

As a result they are more likely to reference media and marketing elements in their conversations, particularly digital marketing (internet and mobile ads, and social media), online videos and radio advertising. In a marked shift from the total public many more teen conversations are sparked by shopping websites but they are less likely to reference a brand or company website.

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“Teens are the ‘savviest’ group of consumers” said Myf Ryan Director of Marketing at Westfield recently in Marketing Week, and they are keen to get the opinions of their peers before and after making brand choices. They are an integral component of the WOM landscape. Not only are they engaged in more brand conversations but they are also highly influential and heavily connected. Understanding how these young consumers combine online and offline channels to share information and advice is important for brands across all kinds of product categories.

In some respects, Londoners are well-connected compared with other Brits – they are more likely to be in clubs and other organisations, and report regular contact with larger numbers of friends (but, true to stereotype, are below average in contact with neighbours).

WOM is a bit different in The Smoke, too. More WOM out-of-home, and via online channels.  More WOM during the evening and late night. 

And a different brand mix – not just obvious regional differences (Harrods, Arsenal), but an orientation to talk more about tech, financial and upscale brands: