Here are some interesting live insights taken from a panel of 8 teenagers at the YPulse Conference, watching advertisements and giving their feedback live. The teenagers were diverse in ethnicity and interests, and came from different parts of America.

Refresh Everything by Pepsi
The ad shows a variety of scenes from different ages, drinking pepsi, to the tune of “Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation.” It links to the site www.refresheverything.com. It uses a development of the Pepsi logo that recalls the Obama campaign logo.
Watch it here.

Responses:

• Seen it before; the tune is old news; nothing that’s going to make them drink a pepsi.
• I feel catered to, don’t do that.
• Pepsi isn’t being consistent with their logo usage.
• Portrays youth as party people, and they’re more than that. Add some social activism in there.
• Pepsi should come up with something that’s theirs; not just take Obama’s logo and re-use it. You’re not going to get youth by borrowing Obama’s logo. Be unique.
• Berlin Wall coming down, and flower power people didn’t resonate with this panel.
• This looked like a re-hash of older commercials, like Britney’s old Superbowl advertisement.
• One panel member liked the invitation to be a part of the new story.

Happiness Factory by Coke
Shows the journey of a coke bottle through an imaginary world that looks very Pixar-like.
Watch it here.

Responses:

• Looks like Pixar made a tool video. They aren’t trying to be relevant. They’re trying to be fun. They aren’t trying as hard as Pepsi.
• Creepy and disturbing. A little to acid trippy.
• Fun, but would like to watch the commercial again. He found the Pepsi commercial more realistic, but he would watch this commercial again.
• Feels it’s like a depressing version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
• The gamer panel member didn’t understand the gaming aspect of the commercial.

Overall the group felt Pepsi won, but neither ad appeared to make the panel want to drink either Coke or Pepsi.

Mac Versus PC Advertisement by Apple
Showing the team the ad about customer care and the Apple versus the PC guys.
Watch it here.

Responses:

• Loves ad series, but not sure the message holds true. Doesn’t think the Genius Bar is any help at all.
• It’s not diverse … two white guys doesn’t appeal.
• Hates this campaign altogether, and feels that this is really bad for Apple.
• Doesn’t like that the young Mac guy is too cocky, and is pandering to youth.
• Thinks the ads is funny, but doesn’t like playing on someone’s weaknesses rather than their own strengths.
• Generally all very “down” on the ad series.

I’m a PC by Microsoft
Many different people, using PCs in different ways, all over the world, with the phrase “I’m a PC.”
Watch it here.

Responses:

• Loved the diversity. Not making fun of Apple.
• Felt it was mature of Microsoft to do this.
• Didn’t feel the commercial affected them. Didn’t know what the ad was about, unless you knew about the Apple ad. Didn’t give any special information about why to get a Windows PC.
• Thought they got it. They took pride in taking a PC.
• Connected more to lower income individuals, because they are a diverse range of individuals. A PC is for everyone, and liked that.

Candie’s, for Teen Pregnancy Foundation (PSA)
Shows two teenagers making out in a car. They’re told to stop and think. They’re handed a baby by Jenny McCarthy through the window and told “welcome to reality.”
Watch it here. (Click on Jenny McCarthy ad.)

• Felt it was just talking to girls, and not to boys.
• Didn’t talk to boys as participating in the decision making.
• The baby came way too fast. This isn’t realistic.
• Uses a celebrity in the ad, and they didn’t notice who it was.

Above the Influence, Partnership for a Drug Free America
Shows a teen schoolboy fitting or not fitting into cardboard cutouts.
Watch it here. (See “Fitting in” ad.)

• Really liked it, because it was human tetris, but didn’t think it was effective
• Does not have any impact about drugs
• Had no message at all; just walls falling down; they’re always hearing about not smoking pot; but there was no message here.
• Showed fun imagery, but totally irrelevant — there was no message about smoking pot here. You’re labeling people, and not helping.
• It’s not always about teenagers fitting in. There’s more to it than that.
• Not an effective anti-drug message to talk about ‘fitting in’ only.
• Doesn’t feel the message connects, but there are other abovetheinfluence.com messages that are better … for example, the talking dog is much more effective. (See “Dog” ad.) They should address risk levels.

What struck me in particular about these teens is that they are very sophisticated about how they are being sold to, they see what brands are trying to do, and are frequently derisively dismissive of the messaging. Don’t talk down to teens. They know what you are doing! Be honest, authentic and real and these teens will believe you more.

Things are changing for teens with regard to purchasing decisions. Teens have lost the abundance of discretionary income. Teens are going to be smarter shoppers, and they are going to really question how much they need the item. New versus used? Upgrades and updates?

Teens might love a particular brand, but there are other associations that help decision making. For example, corporate responsibility and social cause awareness are added into consideration mix. Corporate malfeasance is an issue. Teens will know if a company is not behaving ethically with regard to their products and workforce.

This information courtesy of Jacqui Lane at SurveyU. I worked with Jacqui when she was at C&R Research. Lots of energy, and lots of enthusiasm for her subject.

How do you get teens involved when you want to show them something they don’t want to hear about, and aren’t really interested in?

This was Premise Immersive Marketing‘s issue when working with a Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The Partnership works hard on research-based educational programs, and their focus has historically been on parent education. They have now launched a youth program, including programs such as Time to Talk.org.

Teens weight two attitudes towards drug use: the perception of risk, weighed against social approval. If there’s a high risk, and high disapproval, use goes down.

The Partnership needed a youth marketing program designed by an organization that really understood youth, including youth that never used, used occasionally, and used frequently.

Youth don’t respond to being preached, especially by adults. Peer-to-peer communication is ideal. It’s the #1 source of trusted information. It’s important to understand different learning styles too: auditory, visual, by reading and writing, and kinesthetic.

The program devised by Premise Immersive Marketing involved:

• 10 min video that appeals to visual learners; created in partnership with A&E and interviews real teens with real stories
• Card game appeals to kinesthetic learner; the goal is to facilitate a conversation in a group; four outcomes of the game: checked, wrecked, checked your friends, and intervention. The winner is the last player standing. So for example the group is asked if they’d take a pain killer prescribed for someone else. The answer is discussed.
• Group discussion for people that read/write to learn using the online resource. The Check Yourself web site allows the teens to follow up and get advice, for themselves and for their friends.

The results:

• Gets people involved, in engaging and talking
• Authentic and relevant to their lives
• It’s easy for an adult facilitator to use

The Web site is: http://www.checkyourself.org.

Study by Fuse Marketing’s Bill Carter: “Teen Advertising Study” May 2009.

Teens were asked these questions. The percentage represents the number of teens who confirm that belief:

1. TV is the best way to reach them — 75% agree
2. “Friended” a brand on a social network — 30% agree
3. Think in-game ads work and are effective — 10% agree
4. Approve of text messaging by brands — 10% agree
5. Think magazine ads are effective way to reach them — 50% agree
6. Think use of celebrities/athletes is an appealing way to reach them — 20% agree

Sometimes your belief about brands can be inaccurate when you actually talk to what teenagers are saying.

The last question about celebrities is interesting.

Teens want to see ads that include “people that look like me.” They don’t want to see celebrities and athletes. The Verizon “can you hear me now?” guy has been a very effective ad since 2002. That character, and those commercials, ranks as the #1 most effective ad that teens say works for them in the mobile category. (My thought: maybe the celebrity distracts from the message? Do you look at beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones, or think about the message of the ad she features? She is mightily distractingly beautiful.)

Bill believes that the teens think the use of celebrities maybe too excessive. Maybe they think they are too cool for that. More study needs to be done as to why celebrities in ads apparently turn off the teens.

Here’s a summary of his talk.

1. Teenagers do not give a crap about your brand
They’re not thinking about you, your next product, your next app, your next innovation. You have to make yourself distinguishable and authentic. This gives you the right to be heard. Josh says to his teenage audiences: “if your life sucks, it’s because you suck.”

2. What matters to teens:

• Dating
• Parents
• Friends
• Identify

3. Be as skeptical as a 15-year old.
What do I buy into? What is corny? Use that mind as a filter. The best products for the teenager were made by older people, but shaped by skeptical 15-year olds. You need to have a skeptical 15-year old on your payroll? If you don’t, you should. Do you have the right to talk to me? What irritates this audience is that they tell you how to make your product better, and you do nothing about it.

4. Be realistic
Try something. You may fail. It’ll suck and it’ll cost you time and money. But you’ll learn and be better.

5. What do teens care about?
They care about your story. They connect, relate and trust a story. They don’t trust companies. They trust stories and individuals. They like the Jonas Brothers, but not Columbia Music. They care about their iPod, but not Apple, Inc. Does your brand have a story? And is it worth re-telling? Does it have a story that I’d put in my Facebook status? Does your product make me look funny, stupid, smarter, more beautiful? Because if it does, your audience will tell your story for you. Your audience will market for you.

6. What if your brand isn’t interesting?
Even if you think your brand isn’t interesting or dynamic, or you believe it isn’t, you can be successful. You need to build a story that people can relate to. You need to see your problems as an opportunity. Your biggest problem may be your greatest asset.

7. When your audience is engaged with you, they are listening
So perhaps they are laughing at you. But they are listening too. What will you say? You should add value to your audience’s lives. If you don’t add value to your audience, you should not exist. Your audience should trust you, and they will if you add value. Help teenagers with their aspirations and dreams.

8. Some knowledge biscuits:

1. Free stuff rules
2. My email address is dead. Have a plan for mobile phones.
3. When all else fails, don’t underestimate the power of girls and free cookies

http://www.heyjosh.com/ypulse. This site includes a free book that you can download.

Excellent article. 10 Tips for Building Brand Communities. It really underscores how communications in marketing is no longer just top down — it’s a dialog. Twitter has taught us so much about this in a really short space of time, and it’s a truly exciting time for a brand to build a brand community and learn from their users. There has been no time when the tools have been so readily available to brands. The only thing standing between a brand and embracing this wave is their readiness — and their courage — to do so.

Reading Seth Godin’s blog post “On becoming a household name.” So much of what we try to do in marketing is to build brand awareness so that when a user comes to the decision-making point, they say “I’ll go with the one I’ve heard of.” I think the idea of running banner ad campaigns that are all about pushing your name, and not necessary about getting clicks, is intriguing and worth testing.