Beyond The Box Productions

1
Beyond The Box Productions

• New Technology and Girl Power
• December 12, 2005
• Presentation by Paula Silver

2
The Tween Market

• 28 million American kids currently between the
  ages of 8 and 12
• 51 billion spent by tweens themselves
• Additional 170 billion spent by parents and
  family members directly for them
• Age Compression Tweens are getting older
  younger
• Growing up faster than previous generations
• Growing out of toys at an earlier age
• Gravitating toward more grown-up diversions
• Influenced by TV, popular music and movies

3
Understanding Tweens

• Tactics used to better understand the lifestyle
  of a tween
• In-school media boards for advertising
• Television
• Viral marketing
• Book covers for textbooks with ads on them
• Traditional mall intercepts
• "Day in the Life" videos and journals
• Girls Intelligence Agency
• Market Research through slumber parties
• Focus groups conducted in tween girls' own
  environment their bedrooms
• Girls discuss products with their friends and
  report back to a GIA agent

4
Tweens and Media

• Teens and Tweens (age 8-18) are exposed to 8.5
  hours of media content per day including
• 3 hours of TV
• 2 hours of music
• 1 hour leisure time on computer
• 1 hour playing video games
• Many tweens have never actually "dialed" a
  telephone
• Of the 26 million tweens in 2009, 4 million
  will be using their own cell phones

5
Tweens and Technology

• Tweens are the CTOs in their families
• Key decision makers in family tech purchases
• May be the only ones in the house who understand
  how things work
• Influence 60 billion in spending annually
• Communicate and network with peers
• Viral, peer to peer marketing I gotta have
  this, I gotta have that
• A generation of multitaskers
• Taking part in multiple activities is common
  e.g., watching tv while instant messaging and
  listening to music
• 8.5 hours of media per day is consumed over an
  average period of 6.5 hours

6
Advertising to Tweens

• Tweens are
• Bombarded by media messages
• Intuitive with technology
• Opinionated
• Highly impressionable
• Advertising dollars and brand building needs to
  evolve with its audience
• Brand awareness kicks in at age 7
• Subtle and diffused campaigns
• Value is in online and tactile experiences, not
  TV

7
Advertising to Tweens (continued)

• AOLs online service for kids, KOL, is sponsored
  by companies like Nintendo and Motorola
• Ads are more interactive and engaging than
  30-second TV spots
• Ads can hold a tweens attention for several
  minutes at a time as they view preview clips and
  sign up for news and games, all accompanied by
  ads
• Ellegirl magazine readers enter a contest by
  using their camera phone to snap and send a photo
  of a print ad.
• Turning print into an online, interactive medium

8
Toys for Tweens

• Playing with toys is off the list
• 8 of kids in the fourth through seventh grades
  said playing with action figures was something
  they love to do
• 4 said playing with dolls was something they
  loved to do
• Growing distinctions between childhood ages are
  pronounced enough to warrant products, services
  and retail stores specific to this demographic
• Build-A-Bear
• Paint Your Own Pottery
• American Girl Store

9
Tweens and Cell Phones

• Tweens were once considered to be a demographic
  too young for cell phone ownership
• Busy parents now relying upon wireless phones to
  help them keep track of their kids
• Family plans and free mobile-to-mobile calling is
  making it economical and easier for a household
  to support multiple wireless phones
• Cell phone ownership among 12- to 14-year-olds
  increased from 13 percent in February 2002 to 40
  percent in December 2004
• Tweens are loyal customers
• 93 say they have a high level of satisfaction
  with their carriers

10
Tech Toys

• The wireless industry is eyeing the tween
  population
• Tweens influence buying decisions, making
  tween-oriented devices and mobile content a
  compelling strategy
• Tweens recognize the entertainment potential of
  the device
• Phones have as much to do with entertainment as
  with communications
• Parents will eventually pay for data services
  that their kids want
• Data average revenue per user for tweens will
  reach 1.53 in 2005 and will grow to 3.13 in
  2007
• As a result, toy manufacturers are extending
  their characters, stories and activities into the
  mobile space

11
Creation and Age Compression

• Mattel
• Caught in age compression bind with many kids
  aging out of its products at a faster rate
• Moving into making computers, computer
  accessories and interactive software aimed at
  extending the companys toy lines
• Formed an alliance with Hewlett-Packard to build
  Barbie and Hot Wheels printers and imaging
  software
• Building Barbie and Hot Wheels branded personal
  computers running Windows 95
• Will finance these new, branded computers for
  14.98, making them affordable for the market
• Other tech toys Vidster digital video camera
• Aimed at fostering creative impulses in
  tech-savvy kids

12
Mobile Content

• Companies are creating features that specifically
  target tweens
• Wherifone
• Features GPS location tracking of the phone and
  the tween
• FireFly Mobile
• Features five keys instead of regular dial pad
• Parents can program up to 22 outgoing numbers
  into the phone, including speed-dials for Mom and
  Dad
• Single Touch Interactive
• Building a phone for Mattel that will use the
  Barbie My Scene line-up of characters
• Also developing an XGames phone for boys

13
Girls vs. Girls

• American Girl
• Building interactive experience in Los Angeles
  with 150-seat theater for a live Broadway-style
  "American Girl Revue, hair salon and café for
  girls and their dolls
• Groovy Girls
• Dolls of different skin tones, hair types and
  facial features reflecting the real American
  ethnic landscape of today
• Homogenity vs. Diversity
• Creativity as an equalizer for girls

14
Spinach, or Mac Cheese?

• Evolution of messages that are communicated
  through entertainment and toys
• Popeye of the 30s
• SpongeBob SquarePants of today
• Entertainment and toys have the power to
  influence
• Serve as role-models for girls

15
Starfarm

• Getting youngsters involved in the creative
  process
• Kids contribute to projects via the Internet
• Creating storylines for TV show
• Localized newspaper content written by kids
• 2 children on advisory board, 150 child
  stock-holders
• Promoting properties with a broad-reaching
  approach across different media
• Books
• Web site
• TV series
• Toys

16
Siyathemba Football Club

• Project in Somkhele, South Africa
• Multi-purpose stadium/club
• Health Education Center (HIV awareness)
• Areas first girls football league
• A space for South African girls to come together

17
Conclusion

• Young girls are becoming more connected and
  focused on technology every day
• Appeal across different media channels
• Use available tools to get kids involved
• Creativity fosters community