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Top1. Introduction
Tweens is a term used to describe individuals between the ages of 6 and 12 years old and that have a tendency to utilize technology more like a teenager than a child. They are big consumers of music and audio visual entertainment products (music bands and TV series), and as fans, they show a high level of loyalty that leads them to copy the behaviors and consume the same products and brands that their idols do.
This marketing segment is very attractive to companies since they are potential consumers of their products as well as have a great capacity to influence the family decision-making process. Thus, they become a desired target for some products, especially those with a ludic-technological nature, such as technological devices, or mobile apps and services.
Disney, Samsung, and Apple have found an ideal way to achieve a solid positioning segment in the development of co-branding strategies, particularly Disney and Apple, or Samsung who even creates brand notoriety and imagery. Taking advantage of the phenomenon “fan” the TV series Violetta has been created. ??TV series, Disney has come from the hand of Apple, Samsung and later??? in the field of mobile applications aimed at this marketing segment. In this article we show how an ancient strategy like brand alliance (or Co-branding) remains effective in the development of products for the next generation; addressing highly demanding segments, both for their high product knowledge, since they are digitally native, and for the level of product’s novelty and performance they require.
We will start by defining the concepts of brand image and positioning, and later we will highlight how the development of branding strategies (specifically brand alliances) enables companies to achieve new market segments. Then we will proceed to analyze the segment of Tweens that are large consumers of music and audio-visual entertainment products, and who are strongly influenced by the fan phenomenon as they imitate behaviors and demand brands that are consumed or sponsored by their musical or TV idols.
Next, we will analyze the case of mobile applications launched in the market by Disney, Apple and Disney, and Samsung, and show how certain brands traditionally targeted at professional markets may occupy a position in the new market segments. We finish the chapter by presenting the main findings as well as offering some recommendations for improving brand management.
Top2. Looking For A New Market Segmentation: The Tweens
The traditional classification of consumers is no longer valid. People with the same age, gender or social class may have radically different tastes and needs. Sociologists and marketing experts have been identifying new consumer groups in recent years. If age or social class is considered before identifying a target, then these criteria do not serve a purpose now. Life stages have been changing and now do not coincide with infancy as youth is being lengthened and maturity delayed. These new groups are demanding products to be adapted to their tastes and needs, and although this presents a challenge for companies, it also creates a business opportunity to exploit.
Tweens are among these groups. “Tweens” is a term used by marketing professionals to refer to the market demographic segment defined as the in-between stages of being a child and a teen. They share some characteristics of both teenagers and children because they are in the middle of both. They have a tendency to consume more like a teenager than a child, but sometimes behave like children. This synthetic market is used to describe the experience of this particular pubertal and hormonal age group who are very susceptible to media influences. In fact, this term in popular media is often used to describe a preadolescent (usually female) who is in the “in-between” stage of development when they are considered “too old for toys, too young for boys/girls.¨
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social media: Social media is the collective of online communication channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing, and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, and wikis are among the different types of social media.
Tweens: Tweens is a marketing concept used to define a market segment of individuals between the ages of 6 and 12 years old that have a tendency to consume more like a teenager than a child.
Celebrity Endorsement: A form of brand or advertising campaign that involves a well-known person using their fame to help promote a product or service. Manufacturers of perfumes and clothing are some of the most common business users of classic celebrity endorsement techniques, such as television ads and launch event appearances in the marketing of their products.
Store Merchandising: Store merchandising is a term applied to any method for maximizing sales at the retail level by making a product stand out from competing products or simply stand out from the clutter of messages in the store environment. It applies to making sure that the product is displayed properly and in sufficient quantity, in its allotted space, with the appropriate merchandising materials, and without other products encroaching on the shelf space.
Mobile Applications: Mobile applications or also mobile apps is a type of application software designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer, and serve to provide users with similar services to those accessed on PCs.
Brand Merchandising: Is the ability to take a company logo or “brand” and effectively place it in products that are purchased or used by consumers. Brand merchandising is a form of general awareness and more successful companies utilize it.