Unofficial Tween Media Trends

I have a focus group living with me: my son age nine and my daughter age twelve.  They are serious consumers of media.  They watch. They read (thank goodness). They play games.
 
In terms of big trends, I would say that makers of exceptional content and content distributors have nothing to worry about.
 
But let’s say this recession drags on…
 
Cable bills would have to be drastically cut…My kids would probably lobby for going without trips to the movie theater, going to the library instead of Barnes and Noble, keeping the cable modem but ditching cable TV.

Are you on this list? Will you be on their list tomorrow?  If you are an advertiser hitch yourself to these vehicles any way you can...

9 Year Old Boy

• Books are not dead. Not by a long shot.  Specifically, A Series of Unfortunate Events (Harper Collins), books by Dan Guttman (Harper Collins) like Honus and Me, and Jackie and Me.  Harry Potter. Yes. Still.
• Gaming: Exclusively Wii, MLB '09 and Madden '09.  If Nintendo were to release a follow up to their original Wii Sports it would be a smash. Oooh, just read about those Wii remote add ons. Hello?  We're there.
• Online gaming. Runescape is the fave. One of his birthday wishes was a $60.00 subscription to Runescape. His school chums are on it. I don't know how it became the "it" game.  My son is too young to be on social media sites, so good old fashioned school hallway word of mouth must have done it.  SuperTux is pretty mindless but he likes it. He can play it with his sister without fighting. Makes me happy. Mini Clip, I am told is so yesterday.
• Boy loves my iPhone. I can't get him off it.  He suggested one of my favorite apps: MLB.com. I love it. I can listen he can listen to any MLB game (visiting radio station or home team). Other fave iPhone games: Brickbreaker Revolution, Labyrinth, Arcade Bowling Lite.
• Movies.  Tough one here. Get Smart made him giggle. Everything else was a bit of a bore....
  Liked Dodge Ball as a pay per view rental on cable.  Seriously, he could take movies or leave them... Perhaps when he starts dating...
• Periodicals: NYTimes Sports section only, thank you. 
• Radio. Yes, radio. Loves Radio.  Met games and sometimes Sunday night ESPN games.  WFAN 660 he can listen to the call in shows. Boy wants to be a MLB GM when he grows up...
• Broadcast TV: Simpsons - only DVR'd. Buffy Vampire Slayer on Hulu and DVD (Sister influence here).  American Idol as a live event. And, you guessed it, Met games on SNY.

12 Year Old Girl

• Let's start with books. Real books. Not on kindle (we don't have one). Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Random House). Did Harry Potter (Scholastic) years ago but re-read the first, fifth and sixth.  Lots of what my daughter calls "trashy books" like Pretty Little Liars (Harper Teen), and Poseur (Poppy),
• Loves books by E. Lockhart.  She felt compelled to read all four Twilight (Little Brown Young Readers) books (peer pressure is a glorious thing at times) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial),  Meg Cabot books (Avon), The Giver (2X's!)(Delacorte),  Eragon (Knopf) but didn't like it, she made a point of saying.  Special mention to Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (Square Fish).
• Computer games: Sims 2 (Electronic Arts). It's like a religion. Sadly. 
• Websites: iTunes, not happy about price increase so purchases have been down recently, Super Tux, Run (Albino Black Sheep)
• TV shows. Is over the Simpsons.  However, she is in the midst of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tear on Hulu. Just finished seasons 1,2,3.  She devoured it.  Season 4 was not available so she borrowed a Netflix copy from her friend. 
• The only thing she watches live on TV: American Idol but she swears this is her last year!
• First run films: She's at the age where she can go to the movies in the neighborhood with friends.  Marley and Me, He's Just Not That Into You, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past were all acceptable excuses to hang out with peers.
• Magazines: New York Magazine. She wants to write for the New York Magazine when she grows up (God love her...), InStyle & People (in the orthodontist waiting room), cartoons from The New Yorker.

Trends

Short term, I see Netflix gaining more subscribers. My kids want to find a past series, eat it up in a contained period of time - share the experience with their friends - and then move on to the next thing.

My kids like to Hulu. Didn't see that coming.  They don't mind the ads.  Could it run on subscriptions or micropayments? Sure it could.

I see books being red by pre-adolescents and teens for a long time as well. I'm too cheap to buy a kindle and I still love the feel of paper. But, I could see everyone in my family glued to one in the not too distant future.

As long as kids want to get out of the house and be with their friends movies will be safe.

Long term: when the computer starts running the living room Hulu and sites like it will take over. There will be no more prime time.

But the Simpsons, Buffy, Friends, and Seinfeld were all supported by advertising revenue.  Who's going to pay for the great television series yet to come?  I don't see my kids netflixing season 6 of The Bachelor. 

What are you watching in your house?

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Comments

[Danny Brown]

Salient points, Chris. I think the tween market you capture so well here from your kids is one that's often overlooked.

While traditional advertising models may become less used, I can see content advertising becoming more so. Almost like the special editions of DVD's where you can hit the relevant button when an icon flashes up on-screen for more behind-the-scenes info.

Perhaps advertisers will have a similar option. You're watching Buffy and a song comes on. An iTunes ad icon pops up and says, "Like this song? Buy it now with your Buffy subscription - we will add it to your bill".

Definitely interesting times ahead.

[Christopher Ming Ryan]

Thanks for the comment, Danny. I'm not so sure about content adverts. The
DVR/Tivo has made commercial interruption a thing of the past. Consumers
will actually pay to NOT be interupted. I think subscription and
micropayments are the next wave...

[Danny Brown]

That's what I mean (I need to work on my skills at putting ideas into words) :)

You're watching the program and the "ad" pops up while hearing the song. Green thumbs up - buy the song and it's added to your subscription fee at the end of the month. Red thumbs down, it simply disappears.

Prior to watching anything, you have the menu choice for with or without ads.

Because it's tied directly to what you're watching then the demographic is already there.

All you need is the uptake of the idea.

Or not ;-)

[Christopher Ming Ryan]

Got it. You make a point. Content Users want to chime in. Making it easy
to chime (and buy) should be a real focus.

[Christopher Ming Ryan]

An interesting complement to this post here: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-analysts-begin-to-realize-that-theres-no-way-to-save-television-2009-6

[Jean Philippe]

Thanks a lot for this great study! It is very useful to me because I don't have kids but I am very interested in what tweens value.

[Christopher Ming Ryan]

Jean: Glad you found it useful. Your feedback is appreciated!

[r4 revolution]

Hi,

Good post......what are the features we can find in iphone, which game software will suit for iphone mobile?

[James Hope]

Hi, Nice info man. Tween meida trends are always changing as Netflix there are many other sites like usenext and so on. Hulu is restricted for US only very sad for us.