According to Michael Wood, Teens Are An Emerging Customer Power But They Are A Lot More If You Just Take The Time To Listen To What They Are Saying.

Why are teens so important in today's economy? For one thing, they are a new breed of consumers with the power to influence the buying habits of peers as well as parents and family. They are the first to try new and different things, a trait that has an impact on other age groups as well as the products that are offered to them. And perhaps most important, they are the future.

Michael Wood is an expert on teens. As vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited, he is responsible for the twice-a-year Teenage Marketing & Lifestyle Study which is a key tracking and segmentation study relied on by more than 150 of the world's leading youth-oriented brands. But in following teen-marketing issues, Wood finds that teenagers tell him the darndest things.

They tell him that being a virgin is in, but that tattoos are out. Long hair on girls is in. But so is short hair. Does that mean hair on girls is in? No, it means that teenage girls like to come up with their own look. "Being yourself is definitely what is in and cool today," Wood said.

What makes this generation different? How are they unique compared to previous generations? Wood named four things that make a difference. "First of all, in terms of diversity, they are a very accepting group," he said. "There are a significant number of teens today that are growing up in multicultural and multiethnic backgrounds and households. They see this as something that sets them apart, that makes them different and unique."

Teens are also incredibly savvy when it comes to technology. "They embrace the concept; they've grown up with the mouse in their hands," Wood said. "They think technology is sexy and they feel empowered by it. They're not intimidated at all. And when they have question, they go online to find the answer."

Another thing about this generation is that they are very optimistic. "They're growing up in a very positive time," Wood pointed out. "The economy is very strong. Job placement is very strong for them. So they're not only excited about their lives here and now but also about what their future is going to be down the road."

Finally, they are very savvy consumers. "They've been bombarded with marketing messages all their lives and are being called upon to make brand decisions every single day," Wood said. "Because of that, they've developed a very thick skin in terms of advertising and marketing that's being aimed at them. They're very discriminating in terms of what they respond to."

Wood said that based on their statistical analysis of teen behavior and attitudes, there are four different types or groups of teens. The largest group, making up about half of the teenage population, is the "conformer teens." Wood said, "These are your typical All-American teens, the group that most of us fit into when we were teens." They choreograph and orchestrate what they wear, what they do, how they do it so that, in essence, they conform to one another.

"There's another, smaller group of teens that we call our edge teens," Wood explained. "These teens are responsible for starting a lot of what's out there." The edge teen is always presenting different looks because once whatever they are into catches on and becomes mainstream, they move on to something else. "What's interesting about this group," he added, "is that they are a group of subcultures, little groups that have come together to form the edge teens. Don't assume because of how they look and act that they are not a smart group. They happen to be very intelligent. They're just not stimulated by the traditional academic environment. They're looking for other ways to get their stimulation."

Whereas the edge teens get things started, a third group, the influencer teens are really the broadcasters of just about everything. What the influencer teens get into finally trickles down to the conformer teens. "The influencer teens know their position," Wood said. "They know their status. And they know other teens are really looking up to them." This group is disproportionately African-American and Hispanic. They are often at the forefront for starting and initiating certain trends.

The fourth group are called "passive teens." More than the other groups, they're struggling to fit in socially, Wood said. "They've chosen to focus on what's important to them, whether it's the academic side, the technology side or a certain issue or concern that they have. They can't wait for the teenage years to be over so people will start maturing and they will feel they can fit in and compete a little better."

Together, teens constitute a tremendous economic power. There are more teens in the U.S. today than ever before, and they are spending a great deal of money. In 1999, they spent $153 billion and that number will go up this year.

Where are teens shopping? "Basically they're shopping at the same stores that we adults are shopping in," Wood said. But discount chain stores like Target and Old Navy have influenced their buying habits. "They've changed the way teenagers feel about quality, about clothes and about price. They have this built-in value equation in their heads that they use to decide whether to pay $19.99 for a pair of jeans at Old Navy or $99 for a pair of jeans at Abercrombie."

Teenage buying isn't necessarily driven by convenience, Wood said. It's driven by access. "If they can find something in a store in their own community, they are more apt to buy it there rather than make a purchase online. Conversely, if they can find something online that they can't find in a store, they'll make that purchase." But the fact is, their online purchasing is limited by not having a credit card. They have to use their parents' credit card and that forces them to work out negotiations with their parents in terms of paying them back.

Teenagers don't buy through catalogs any more than they buy online, Wood added. But catalogs are important because it enables them to do preshopping. They provide teens the tools they need to shop when they want to shop.

As far as brands are concerned, Wood said, teens are most influenced by quality. "They demand a quality product, a product that delivers what it says it's going to deliver." They are less influenced by celebrity unless there's a logical connection between a particular celebrity and a particular brand. "Michael Jordan can do a tremendous amount of good for Nike and probably MVP.com," he said, "but can he do the same thing for BallPark franks or MCI? Probably not."

Wood rattled off a list of the coolest brands as far as teens are concerned: Nike, Abercrombie, Old Navy, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Sony, The Gap. "What we're seeing is that this list changes very frequently. Teenagers are inherently attracted to whatever is new. They're looking for innovation. They want whatever is the latest and greatest."

The keys to advertising to teens, Wood said, are (l) communicate to me, (2) tell me something about or show me your product, (3) give me something I can relate to, and (4) entertain me. Teens have to understand right away what's being communicated to them, he said. They won't make an effort over time to understand what you are trying to tell them. "And because there is so much out there, there's got to be something in the advertising that says: Hey, these guys understand me, they appreciate me, they understand what's going on in my life."

Online usage by teens is growing, both at school and at home, Wood said. What are they doing online? "They're using it as a communication tool. They're e-mailing, they're chatting, they're instant messaging. The big benefit, of course, is that they can communicate with more than one friend at the same time. It's not uncommon for a teenage girl today to have 60 names on her buddy list. She can jump online and know that she's going to find at least one of her friends to communicate with.

"As I mentioned," Wood added, "they are also using the Internet as a place to go to get information. If they have a question, chances are they're going online to find the answer to that question."

Where do teens find out about Web sites? "The number one answer on our survey," Wood said, is "from each other. Teens like to find things that are cool and then be the one who tells others about it. This suggests that people should really focus not only on creating Web sites that are cool, but also give the user a reason to spread the word, to tell others why the site is so cool."

Wood turned next to what he called "the fun stuff, kind of getting inside teens' heads." He started by asking what is most important to teens right now in their lives. The answers are, in order, family, friends and school. "What our research has shown us," he said, "is that teens place a lot of value on the stability and the permanence that the family provides in their lives. And the reason is, friendships come and go quickly. With everything changing so much in their lives, the stability factor is provided by the parents."

as far as friendships are concerned, Wood said teenage girls tend to have more friends than boys, but the friendships are more fleeting.

Obviously there is a lot of stress in our lives these days and that applies to teens as well.

"What we've seen in our research that is missing from teenagers' lives today is simply the time to be a teen," Wood said. "They're over-committed. They're more involved in activities and sports than ever before. They've got responsibilities at home taking care of brothers and sisters, and in some cases, mom or dad. They're worried about school. They take school seriously and are studying hard. And they're out there working part-time jobs.

"On top of all that," he continued, "they're trying to juggle a social life. When it's all said and done, they don't have much time for anything. And what's missing is simply the time to just hang out and to be a teen."

School is where teens spend the bulk of their day. "It's the ultimate social environment for teens," Wood said, "as well as it's how they grade their success. They try very hard, year after year, to make it to the next level. They go from junior high to high school and eventually become a senior. What life is all about after that is wide open to them."

As they go along this path, Wood said, there are some inherent truths to their lives, to what is going on inside their heads.

First of all, teens need to be individuals. "But teenagers desperately want to be an individual as long as they're doing the same thing that their friends are doing. They try very hard to balance the two -- to be different but to also fit in."

Teens are also telling TRU's researchers that they like to experiment, to try new and different things. "But they're also very risk averse," Wood said. "They certainly don't want to experiment with the important things like brands, clothing, footwear, new health and beauty aides. That is, unless we make it comfortable to for them to try something new."

There are also contradictions in their need to have a good time, Wood said, "They tell us over and over that they truly believe that this is what this life stage is all about. They're expecting to have fun. But at the same time, they are approaching life with a very serious side. Family is important to them. School is important to them. And more than 50 percent of teens say religion is an important part of their daily lives."

As far as the need to rebel is concerned, they admit to the natural struggles between mom and dad and teen and between principal and teacher and student. "But they also tell us that it's difficult to be rebellious these days," Wood said. "Why? Because everything's already been done. So they are looking for a way to express this rebellious side. It's just a natural need that they have."

Finally, teens want to feel older. "They are enjoying where they are right now," Wood said. "But they can't wait to find out what life's really like when they don't have all the control that's on them right now."

Despite all the pressures that teenagers feel growing up, they are also more socially aware than people may think. Tops on their list of social concerns are child abuse, drinking and driving, and education. "Drinking and driving has been moving up on the list in the last year or so," Wood said, "but child abuse remains the issue that is just a hot button with teenagers. They don't understand it. They can't imagine that somebody is doing that to a little kid. So it is automatically the one that they say: This is the worst."

As for education, Wood said teens start worrying about it at a much younger age. They are worried about getting into college and whether or not they are going to be able to afford it.

In conclusion, Wood said a big difference with this generation is they expect companies to have a social and moral conscience. "They're also looking at it at the ground level. And they're expecting companies to be involved in their communities. It's no longer enough to say you're the proud sponsor of the national so-and-so. They want companies that are providing computers in their school, who are funding anti-smoking programs in their area, who are helping teens "like me."

"That's giving back to the community," Wood said. "And that is something that has changed. They are more and more expecting involvement way down at the community level. You'd be amazed at how teens talk so openly about community now and how important it is for them. So you've got to get involved not just at the national level but get it down to their grassroots level."