Aim High 5 Unit 4 : It's a must-have!

Unit 4 page 31.

Exercise 2. Read and listen to the text.

Targeting teenagers.

Adults earn most of the money in the economy, so shouldn't most advertisements be directed at them?
Over a billion pounds is spent every year in order to target teenage customers. It's nearly impossible to visit a shopping centre or switch on the television without finding products and advertisements that many adults may not be interested in or even understand. Why are teenagers a group with relatively little earning power such targeted consumers?
Today's teenagers have an unprecedented amount of money to spend on personal items. They have more money to spend than teenagers of any previous generation. Many of them receive money from their parents on a regular basis. And some teenagers earn money from part time jobs. Around the world, there are millions of teens with a disposable income to spend on clothing, electronics, music and other items. Because young people make a lot of the purchasing decisions for these objects. Companies market them with teenagers in mind.
Another reason teens are so important to marketing departments is that they influence the spending of their families. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, teenagers may have an influence on up to 70% of the purchases for the home. Teenagers often have a say in the brands that the family buys, whether the products are food or personal care items like shampoo or soap. In fact, advertisers often market directly to teens because they know that teenagers can be very powerful and persistent about getting their parents to buy things or give them money to buy things themselves.
Marketing departments know that getting people to switch brands can be tough. Therefore, it is important to attract customers who have not yet developed strong brand preferences or brand loyalty. Older teens who are going to leave school and become consumers are a perfect target for marketing companies.
Because of their money, influence and potential , teens are big business for most major companies. As a result, advertisers have many techniques to get teens to buy their products. Here are some of the most popular ones.
A perfect world.
This technique presents an ideal world. Everyone is attractive and hip with the latest fashions and trendiest haircuts. The families are well off. They have expensive cars and homes. Families in these ads are smiling and they get along amazingly well. These ads represent the world that most teens would like for themselves.
B family fun.
Bringing the family together is the appeal of this technique. Advertisers show a product as something that helps a family overcome struggles with each other or a difficult task. The product is often the reason the family come together. For example, Dad brings home dinner from the family favorite fast food restaurant and then suddenly the quarrelling brother and sister set aside their differences and enjoy a meal with their parents.
. C bandwagon.
Join the crowd! Everyone has one. Don't be l left out . This is the strategy of the bandwagon technique. Advertisers try to convince consumers that they need the product to be trendy. Usually, advertisers do this by showing people who are awkward and unpopular. The people try the product and then suddenly become popular and cool. These are just a few of the techniques advertisers use. There are also many others, including endorsements by star athletes, popular actors and beautiful models. It is important for all consumers, including teens, to watch adverts critically. In other words, we should all think about whether we really want or need the product promoted in the advert or whether we are simply responding to the marketing techniques.

Vocabulary: Targeting teenagers. (Student Book)
Match the highlighted words in the text with their definitions.