Marketing to Tweens

Media Awareness Network, “Special Issues for Tweens and Teens”, accessed on June 21, 2010 from:
http://www.media-awarenessca./english/parents/marketing/issues_teens_marketing.cfm

This is a disturbing article dealing with the “tween market”. According to the article, advertising to these kids has a specific market for the ages of 8-12, and they are anxious to develop a sophisticated self-image.

Industry research shows that tweens don’t consider themselves children anymore, and accordingly the Toy Manufactures have changed their target age from birth to 14 to birth to 10.

A very troubling thought from this article is as follows: “By treating pre-adolescents as independent, mature consumers, marketers have been very successful in removing the gatekeepers (parents) from the picture-messages about body image, sexuality, relationships and violence.” It reminds me of giving a drivers license to a twelve-year-old.

For so many tweens it is important to be cool and the marketers waste no time on capitalizing on this age-old insecurity. Some companies actually hire “cool hunters” and “cultural spies” to bring back the latest trends.

Tween attitudes concerning body image and sexuality are attempted to be forged by advertisers that promote thin, fit, and beautiful. Not everyone can be thin, fit, and beautiful, and it is a disservice from the advertisers who give the same message to all tweens and teens. These messages are the act of packaging girlhood and boyhood. According to the marketers, tween girls are “pretty and sexy and are obsesses with boys, friends, shopping, pop stars and celebrities. Tween boys are independent and strong, are preoccupied with sports, video games, adventure, cars, music, and hanging out with friends.”

Looking at the tween market is a scary thing. To think that a bunch of people actually can mold an age group to their liking for profit is free market capitalism taking a nosedive.

Naked Reading-Chapter 4

Lessesne, T. S. (2006). Naked Reading (Chapter Four). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

I have taught reading to the tweens for a long time, and one of the most difficult things to do is keep the students reading. Teri Lesesne has presented a logical and easy to follow remedy for this problem. Her system is named TARGET: Six Ways for Teachers to Reconnect Kids to Books. TARGET is an acronym for these concepts: Trust, Access, Response, Guidance, Enthusiasm, and Tween-appeal.

Lessesne refers to Trust as “first and foremost”. I couldn’t agree more. Lessesne recommends a survey at the beginning of the year to see the students’ likes and dislikes. This way students can trust that the teacher is on their side when he/she stocks the classroom library.

Students must also trust that the teacher does not have any other motive except the students’ enjoyment of the book.

Secondly, Lesesne speaks of Access. This is also a very important concept. Students must have ready access to the school library and the classroom library. These books must be able to go home. And when a student finishes a assignment, he/she should be able to read, and not be required to complete an enrichment worksheet.

Students must be able to Respond to reading in many ways. I am a great fan of open-ended questions, but much time must be spent to assure that students are able to take full advantage of this method of Response.

Another concept is Guidance. When Lesesne talks about taking readers from here to there she recommends “Reading Ladders” . I especially like the “Humor Ladder”, starting with Captain Underpants and ending with No More Dead Dogs. I sure wish I had this ladder last year when some of my patrons at the library stayed with the Captain all year.

Lesesne also touts Enthusiam . I have, for years, have used a technique of supplying copies of the my read aloud to the students. Many times I have watched the students read ahead and take the book home.

The final step in TARGET is Tween –Appeal . The simple answer to this is that the teacher or librarian has to have a knowledge of what the tweens like, and respect their choices.

I enjoyed this chapter, and I am sure that I will use it as a model to energize all my tween readers.