Executive Summary

The term ‘Tweenager’ was coined to describe those at a time between two distinct life stages — childhood and the teenage years. The spending power of Tweenagers has become a much-debated issue in the world of marketing for a number of demographic and family-related reasons: this is a population segment that has grown in recent years; there has been an increase in the average age of parenthood; family sizes are smaller; and there are more dual-income families, leading to an increase in the parental disposable income available to spend on children. Despite this, the number of Tweenagers actually receiving pocket money — in the form of fixed sums of money on a regular basis — from their parents is falling. This may be partly related to the fact that children are generally much more ‘protected’ now than they used to be, with parents less willing to let them go out unaccompanied to spend their pocket money.

This lack of financial independence is underlined by the fact that there is a growing tendency for Tweenagers to have ‘pocket money items’ such as crisps, drinks, sweets and magazines bought for them rather than buying them for themselves.

Tweenagers are, however, a highly media-literate group of consumers for whom marketing, advertising and the importance of brands are a part of life. An increasing number of 8 to 12 year-olds have a television in their own room, giving them a good deal of control over what they watch, as well as how much they watch. Favourite programmes among those at the older end of the Tweenage age spectrum tend to be those aimed at adults — especially soap operas — rather than children’s programmes.

Tweenage girls tend to develop an interest in pop music at an earlier age than boys. Boys are more likely than girls to have a television in their room, but a higher proportion of girls than of boys have a radio. The same applies to CD players.

The magazine market reflects the ‘in-between’ status of Tweenagers: there is no specific category covering magazines for this age group. However, Tweenagers read a wide range of titles from both the older end of the children’s market and the younger end of the teenage market. More recently, the growing interest in the Tweenage market has been marked by a number of magazine launches aimed specifically at the 7 to 11 age group.

Although more than twice as many boys as girls in the Tweenage age group have their own computer games machine, interest in using the Internet is equally high among boys and girls in this age group. The most common reason for using the Internet among these consumers is ‘getting information’, followed by ‘games’. Despite attempts to provide the means for the under-18 year-olds to purchase goods online, shopping is still very low on the list of reasons for using the Internet.

One of the most marked effects of the ‘kids getting older younger’ phenomenon is that Tweenagers (both boys and girls) are becoming interested in their appearance at an earlier age. Manufacturers and retailers have responded to this by developing ranges of clothing, toiletries and cosmetics especially for this age group.

According to the adult respondents taking part in Key Note’s exclusive consumer research, undertaken by NOP (National Opinion Poll), Tweenage children are influenced mainly by television, and by their friends. A very high proportion of respondents mentioned each of these as influences, with considerably fewer (less than half) mentioning magazines. Among the sample as a whole, parents are seen as less influential on their Tweenage children than as their friends, television or magazines — although those who are parents themselves do think that they have more influence than magazines.

Parents are clearly important allies for marketers, who need to keep consulting them for their views on sensitive issues, such as boyfriends and make-up. It is certainly the case that just as ‘kids are getting older younger’, so too are ‘parents staying younger longer’. Parents are, as such, more likely to understand and identify with the needs and the aspirations of their Tweenage children. However, the peer group is also extremely important to Tweenagers, most of whom do not yet have the confidence to be totally individualistic, and who therefore need the endorsement of their friends in the choices they make.