THRIVING TEEN MARKET INFLUENCES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

The teen market (ages 12-17) spent $158 billion dollars in 2005 according to a fall, 2005 study by Teenage Research Unlimited, Inc. While that's an incredible amount of money, it represents a six percent drop from 2004.

However, 46 percent of these teens say they will spend more money in the next 12 months, compared to 15 percent who said they will spend less money. Marketers and the media alike are identifying unique ways to reach this important target market. But the fact is--teens read newspapers. Fifty-four percent of them spent one or more hours reading a newspaper in the past week. Those teens ages 15-17 outpace their younger peers newspaper reading 63 percent to 44 percent. And while comics, sports and entertainment draw the largest teen audiences (49%, 42% and 41% respectively), 34 percent of teens are reading the ads. That's greater readership than their horoscopes (31%), national news (22%) and the television listings (only 20%).

Of those teens that read the newspaper, the following items were in a dead heat for their attention: MP3 players, digital cameras, used cars, contact lenses, DVD burners, car stereos and digital video recorders. All were cited by over 60 percent of teens as items they plan to purchase in the next 12 months.

And the survey measured teenagers' social awareness as well, with over 55 percent citing education, drinking and driving, drug abuse, AIDS and cigarette smoking among the most important issues for today's teens.

It's not surprising that ninety-five percent of these teens plan to enter college in the future. They represent a very informed and financially powerful demographic--one newspaper advertising can help reach.

This monthly newsletter is a service provided by Customized Newspaper Advertising. For more information on the newspaper advertising industry, please contact Chris Mudge, CNA Director at cmudge@cnaads.com.

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