How to advertise to teenagers and young adults

Of course, a lot of marketers just continue to do what they have done for decades and that is stick to the same old same old advertising strategies even though their messages are falling on deaf ears and not being seen by eyes that are looking everywhere but at ads.

Reliable statistical data shows that teenagers and young adults don't watch TV anymore. They don't read newspapers and don't listen to the radio much, nor do they read magazines.

They are getting their information from their social media networks because they trust their friends more than they trust news bulletins.

They get their entertainment from personal digital music collections and watch videos and movies they get from the internet and DSTv Catchup, Vidi, Node or Netflix.

So, how does one talk to them? Quite simple in my opinion - and that is to use every method possible to get involved in their everyday conversations.

Simple in concept, but often complicated in practice. It requires homework and a well-crafted strategy. This is not anything like developing an advertising campaign but more like starting out on a game of chess and allowing your brand communications to be two-sided and very, very flexible.

Maybe this is why so many brands just stick to the same now useless way of doing things. Maybe they're too scared to even try and understand the marketing process required to get through to this target market.

The irony of course, is that the most efficient way of reaching this market is now actually a whole lot cheaper than the old way.

So, that's the good news. You CAN reach teenagers and young adults. And you can do it with a lot less of a budget than ever before.