why teens want participation

09/02/2005 11:59:00 PM
CGM highlights a nice piece of research from Intelliseek that looks at the consumers' motivations to participate in forums, chat rooms and discussion groups. What is interesting about the data is that it separates the motivations by age, so you can see what teens want out of community based environments.

Like all other age groups, they want to be entertained, but some interesting differences emerge in the data:

- They want their opinions to be heard, more than any other demo
- They want attention, more than any other demo
- They also want dialog with other users

This presents several challenges for teen targeted brands looking to build engagement into their brand experience, especially online.

It demands that these environments aren't just one-way with the brand talking at and pushing content at teens. with the teens interacting only at an individual level. Instead, brands need to offer a participatory environment that allows for dynamic "playful" interaction between users. It suggests the brand should play an editorial role actively encouraging dialog, but also calling out users who have something interesting to say and making sure user suggestions are listened to and acted upon.

Competitions and events that allow teens to share their creativity with others in the community is one way to go, as is actively involving teens in the marketing process; designing product or packaging, that can be shared with and commented on by the community, for example
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