Listening is No. 1; meet our needs, say teens

Drug Store News, March 1, 1993

Meet our needs, say teens

Since manufacturers who market to teens feel their best ideas come from talking to and listening to teens, they often-believe that retailers who want to attract teen shoppers should take a similar approach.

"Price isn't really an issue with teens, " says Lene Esposito, vp of new products and creative development for Cabot Laboratories Inc. in Central Islip, N.Y.

"They will pay more for a product that promises to meet their needs. They'll also appreciate it when the help in a store pays attention to them. I've been in some stores where I've seen clerks ignore a teen in jeans and sneakers to serve a woman in a business suit, even though the teen was there before the woman. It isn't fair and teens know it. That can hurt a store's business with teens."

Donna Shapiro, who handles consumer marketing for White Plains, N.Y.-based Tambrands, points out that it's important to keep in touch with teens on an "on-going basis" because teens change constantly.

Theresa Sutton Fryback, a spokesperson for Greenwich, Conn.-based Caboodles Inc., points out that teens like to shop in stores that have areas that are all their own."

Michael Hudes, marketing directer for Premier Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., makes the same point. "Everything in retail today is going toward specialization," he said. "You see the same trend with retailers who have specialty bath shops in their stores or well-stocked ethnic departments. A boutique for teens would be an excellent idea."

But some retailers and some manufacturers argue that there are also disadvantages connected to segregating a store by customer demographics.

"People want to go into a store and see a selection of products,' says Cynthia Stremba, executive vp of marketing for New York-based Almay. "Yes, teens and other market segments have special needs, and yes, we as manufacturers want to create specific products that meet these special needs. But we still want to give our customers a choice by merchandising our products so that the whole selection is available to them."

These days, retailers and manufacturers are "partnering up" to create programs that appeal to teens.

At Caboodles, the company is just starting to tag retailers in its ads that run in major teen magazines. The first such ad is breaking this month tagging Walgreens as a store where teens can find the newest Caboodle designs and colors.

Caboodles is also working on a new merchandising fixture that will help chains create a mini teen boutique for Caboodles and the new licensed Caboodle products that are just now coming to market.

To broaden its reach with teens, Tambrands has an in-school lecture program that is unique in its category, and through it the firm reaches 800,000 girls a year through lectures plus another 300,000 through direct mailings of teacher's guides and support materials. The company also sponsors customized in-store events, and aggressive sampling programs.

Shapiro also suggests that drug chains try staging more teen specific cosmetic events like a cosmetic makeover day timed to coincide with Back To School.

"Teens are very responsive, says 'TEEN magazine's publisher Jay Cole. "They respond extremely well to special events like fashion presentations and beauty makeovers. They also like sampling, contests, sweepstakes, coupons and teen clubs like the one Sears has organized."

This year, in addition to television and print advertising, Almay is tying in with teenage magazines to sponsor a teen sweepstakes called "The Fresh New Look of '93. "

The grand prize winner will be given a walk-on appearance on the Fox Network's latest blockbuster teen TV show, "Class of 96," plus a trip for two to Toronto, where the series is filmed.

At Premier. the company is currently developing a direct mail promotional piece that it plans to customize for individual retail customers. That program should be ready soon.

Premier also plans two major promotions this year for Exact, an acne treatment. The third-quarter program is still in development, but the second-quarter promotion win center on a "Safe Prom Night" sweepstakes.

Participating retailers will be mentioned in Exact's radio ads. Premier will also be doing free giveaways as well as taped radio broadcasts from select retail stores, plus they will be giving teens free safety cards featuring numbers to call in case of an emergency, like the Teen Crisis number, Triple A and 911.

When Tambrands launched Tampax Comfort Shaped Flushables in 1991, they positioned it as a high-tech product designed to meet the specific needs of teens.

Knowing that teens worry about embarrassment when using feminine hygiene products, they made Comfort Shaped 100 percent flushable and biodegradable, including the applicator tip, which is also rounded to ensure comfortable insertion.

Premier Inc. is currently shipping Exact, the industry's first time-release acne treatment and the first benzoyl peroxide medicine formulated to eliminate unwanted side effects like red, itching, burning or irritated skin.