Grounded In Reality

I want to give a big shout out to our favorite pint-sized wrecking crew – Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen – for creating a marketing executive’s dream demographic – the evolving female consumer TWEEN. The idea is to hook them when they’re young.

The recently coined “tween” demographic has been oft studied by many a guru, and now Bonne Bell cosmetics is featured in USA Today highlighting (or exploiting?) its marketing strategy – and then some. It isn’t stopping with the tweens – it’s going younger. Start ‘em off early with the flavored lip balm, ease ‘em into the fruity lip gloss, then throw in some sparkles, and next thing you know, they’re sportin’ full-on, cotton candy-colored pouts during recess. 

According to the article, the general strategy behind marketing to the tween set is simple, really:  

1. They’re spending power is phenomenal. (Thank you, parental units, for just giving away allowance. Now make ‘em earn it!)
2. They follow trends but need the ability to customize them. (i.e. they look for layers, different color ranges, etc.)
3. They revel in excess – as in 10 of everything.  According to the article, the average tween has 10 Bonne Bell Lip Smackers. (This doesn’t stop at 12 years-old or with Bonne Bell!  A lady’s lip potion (in any form) is a necessity – and one can NEVER have enough. Period.)
4. Apparently – the tween is environmentally aware. The point here is the new lot of tween consumers are socially conscious. (Nice green messaging!  I’ll fall for it, but I find it hard to believe that an average tween really cares if the products are tested on animals. But hey, if they do, that’s really cool, and I’m very supportive.)
5. Lastly, the tween is self-conscious, but likes attention. (Huh? I guess bright colors without the plumber’s butt is always a super solution.) 

There really isn’t anything new here – but the positioning of Bonne Bell is brilliant, and I applaud their PR team for orchestrating (or fielding) this opportunity and leveraging it the best way possible for the sake of a marketing trend.

However, it’s a bit scary to think about how far this strategy will evolve by the time I have a daughter. Is she going to come out of the womb clutching Bonne Bell’s Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker in her tiny hand, ready for her first tube of lipstick before solid foods?? Oh. Dear.