Marketing to Tween Boys

Reflection of the article:  Masculinity in a Spray Can by J. Hoffman (January 29, 2010). New York Times.

Subjects: Tween Advertising, Boys and Brand Indentity,

In the article, Masculinity in a Spray Can, Hoffman discusses the increasing numbers of male tweens using grooming products that had previously been marketed towards older teenagers.  To support this, Hoffman quotes different psychologists, parents, market researchers and middle-school principals.  When I first started reading this article, I was asking myself how the use of grooming products can be a bad thing.  Shouldn’t we support good hygiene skills in tweens?  But Hoffman argues that it is not about hygiene but about how tween boys are using grooming products to define themselves and their masculinity by associating themselves to a brand’s image.     

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) states that it is normal for tweens to struggle with a sense of identity, to feel awkward about their body, and feel increased peer pressure about clothing.  Hoffman’s article echoes the AACAP’s findings by stating that boys are criticizing their own bodies at an earlier age and become increasingly self-conscious about their appearance and identity.  The result is that they are using bottles and cans to help identify themselves and calm insecurities (Hoffman, 2010).      

One of the reasons for this surge Hoffman states is due to new marketing strategies that use social networking and Web gaming sites.  I find this is particularly troubling because those strategies are targeting tweens in ways that their parents may not understand.  Hoffman states that parents are generally clueless about the advertising aspects of grooming supplies.  Parents understand direct advertising such as TV commercials.  But what about the subtle advertising through game avatars and Facebook groups?  Today’s teens and tweens are extremely tech savvy.  They regularly use computers and phones to access YouTube videos, Facebook posts, and newsfeeds in order to stay on top of constantly changing trends (Miller, 2009) The marketers have figured this out and are tapping into these tween saturated activities.

Overall this article made me re-examine what effects marketing has on tweens.  It also made me more aware of the different strategies marketers use to reach tweens.  Marketing is not always straight forward.  Sometimes it can be hidden within other items that are marketed to tweens.  Parents need to talk with their sons about the images promoted by the media and marketers.  They can find advice about how to do this, as well as other tools to help their sons have more choice about how to live their lives in Packaging Boyhood by Brown, Lamb and Tappan.