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22 stouffyille suntribune thursday feb 10 2005 i mining youth market savvy advertisers aim entire lines at echo boomers photo illustrationsjoerd witteveen by patrick mangion staff writer to many alex yeung may be just a kid but for marketers intent on reaching the coveted youth segment the 14- yearold grade 10 student at richmond hill high school is a goldmine of information for the past three years alex has been offering his input to big orbit one of several torontobased mar keting firms focusing on youth by responding to online chat boards about every thing from soft drink adver tising campaigns to politi cally charged issues such as samesex marriage alex accumulates points he can redeem for cash from the agency its moreofahobbyill spend about 15 minutes on the computer he said i like that i have some influence over what prod ucts come out but its not like im being enticed to go and buy more with baby boomers influence in the market- tjbf wa 1 p i i w w tiw wwhj perfect 2005 escape 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months payment and a7s0w35035ttm25w2sk35 staff rtepotf requred uase offers ocwe koft slc8wlc8m99sj99wl08s1lc8s1995y5995 kxna reutrte adordnwn te weanes an ecesswar art lear anoxic produaarrier rorafmdeato release to less voucfer can tie itoradaty tas art istasjto fees are ryat on arygenjre ford acoss 500xfisncrk3shrajknatfc offeeeorroredrocier offers ssoowuctf esxesfetxia23 2005 some anttns may aibgradlakfieoognsanrrogrnuii2neone cttrtfoap0 6a2000 00rol6j54 place dissipating mar keters are looking to todays youth dubbed echo boomers to fill that void said chris pereira a sec ondyear york university student and york region resident today about 23 per cent of canadas population can be considered echo boomers however the question remains as to whether young peoples opinions are truly valued im not sure our voices are being taken seriously but our money is mr pereira said considered the demo graphic echo of their par ents the generation born between 1982 and 1995 has savvy marketers scrambling for their attention with earning power and marketplace awareness unrivaled by past genera tions todays youth are driving much more than just clothing and music sales car makers such as toyota are peddling the sport scion line of vehi cles at the youth demo graphic while cell phone com panies con tinue to push the techno logical enve lope with youth leading the charge for text messag ing and music down loading so it should come as no surprise when ukbased virgin group announced it plans to launch mobile service in canada by march 1 by courting the high- growth youth market now that same pen chant for technology is being used to prod deeper into youth culture said sean bittle big orbits managing director but the results can often be sketchy big orbits clients can be reluctant to follow the advice of youth even it helps to decipher current trends for instance well- entrenched brands are unwilling to change to appeal to each generation gathering feedback from youth is often a pandoras box dont ask someones opinion unless youre prepared to listen to it otherwise you can alienate them said mr bittle york university market ing professor alan middleton suggested one reason todays youth dont see a problem acting as conduits for marketers is because they arent easily fooled the biggest barrier faced by marketing has remained constant connecting with young people mr middleton said wordofmouth has always been the most pow erful way of reaching youth technology has given marketers a better way of reaching them mr middleton said there has been little opposition to this high- tech assault on young peo ples wallets over the years as concern from parental groups for example can be described as tepid he added youth marketing has remained unchecked throughout canada where rules remain relatively lax on how young or how aggressively marketers can target youth mr middleton said quebec is the only province with legal limits on marketing to children younger than 12 mr middleton said i wouldnt anticipate any legislation concerns are issue driv en rather than genera tional or age concerns he explained for instance marketers courted nega tive attention when child obesity became an issue to par ents and edu cators several years ago as a general rule the most aggressive of youth marketing targets children 12 years old and up mr middleton said while numerous prod ucts can be more closely linked to the younger age bracket competition for the 20something crowd is equally fierce within york regions hospitality and entertainment industry where there is no shortage of venues with a central location and a 10year stranglehold on the 19to24 crowd wednesday nights rocky mountain high in richmond hill has found a winning formula to keep young people coming back the key said bar and restaurant owner maury kalen is knowing who your customers are and giving them what they want business looks to tap into that niche with cross- promotion he added whether its vacation giveaways or new bever ages companies bring them into the nightclubs if youre introducing a new product you go where the people are mr kalen said theres no magic here youve got to have a strong product dont ask someones opinion unless youre prepared to listen to it otherwise you can alienate them sean bittle managing director big orbit vs i