Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Lately I have been acutely aware that I am getting older (before you roll your eyes at the 26-year-old calling herself “old” hear me out) – everywhere I look I see kids and teenagers doing, wearing, saying and watching things that both amaze and unnerve me. When did I begin criticizing “teenagers” in such a blanketed fashion?

Before I begin pointing my boney finger or kick-off some grand theory on the downfall of our youth, I think it is equally important to consider how technologically skilled and proficient this group has become (which has undeniably fueled some of my previously mentioned concern). I would be willing to bet that my 12-year old neighbor, and perhaps even his 8-year-old sister, could teach me a thing or two about my iPod, laptop and/or smartphone.

When I got my first cell phone as a teenager, it was a big deal. Only 3 or 4 of my friends had cell phones. When adding ‘Contacts’ to my phone, I added home numbers, not cell phone numbers. Today, I automatically assume that 90% of the numbers in my ‘Contact’ list are cell phones because, well, they are. Today, I just immediately assume that just about everyone has a cell phone. In fact, I cannot think of anyone over the age of 12 that doesn’t have one (and that includes my 71-year-old, technology-phobe father).

To say that times have changed is an understatement. The way in which technology has engrained itself in our youth’s lives is particularly astounding. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children aged 8 to 18 spend as more time with media on a weekly basis than the most adult spends at work (53 hours)! 

Mobile adoption is a huge contributor to this. Over the past five years, there has been a huge increase in ownership among 8 to 18 year-olds (from 39% to 66% for cell phones and 18% to 76% for iPods and MP3 players.) The possibilities of mobile local advertising just astound me. When I think about the future of mobile advertising, I do occasionally feel a little nervous that I might get bombarded more than I care to; however, I also predict that I will be receiving useful coupons, messages, facts, etc. from companies that I provide my number to, and what's more, receive them based upon my real-time, physical location. Can you imagine receiving an automatic coupon for Target when you are actually IN TARGET? That possibility for retail marketing is cool (and useful) to me both as a consumer and a marketer.  

So I will end my ramblings with this - if you are a business, engaged in local store marketing that has refrained from looking into new, interactive advertising mediums, you had better take note. First, you are likely already missing out on a large majority of your target demographic and second, today’s teens are tomorrow’s coveted early 20’s, college-aged demographic and you had better believe they will be turning to the web, their smartphones, their iPods, etc. Will you be there? Local internet marketing not only works today but will increasingly be seen as a necessity for marketing success.