The secret to branding among teens and tweens

If you want to connect with teens and tweens, you need to play where they play. Check out these examples of brands that are getting it right.

If you want to communicate with teens and their pre-pubescent counterparts, otherwise known as tweens, you need an expert -- and that doesn't mean a parent. Teen and tween virtual worlds -- and the people who create, monitor and brand on them -- offer a direct, immersive channel for communicating with this unpredictable demographic.

Sites like Gaia Online, Habbo, Whyville, Zwinky and Stardoll have made a science of studying the habits and interests of 9- to 19-year-olds, and they report that their audience is adept at tuning out the old forms of media that don't speak directly to what they want. "Whether it's the tone or style or tastes, you have to be up to speed," says Matt Diamond, CEO of Alloy media, a partner of IAC-owned virtual worlds Zwinky and Meez. "You have to reflect what is going on out there."

Virtual worlds get constant feedback, Diamond adds, and their users insist on controlling their choices, whether it's watching a movie trailer or entering a branded boutique. Thus, brands have to work with what virtual worlds have to offer instead of dictating how they play on a site. On the other hand, virtual worlds have proliferated to the extent that brands can target any niche. Do you have artsy 12- to 17-year-olds in your sights? Want to connect with pop culture sophisticates too young to go to the movies by themselves? What about car enthusiasts who are more interested in fantastic extras than how many miles to the gallon they get? There's a good chance that a certain virtual world can help you connect.

"We spend a lot of time and money studying what our users are interested in, what do they watch, what music do they listen to," says Jeremy Monroe, director of marketing and business development for Habbo North America. "We use that research to approach brands proactively or filter brands that come through." Habbo, where users occupy a high-rise hotel, play games and obsessively collect furniture for their "rooms," describes itself as a site for creative self-expression. Like most virtual worlds for this age range, Habbo users design avatars from an almost endless menu of hairstyles and clothes and then "walk" around their world, talking to other users or participating in activities created by the site.

With 32 localized sites around the world and, as of this month, a mind-boggling 111 million registered users (MySpace claimed to have 110 million active users early this year), Habbo has run campaigns for Target, WWE, High School Musical 2 and Paramount. Target sponsors a lounge on top of the hotel. Late last year, the company threw a party with BMX rider Mat Hoffman as the guest of honor. Limited edition virtual couches bearing the brand's bull's-eye mark were also sold on the site.

For Paramount's "The Spiderwick Chronicles," Habbo recreated furniture from the movie that users could collect. The site also created group pages that users could join as goblin or fairy fans. "If we're talking about someone bringing in their IP, and if users like it, there's a deep level of engagement," Monroe says.




Virtual collectibles score big
Teens and tweens are cultish about their collectibles, and virtual worlds use that impulse to make money on direct merchandising, to encourage users to watch movie trailers or enter contests, and to build awareness of a brand. On fantasy world Gaia, which boasts 7 million unique logins per month, Toyota's Scion car brand had the site build a replica of its signature boxy station wagon for users to race. Extras, like lights under the car or paint guns on top, could also be bought on the Gaia marketplace. More than 1 million Scions have been bought on the site since the campaign's launch, and many users have also downloaded an IM signature that features a miniature car.




Engagement with the brand on Gaia was "huge," says Adrian Si, interactive marketing manager for Scion. But he adds that because Scion is interested in building awareness rather than selling cars, it could afford a lower ROI than what might be achieved with an ad on late-night cable. "This demo is used to being marketed to, and they are more tuned off to media," Si says. "We wanted to be in places that had more meaning for them."

"Engagement" is the operative word on virtual sites where brands can splash their name around the environment by opening boutiques in virtual malls or sponsoring lounges where users can congregate. To build up its back-to-school campaign, Sears did just that on the teen and tween sister sites Zwinky and Meez. In its Arrive Lounge on Zwinky, a Sears-created video featuring High School Musical 3 star Vanessa Hudgens played in the background. Users could also watch a Sears-sponsored fashion show or visit its boutique to try on the clothes.

With 1.6 million apparel items "bought" on Zwinky and a million instances of Sears clothes being tried on and saved on Meez, the brand engagement exceeded expectations, says Dave Bazant, Sears' advertising manager for online and emerging media. "The effort was about learning as much as we can," Bazant says. "Working with a younger target that doesn't necessarily consider our brand, [the campaign] certainly drives up our name with this audience."

Another prominent theme on virtual worlds is celebrity. Gaia features special rooms representing music celebrities like 50 Cent. Habbo claims 300 celebrities have visited the site as guests. "There's an immense hunger for emotional connection with our celebrities," says Matt Palmer, executive vice president of Stardoll, which mimics the idea of dressing paper dolls with two-dimensional, highly realized avatars and endless wardrobes. Stardoll has made a business out of featuring celebrities from Avril Lavigne to Hilary Duff with lookalike dolls and clothing lines designed by the stars. Stardoll claims 21 million users, all grown virally. Palmer says the realistic graphics on Stardoll and its niche in "all things fashion" has built enormous loyalty with 9- to 17-year-olds. The site has partnered with brands including Sephora and Vivienne Tam.

Show them something new
If the virtual crystal ball were consulted, it would probably predict an ever-expanding universe of virtual worlds catering to youth. As a branding opportunity, sites say user involvement is unprecedented, even compared to social networking sites like MySpace. Alloy CEO Matt Diamond compares branding on MySpace to putting an ad on someone's high school locker. "The social networks have been challenged to have good click-through rates, but that doesn't surprise me because you don't go to someone's locker and see what's there," he says. "There's mass eyeballs there, but if you're looking for ROI, [virtual worlds] are your best bet for your money."

But brands had better be prepared to be nimble with their campaigns. Adrian Si of Scion said he has learned to rely on the creative producers of virtual worlds to market his cars. In some campaigns, he said, Scion wasn't even represented by its product. On Whyville, which is popular with 8- to 14-year-olds, the brand built a club where users could go and improvise their own songs. The idea attracted approximately 300,000 users per day. He also said he's learned that something new -- whether an item or a makeover of an existing room -- has to be rolled out at least once a quarter to keep things fresh for existing users.

"Every brand has its own voice, and some are more willing to have our voice applied," says Scott Kinzie, vice president of creative and user experience for Gaia. What brands can rely on, sites say, is their expertise in how to interact with adolescents whose fluid use of emoticons, IM slang and pop culture references dumbfound most adults. Sound the wrong note, and you could get the standard teenage response in instant message form above an avatar's head: Whatever.