Today’s Youth Look to Advertising as Much as Their Friends When Making Purchase Decisions

Newer advertising tactics not appealing – only five percent like advertising on cell phones

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – August 21, 2006 – Today’s youth have an income of $233 billion and influence many household purchases—and not only youth products. Today’s "wired" kids are receiving many advertisers’ messages directly and some are particularly attuned to advertising to guide their purchase decision-making. Youth, particularly tweens, agree that they often pay close attention to advertisements to make sure they buy the right products (36% of tweens ages 8-12 and 22% of teens ages 13-18). The influence of advertising is similar to the influence of friends on young people’s purchase decisions, with 36 percent of tweens and 23 percent of teens saying that they often look to see what their friends use and buy when making purchase decisions.

These are the results of a nationwide survey of 1,306 U.S. children and teenagers (ages 8 to 18) surveyed online by Harris Interactive^® between May 18 to 23, 2006. Harris Interactive collaborated with the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics on development of the questionnaire for this study.

Advertising likes and dislikes

When it comes to advertising tactics employed by companies, the top three liked by both tweens and teens relate to celebrity and notoriety, including having a famous person use a product (tweens 39% and teens 21%), having a person in a movie use a product (tweens 33% and teens 20%), and getting the company name included in the name of a sporting event or stadium (tweens 33% and teens 22%). Newer advertising tactics are viewed more negatively by young people. For example, only five percent of youth like it when companies advertise their product on cell phones (compared to 50% who dislike it), and four percent like it when companies get someone to mention a product in online chat sessions (with 41% disliking this tactic).

Truth in advertising

Youth seem to consider themselves to be discerning when it comes to advertising, and they can even be skeptical about what companies tell them. Fewer than one in ten (6%) 8-18 year olds agree with the statement "advertisements tell the truth", and more than half (57%) say they often notice tricks companies use to get them to buy something. About three-quarters (73%) agree that companies try to get people to buy things they do not really need. And, regarding mention of a product in an online chatroom, very few (only 1% of teens and 6% of tweens) feel that they can trust the discussion.

TABLE 1

PURCHASE DECISION-MAKING

"How much do you agree with the following?"

Base: All youth ages 8-18 years

	Summary of Strongly / Somewhat Agree
	Tweens age 8-12	Teens age 13-18	Total age 8-18
	%	%	%
I like to buy things my friends have.	62	32	44
To make sure that I buy the right products, I often look to see what my friends use and buy.	36	23	29
To make sure I buy the right products I often pay close attention to advertisements.	36	22	29
If I do not have much experience with a product, I often ask my friends to tell me what to buy.	29	33	31
If I do not have much experience with a product, I often ask someone who works in a store to tell me what to buy.	22	28	26
I try to buy products that I’ve seen before on television or in the movies	53	29	40
I often use the Internet to get information about products before I buy them	30	51	40

TABLE 2

ATTITUDES ON ADVERTISING TACTICS

"How much do you like it when companies do the following?"

Base: All youth ages 8-18 years

	Summary of Like / Strongly Like				Summary of Dislike / Strongly Dislike
	Tweens age 8-12	Teens age 13-18	Total age 8-18	Tweens age 8-12		Teens age 13-18	Total age 8-18
	%	%	%	%		%	%
Have a famous person use their product	39	21	29	12		22	18
Have a person in a movie use their product	33	20	26	12		19	17
Get their company name included in the name of a sporting event or stadium	33	22	26	13		18	17
Create cartoons or TV shows that are about their product (s)	31	13	21	25		34	31
Have their product appear in a video game	27	13	19	22		25	24
Give their product to popular kids for free	24	12	18	43		44	44
Get someone to use their product in a public place like a coffee shop	17	10	13	19		22	20
Get someone to write a blog about their product	14	10	11	24		32	29
Ask for personal information like your name and email address	6	4	4	68		65	66
Advertise their product on cell phones	5	4	5	41		55	50
Get someone to mention the product in online chat sessions	5	4	4	37		45	41

TABLE 3

TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT PRODUCTS

"How much do you agree with the following?"

Base: All youth ages 8-18 years

	Summary of Strongly / Somewhat Agree
	Tweens age 8-12	Teens age 13-18	Total age 8-18
	%	%	%
What famous people say about a product is true	17	5	11
When companies say their product is the best they are always telling the truth	10	3	6
Companies can say anything about their product, even if it isn’t true	54	42	47
When someone in an online chatroom tells you about a product, you can trust what they say	6	1	3
Advertisements tell the truth	9	4	6
Products are used in movies just to make the movies more realistic	42	26	33
Companies want you to buy their product only if it is the best one for you	15	8	11
I often notice tricks that companies use to get me to buy something	51	61	57
Companies try to get people to buy things that they don’t really need	76	71	73
Companies tell you only the good things about their products; they don’t tell you the bad things	77	70	72

Downloadable PDF files of previous issues, and the current issue of Trends and Tudes, containing this information and more, can be found at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_k12.asp.

Methodology

This survey was designed in collaboration with the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics and was conducted online by Harris Interactive among 1,306 children and teenagers (ages 8-12, n=564 and ages 13-18, n=742) within the United States between May 18 to 23, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, parental education, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 1,306 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-3 percentage points. Sampling error for subsamples is higher and varies. However this does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

About the Harris Interactive Youth and Education Research Practice

The Youth and Education Research Practice conducts research among children, teens, parents, educators, administrators and policy makers that assists in understanding the lives of children, teens and college students. The team specializes in research related to marketing geared toward the young consumer, to public policy related to youth and education, to family and parenting issues, and satisfaction studies and research that measures the standards of K-12 and higher education in districts across the nation. The practice conducts custom and syndicated studies both for non-profit and for-profit organizations.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12^th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents: The Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online, visit www.harrispollonline.com.

Press Contact:

Jennifer Cummings

Harris Interactive

585-214-7720