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U.S. Teens among Most Conservative, Brands Forced to Take Sides

U.S. teens appear to be more traditional and conservative than many of their global counterparts, including teenagers from India, China, Germany and France, according to the GenWorld Teen study from Energy BBDO. But not all teens fit this pattern and in fact an interesting “Blue Teen/Red Teen” phenomenon seems to be occurring: About half of U.S. teens qualify as Red Teens with strong conservative views, while the remaining half, Blue Teens, emphasize individuality and tend to reject tradition.

Moreover, Red Teens do not fit into the conservative stereotype mold. While they are more likely to believe in God (89 percent vs. 55 globally), and believe that abortion is never justified (40 percent vs. 12 percent globally), they are also as likely as their peers to enjoy shopping, playing sports and eating in fast food restaurants. They are avid participants in media and pop culture: 97 percent watch TV, 95 percent listen to music, 95 percent watch movies at home, 93 percent spend time on the internet, and 68 percent play video games. Their beliefs reflect changing cultural norms: only 23 percent believe in following traditional gender roles and a third feel as comfortable with gay people as with straight people.

“To have this kind of cultural divide requires its own media, its own voices, its own trendsetters.  So that brands today will need to consider this cultural dividing line as they’re targeting teens in the United States,” says Chip Walker, study author, teen expert and executive vice president planning director at Energy BBDO. Evidence suggests that brands are being forced to one side or another in the culture wars. Based on positive brand ratings,  non-traditional teens (Blue) tend to gravitate towards innovators such as Sony, Amazon, Apple, Ebay, Yahoo and AOL, while Red Teens stick to more wholesome, tried-and-true brands such as Gap, Kellogs, Kraft, Nestle, Disney, and Doublemint.

“Brands that can learn to address Red Teens in a contemporary way will stand to be big winners in today’s
increasingly conservative USA marketplace,” Walker adds.