Teen values are changing – and brands should reassess their approach to the teenage market accordingly. Far from being the loutish, disengaged and aggressive yobs they are painted to be, teens today attach more importance to values like integrity and sincerity and are searching for real meaning in life.

That’s the message from Sharon Greene, from RISC International, a global trends and behaviour analysis consultancy. Greene will speak in London next week at a breakfast conference on global youth trends (October 22), discussing what brands should do to meaningfully communicate with these new young consumers.

Fresh data from RISC shows that today’s generation of teens is more optimistic and principled than before and companies need to listen to how one of their most spend-happy target groups is changing: today, 54 per cent of UK teens want to build their lives according to a strong value system, in 2005, less than half of them agreed with this sentiment. More than half of teens now want to make an active contribution to society, compared with less than a third in 2005.

Greene advises marketers: “Getting across a message with a deeper meaning is going to be key. Teens also want to associate that depth with something that has a long-lasting, positive and constructive effect, both for them and for their community.” UK teens also shop with an increased conscience – 62 per cent believe their shopping habits impact on the world, compared to only 53 per cent of 20-24-year-olds.

Trendsetting teens
The new generation of teenagers shows a strong willingness to listen to and be inspired by others, in particular their peers. This poses a huge challenge for brands wishing to communicate to youths, claims RISC: 70 per cent do not trust what brands tell them, preferring instead to be informed by their peers.

Greene added: “Teens use social media as ways to hold conversations with each other; brands need to be careful not to use these spaces as places for one-way broadcasting. Brands can show teens that their choices count both in the way they approach them and the way they can collaboratively build new offers.”

RISC International’s global studies of the teen group also show that the number of teens who like spending time at home increased to 65 per cent today, from 56 per cent in 2005. This means brands will need to be more present in teens’ homes and will need to take this renewed connection of physical closeness to their friends and family into account when communicating with them.