MTV is a household name to teenagers almost everywhere around the world. It is rare to find anyone who has not tuned into MTV, let alone heard of it. It has become one of the largest television channels on earth. MTV is broadcasted to five continents and viewed in over one hundred countries. Because music is extremely important to teenagers, whether it be stress relief or a form of self-expression, every teen needs his or her music. Catering to youth and acting as a counselor through tough times, MTV provides up to the minute music, fashion, lingo, trends, news and more.
It doesn’t matter where you live, whether it is America, Europe, Australia, or wherever, teens are uncertain of themselves and ultimately want to fit in and be accepted by their peers. Although style and appearance should not be one of the most important factors in finding friends and acceptance, it is brutally important during the teen years. But, what is the latest trend? How do we know what’s cool and what’s not? Thank God for MTV! You can tune into MTV and find out what all the latest trends are. Need a favorite song or a fashion tip? MTV is guaranteed to have something for every young person. Not only do teens look to MTV for cool music, hot styles, and the latest lingo, adults also look to MTV in order to understand more their children.
Successfully marketing a product lies in satisfying one or more of the target audience’s emotional needs. The first step in successfully marketing to a specific group is defining what the strategy will be directed towards- understanding what makes them tick. Some examples of these needs in relation to today’s youth are: acceptance, belonging, pride, and security. MTV has especially tapped into the need for belonging and acceptance by giving youth something common to talk about and experience together- something specifically created with them in mind.
After identifying the needs of the target audience, MTV marketing strategists must devise a method of satisfying those needs. In an interview from PBS.org entitled “The Merchants of Cool: Interview Todd Cunningham,” the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning for MTV calls the method a “feverish addiction to research and understanding young people.” The techniques Cunningham describes are unique and very interesting.
Everything is videotaped. The first technique is holding focus groups in which the participants are guided to talk about selected topics. They are held in a variety of locations such as basketball courts or random parking lots. The second technique is what Cunningham calls an “ethnography study” in which MTV researchers actually go into the homes of those people they are trying to market towards. The researchers look through closets and music collections and just hang out with the kids to find out what sorts of issues matter to them. The researchers then base the themes of new programs on their findings. A third technique is to travel to various locations to learn about new trends that have the possibility of becoming mainstream, thus ensuring that MTV is always on the cutting edge of popular culture. The final technique is to have random kids recreate their bedrooms at a special location. There, MTV executives can get a first hand look at who their audience is, as well as get direct feedback from the people MTV depends on for its popularity.
The culmination of all the research is an effort to make relevant programming. In this way, Cunningham notes, MTV can “stay true to the audience.” Relevance is what helps kids relate and keeps them coming back. Relevance is what has made MTV a successful marketer. As the youth changes, MTV will too- otherwise its relevance would be destroyed and it would become just another fad. Instead of growing up with a generation, MTV’s research allows generation after generation to grow up with it.
