The Teen Scene

Teenagers love these guys. They're hot, hot, hot! "Youngstown"—the latest bleached, pierced, tattooed, earring wearing Generation Y trio from Hollywood Records and General Growth Properties is hosting their free 'Looking Through Your Eyes' concert series in 22 of its shopping centers across the country. And teenagers, an up and coming demographic with around $1,600 in disposable annual income each, are running to GGP centers by the thousands to listen to them rock. "Teens make up over 10 percent of our shopper base today and that's a growing trend for our malls," said John Davidoff, president of Center Advertising Agency, General Growth Properties, Chicago, IL. "They like clothes, they like music, they like entertainment, and they like movies. They're a great source of revenue for our retailers." The mall concert tour, the first promotion to come from GGPs initiative to position its malls as consumer marketing vehicles for blue chip advertisers, is co-sponsored by Eastman Kodak with Sam Goody and Volunteers of America. "In this case, Kodak is selling its one time use cameras through Sam Goody which it had not previously done," explained Davidoff. "Teen girls make up 60 percent of disposable camera consumers. They are into recording memories of their lives. Whatever they do, whoever they're with, wherever they are they want a snapshot. And where they are is at our malls where, during this promotion, Kodak provides the technology, Sam Goody provides the distribution center, and together we provide entertainment." No doubt, cameras will be flashing during these events. Not only will teens be able to see the band perform free, there will be post-concert photo opportunities and photo signing events. Special fan-packs will be available that include a Kodak Max Flash one-time-use camera plus a photo contest entry form, a Youngstown CD and more. For those teens who are interested, Volunteers of America is staffing booths with information on how to become involved in local and national charities. "It's a program that drives traffic to the mall," said Davidoff. "We're getting 2,500 to 3,000 people attending these Youngstown events. I think you're going to find companies that are not traditional retailers use malls to sell their product. This year is going to be a big year of non-traditional revenue."