Tween Beat

For her money, Dennis thinks preteen girls in particular make for a better market niche than preteen boys--and the consensus seems to be that she's right. "The only thing freakier to marketers than young girls is young boys," Bokram wryly points out. "As tough as girls are, girls also represent predictable economic stuff--clothes, makeup, shoes, accessories. Guys just generally aren't as conscious of fashion--they prefer something simple like khakis."

Just like their teen counterparts, as a matter of fact. That said, however, entrepreneurs are cautioned against linking tweens too closely to teens. Popular perceptions to the contrary, tweens aren't merely teenagers in miniaturized form. Funny as it may sound, there's a big difference between being 10 years old and being 14.

"There's this school of thought by less sophisticated marketers that maintains if you're reaching 15-year-olds, then you'll get the 12-year-olds, too," says Bokram. "That's simply not true."

It's a vital lesson for kid-targeting companies to learn--and stick with. "I don't want the teens," Dennis says. "I think when you go into business, you have to be very focused on who you're going after. I don't want to be all things to all people."

And this condition of sharp focus extends to resisting the urge to market to tweens' parents rather than to tweens themselves. Admittedly, parents are most likely to provide kids with the financial wherewithal to make purchases, but kids are still the ultimate decision-makers. Again, it's a tricky balance to strike.

This article was originally published in the September 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Tween Beat.