Mastering the Art of Marketing to Teens, Gen Z and Millennials with Fuse Marketing

Welcome. This is the Public Relations Review Podcast, a program to discuss the many facets of public relations with seasoned professionals, educators, authors and others. Now here is your host, Peter Woolfolk.

Welcome to the Public Relations Review Podcast and to all listeners all across America and around the world. Now I am very pleased to announce that, as of September 2023, apple has ranked this podcast among the top 1% of podcasts worldwide. So thank you to all of my guests for providing the great content that makes this possible, and a thanks to my audience for your continued support. Now a question. A target market for many companies is composed of teenagers and or young adults. So just what multitude of techniques must they from have in its arsenal to successfully penetrate this market segment? Well, my guests today represent Fuse Marketing, an independent agency specializing in teen and young adult marketing. They have the answer to that question, and joining me today from the great state of Vermont, are Jula Jatlow, a partner with 20 years at Fuse, where she has negotiated hundreds of athletes, musicians and e-sports team deals Special. Several clients include Pepsi, amazon, zipcar and others. She oversees client positioning, branding and go-to-market strategies. Jula earned her BA in cultural anthropology, believe it or not, from the University of Wisconsin. Now, lauren Mack was a decade at Fuse. It has an extensive background in the action, sports and outdoor activities. Her expertise includes public relations, event marketing, social media and sales. She oversees a variety of award-winning marketing campaigns, unique media, tours and events and social media, and she trains athletes and brand-spoke people. So, ladies, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you, peter, we're really happy to be here.

Okay, yeah, I tell you. Well, let's start. What did you guys wind up specializing, if you will, in the teens and tweens area? What brought that on?

I love that question and to answer that it means we have to go back into the Fuse history books. So Fuse was one of the first action sports agencies. So when we say action sports we're talking about sports such as snowboarding and skiing and wakeboarding and motocross and BMX riding. So we were started in 1995 with a focus on action sports and not too soon after, we started doing a lot for our clients. Some of our clients were X-Games sponsors, for example. We started to realize that, in addition to sports, every time we showed up for an activation or if we were looking at a sponsorship and wanted to find ways to connect with the consumers that were attending or viewing, we thought to ourselves you know, we need to have music involved. In some cases there were other passion points that we started to come across. Sometimes we'd be on site at an event doing an activation that had gaming and so, you know, our target consumer and our positioning of the company really started to evolve into more of a youth marketing agency. So the transition was extremely natural. Clearly, you know, action sports fans and participants are a young demographic, but what we did was we, you know, really started to go after teens and young adults, because it was a natural progression to tap into their passion point. So anything lifestyle, for example. And today you know, fuse is really focused on creating authentic brand engagements for Gen Z, millennials, teens, young adults, college students, and we specialize in developing and executing sports and sampling and campus culture and customer marketing programs. So long story short, that's how we got to where we are today.

Well, let's talk about some of those specific programs that you put on. Let's talk about the ones where you've had great success, and maybe there might have been one that you had a few extra hurdles to climb to make it come out the way you wanted to. So let's start with the successful programs first. What were they? How did you arrive at? This is the program we're going to have and here's how we're going to go about it. Tell us about that process.

Yeah, I mean so we create custom programs for our clients. You know they don't click on our website and buy a package. You know, essentially, we work very closely with our clients to understand what they're trying to achieve their goals and objectives, and then Fuse creates a strategic recommendation or recommendations, and we are able to, in most cases, execute them all as well because we are a full service agency. So we have a lot of clients who come to us and they want to. Perhaps maybe they know who they are. Right, they're a brand that has been around for a long time. You can see a lot of our clients listed on our website brands like Pepsi or Amazon or Tiktok, you know, and the list goes on brands who know who they are and they want to perhaps target young people with a specific promotion message or new product launch. And we also have a lot of clients that come to us and say, hey, we really we don't know who we are yet, fuse, we need your help coming up with brand positioning and, you know, really helping us create our brand DNA, our key differentiators from others in the marketplace. So we are here to solve a lot of problems with our clients and I would say the one thing that we have in common across all of them is that we create custom programs that help them accomplish their objectives.

I would just ask that, as you mentioned, you know what are some of our successes. To Julie's point, all of our programs are super customized to our clients and our clients needs and from a PR perspective, you know, we really focus in on customized outreach, really hyper targeting who those media outlets are, as well as customizing who our spokespeople are. And I think, from a teen and young adult perspective, we really work with the brand on identifying the right spokespeople for media opportunities. And that's where we feel like those successes really shine.

You know and I think that's the part that interests me that when your clients come to you and say, well, we're not quite sure who we are. How do you? Help them find that and then, once you identify what that is, identify what activities you're going to put in place to help them get to where they want to get to. So how does that all begin? What do you do to help them find out who they are?

Lauren, do you want to answer?

that, yeah, I think you know, from a messaging standpoint, is where we want to start first, because we want to be authentic to the audiences we're speaking to and you know, when we're talking to a younger audience, we want to be mindful that we're also speaking to parents. So there's going to be two different types of messages as well as different types of content that we're creating for the brand to really resonate with who we're speaking to, but also tying back to what the brand goals are right. So really just being aware of what the brand is, who we're targeting and making sure that the message is authentic to that audience.

Now do you? Obviously, if you're going to talk to teenagers, perhaps it's always good to have another teenager talk to teenagers, because I guess you there's a certain bit of authenticity, having it come from someone that they can identify with. How do you go about maybe selecting that particular teenager or those particular teenagers? How does that happen?

Yeah, we work with a lot of different social media influencers to content creators, athletes, you name it, depending on what our approach is and we really leverage them. We do media trainings to train them on the correct messaging for the brand and how to authentically share that messaging with media or across their social media channels, and we leverage a lot of third party resources to help identify who those influencers are for the brand. So it's a little bit of few different tactics to get our clients to where they need to be.

But also, peter, we do a lot on campus. I think I mentioned that previously. So we're on hundreds of campuses a year doing all kinds of activations or connecting with campus clubs, doing back-to-school events, sporting events, and so we're able to be in front of students all the time. We get great insights. We're constantly mining for data and bringing all our firsthand knowledge into our strategies and activation plans.

One of your clients that I also noticed was a Zipcar. How do you go about helping them get where they need to get to?

Yeah, well, I mean, just like with every client, fuse creates custom programs, and so with Zipcar they did a lot on campus because they've got a lot of campus partnerships, and with many of our clients who are on campus. We also typically are recommending different influencer and brand ambassador programs, because what better way to get your message out than to students who really are loyalists to your brand? So many of our campus approaches include brand ambassadors, who oftentimes are creating content online and offline, and it's a great way to activate across the country in a great way, or even locally and regionally if there are target markets involved.

Now, you've mentioned several times influencers. How do you go about identifying the right influencer, if you will? And then what message do you have them use to deliver the information you want to deliver to your target audience?

Yeah, yeah. So influencers, I think, like Lauren had said earlier come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, if you will. Some influencers are very focused on creating content. Other are influencers our student athletes, for example. We've talked a little bit about college students. There are certain college students who are influencers in their own right, and so essentially, what we do is we create a strategy depending on what we're trying to accomplish, and then we will vet and recruit the influencer based on a specific set of criteria. So it really starts with hey, criteria, what are you trying to do, who are you trying to reach? And then we can come to our recommendations based on that.

I was just going to say. To add to that, our criteria is often could be geographic location, it could be hobbies and interests, it could be age and demographic. So we go down to those granular levels for our clients to really make sure we're reaching out to the right people.

Perhaps that was another question. Now, how far outside of Vermont do you go or do you stay within the geographic boundaries there?

Oh, peter, yeah, all Everything we do for the most part is nationwide, and so we're working with clients who are looking, in many cases, to target teens or young adults across the country. We do have a few clients who are focused on a specific locale or region, but we're all over the country doing national programs.

I was going to say yes, very often outside of the Vermont area, we're largely national.

Well, I mean, that's certainly very good to hear. I mean, in my practice I almost have nothing to do with a teenager, so I keep that in mind, you know, of course. You know we always work something out. If I'm here in Nashville, tennessee, and if that issue ever comes up, I'm certainly going to think about you guys and give your call and see if there's something we could do.

Yeah, nashville is fun. Yeah, we also. I mean, our home base is here in Vermont. We also have team members in Atlanta, new York City, virginia, florida. So you know we have the ability to be in a lot of places at once if we need to be.

What would you suggest? Perhaps has been your most challenging assignment that you've gotten from a client to help round up or get teenagers involved in whatever it is that they wanted to have them involved in. What has been the highest amount for you to climb there?

You know, I just think, you know, right now, in today's world, reaching young people needs to be meaningful. You know it needs to be meaningful, it needs to break through the clutter. There are a lot of messages out there coming from all over the place, and I think the biggest challenge is just finding something that connects and engages, and oftentimes we're challenged with, you know, creating that call to action. That means something, and so, you know, that's the biggest challenge, but it's also, in my opinion, that's the fun part is kind of cracking the code on what those messages are, you know, from a PR perspective, and making sure that what we're saying and doing on behalf of our clients is really resonating.

And notice you also mentioned Gen Z and millennials and had a fellow on that too long ago that talks about Gen Z or how they are influencing the change in marketing and how people are buying products because they're interested in they being. The Gen Zers are interested in the environment. You know those kinds of things. So how do you go about incorporating those desires or lifestyles of Gen Zers and millennials into what you do?

Yeah, well, and it's interesting, peter, when we talk about Fuse, we really talk about, you know, our three mission-based pillars which you know one is our company, culture. Two is DEI, and really, you know focusing on, you know, diversity, equity and inclusion. And the third is the environment and sustainability, and so we talk a lot about that inside at Fuse, with our team here we have committees actually dedicated to each one of those pillars who are, you know, helping to, you know, create experiences and action items aligned with those pillars. But what we also say is that those three pillars are all things that our clients should be considering as we create programs for them. The environment and sustainability is really, you know, an important pillar to young people's lives, you know equity and inclusion this needs to be built into everything that you know marketers are doing. They need to be considering a lot more than they ever have before. And then culture, too we talked about that earlier on in the podcast where culture and lifestyle really taps into passion points, and so if you're not considering those things and how they relate to a young person's life or world or how they're consuming media, then probably you're going to miss the mark. So really it starts with, you know a lot of those pillars and helping to our clients bring those to life and in all of the activations that they're doing.

Well, I know we've covered a number of things here. Just as you think about all the things that you do, has we missed anything that you think is important for our listeners to know about what you do and how you go about it and how you've achieved the success that you've had so far?

Wow, I mean I'll go ahead, Lauren.

I was just going to say. I would just say that you know, as a youth marketing agency, you know the youth and young adults are some of the larger demographics that are continuing to grow, so it's really important for brands to get in front of them. And you know, we're lucky to be able to be doing what we do because it's fun and, to Julie's point, it's all about the culture. So I think those were kind of the main things that we're excited about as a company.

Yeah, I love that. I also think that it's important to remember that young people have just so many messages coming their way, and so it's really important as a marketer to just think like your consumer thinks and to kind of I love to pressure test some of our ideas and say, hey, what would break through the clutter for these young consumers? What will make them take action, whether it's to like a comment, to purchase a product, to engage on social media and really pressure test, because oftentimes you're sitting in a not us, but maybe some of our clients will be sitting in an office thinking of ideas. It's important to make sure that they're really gonna resonate, and a lot of times we tell our clients, hey, let's pilot a program before we roll it out nationally. Make sure that we're gonna get the results that we know that we want. So, yes, I would say that all those things are very important.

So I guess the bottom line on there is that you do roughly I guess I would call them focus panels to maybe talk to young adults and others to make sure that what it is you're doing or going to do works for the particular target audience.

Definitely. I think Lauren touched on some of the insights that are always ongoing, not only here at the agency, but also across some of our clients, so it's great to just understand the nuances, too, of what's gonna resonate and what might not.

Well, ladies, let me say thank you so very, very much, julia Jatelow and Lauren Macon, for being my guest today, and also, let me say this part of one of my strategies when I launched this podcast five years ago was to make sure that I had a guest from all 50 states, and the fact that you are very much that you've closed that gap for me. I reached that goal. And then you are my 50th state, so that's awesome.

Nice, nice. I love that. I love that. Peter, you're welcome to visit us in Vermont anytime you're in the area.

Well, thank you so much, and let me say that you've contributed quite a bit to our podcast. As I mentioned at the top of the show, it was a surprise to me that Apple had listed us among the top 1% of podcasts worldwide, and it's topics such as this in conversation, such as this, that helped us to get there. So I want to say thank you so very much for participating.

Of course. Congrats on the acknowledgement. That's great.

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This podcast is produced by Communication Strategies, an award-winning public relations and public affairs firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us.