Why Teens Won't Advocate For Your Brand

Audience segments of all types, especially teens, have one commonality: they want to be a part of a movement.

Maslow’s Hierarchy reveals the innate needs of every human, and at the top? Self-actualization. Knowing how we fit in this world, our identity, and what our purpose is becomes the driving force behind all that we do. Love Scarborough taps into this insight and cleverly creates an ad campaign that doesn’t advertise a product but advertises an identity.

What they’re doing:

• Creating unity around a message

• Uniting young people around a movement

• Using language, graphics, and concepts their audience knows well (people from Scarborough)

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Why is it effective?

• Teens connect with brands because they want to feel part of something bigger than themselves (Maslow’s Hierarchy)

• They like things that feel personal and specific to their world (like inside jokes or niche memes)

• They want to belong to something with meaning

• It makes teens from Scarborough feel seen and empowered—they associate with something cool, which reinforces that they are cool (self-actualization)

How do others adopt this?

• It doesn’t matter how basic your brand is, buildit around a polarizing movement

• Help teens see themselves in your message. Be a brand they want to be connected to

• Movements are powerful. Even in your tone, your look, your captions, carry a movement personality

Tesla did it too

Tesla Is not just another car, it reflects a statement. A movement to flip how transportation is done, starting with electric cars. When people buy a Tesla, especially younger buyers, they’re buying into something. It’s about being part of the future, cleaner energy, sustainable travel, just to name a few.There are tons of electric cars now, but Tesla still stands out by selling its audience on a movement.

So, what does this mean for your advertising?

Just posting your product or service isn’t enough. Teens want to see how your brand connects to who they are. That’s why the “who cares” mentality matters. The who cares mentality says:“I assume no one cares about what I have to offer—so why should they?”

Young audiences don’t want another flashy brand.

They want something that speaks to them, their voice, their world, their identity.

This idea of “creating a movement” isn’t a gimmick. It should be your foundation. Every single thing you put out, does it move your audience?

If the answer is yes? Then stop advertising the product. Start advertising the movement.