Tween Fandom In A Multi-Platform World
Posted by anastasia on 11-08-2006
I had another reporter email me wanting to chat about the Disney tween juggernaut and why it has been so successful. The first thing I thought about was Duran Duran. I was obsessed with Duran Duran when I was 10-13. My best friend and I would hold handstand competitions to "Hungry Like the Wolf," we had posters, cried when each new video hit MTV and literally spent hours creating fantastical sagas in which our boyfirends were of course members of Duran Duran.
What I'm getting at is that tweens going nuts over pitch-perfect pop is nothing new. Whether is was Sean Cassidy, The Spice Girls or The Backstreet Boys. What is new is that the objects of tween affection created by Disney or Dualstar are intentionally squeaky clean — designed for both tween and parent approval. The underlying message is about self esteem (and now diversity), which is developmentally appropriate and scores points with mom and dad. They also have a million brand extensions that appear on multiple platforms (magazines, web, music, stuff). The Sprouslings (I mean the Sprouse twins) are also magazine editors, the Cheetah Girls, Hannah Montana and their predecessor, Hilary Duff all act and sing and probably can dance, too (although I think the tripple threat here is acting, singing and licensing tons of stuff — The Olsen Twins were the real trailblazers here). So when you take the natural, normal desire of tweens to obsess over their pop idols, throw in a few more platforms and please parents you have the perfect storm for potential tween success.
