5 Teen Audience Trends and What They Mean for Brands

From what’s hot, to the latest slang, to their parents’ lives, teenagers are running it. Thirteen to 17-year-olds are setting trends and influencing household budgets as they get ready to take over the world. For brands, connecting with these powerful definers of what’s cool and relevant is critical. And with teens representing $360B in annual spending, the potential payoff for advertisers is huge.

Decoding the Teen Mindset

Though we’ve all been there, what defines the teen years is unique from one generation to the next. And understanding who they are and how they express themselves is the first step to resonating with them. So, let’s dig into some key teen audience trends that can help brands build a connection with today’s youth.

1. Culture Is at the Center of Teen Life

As members of Gen Z, teenagers are a part of the most culturally diverse generation ever—and culture is central to their identities. With 50% of teens identifying as an ethnicity other than white, “Gen Z” and “diverse audience” go hand in hand. And, like so many generations before them, music is a key vehicle of both self- and cultural expression.

The vastness of the music landscape at their fingertips allows teens to find the tempos, lyrics, and melodies that reflect their interests and the uniqueness of their cultures and communities. Half of teens say their race and ethnicity are important to defining their identity, and 55% say music helps them express their own individuality and style.

Advice for Brands: Follow the Culture

As a part of the most diverse generation, teens require a culture-first strategy from brands—starting with your ad creative. The numbers don’t lie: 53% of teens say it’s important for brands to feature people of diverse cultural backgrounds, so it’s crucial for advertisers to utilize diverse voices, faces, and stories in their messages. To maximize ad effectiveness, brands should lean into culturally relevant spaces like SoundCloud, where 52% of the audience is Gen Z.

2. Teens Are Music-Obsessed

The teen years are a time of self-discovery, experimentation, and forging one's identity—and music plays a central role in this journey. Everyone’s taste in music is personal, but teens take their passion for music to a whole new level. So, it’s not surprising that 78% of 13- to 17-year-olds listen to music daily, and 56% say music as an important part of their life. Music serves as an outlet for teens to form their identities and express themselves.

Advice for Brands: Press Play on Teen Music 

Bring the music that defines teen audiences into your media strategy to make your brand a part of their lives. From integrating into genres by sponsoring Pandora stations that teens love, to elevating emerging artists by promoting tracks, advertisers can enhance the music discovery journey. 

3. Podcasts Are Their Connection to Communities

Streaming audio is one way for advertisers to reach teen listeners, but podcasts play a huge role in their lives, too. They’re connecting with trusted voices that feel like a guiding hand or their bestie behind the mic, and they’re feeling entertained and engaged while listening (71%). Podcasts extend beyond audio, with listeners following the creators to video and social sites, like 40% of teens who say they follow their favorite podcast creator on social media.  

Advice for Brands: Follow Them Across Platforms 

Teens love an opportunity to get the latest gossip, update, or photo dump. And when their favorite podcasters are showing up on all the platforms they love, the opportunity for brands extends alongside them. We’ve seen that 85% of Gen Z podcast listeners interact with their favorite hosts in multiple ways, like subscribing, following the host on social media, and participating in online forums. So getting your brand on board with creators like Stephanie Soo is a fully inclusive way to get your message heard everywhere. 

4. Teens Crave Authentic Brand Experiences 

Teens are finding themselves through podcasts, turning to trusted voices for guidance, friendship, mental health support, and self-expression. This medium provides a safe space for teen listeners to hear real stories and help them navigate life. Gen Z’s biggest voices live and thrive on the SiriusXM Podcast Network, and we reach one in four listeners ages 18-24 on a monthly basis.

Advice for Brands: Align with the Voices Teens Love 

Giving the influencers they love the power to speak about your product can help brands build a connection. And podcast hosts are the new, more authentic influencers, allowing advertisers to leverage the medium’s authenticity. 

5. Audio and Video Capture Teens’ Attention

As trends one through four indicate, teens want more from advertisers than the generations that came before them. They want relevance, interaction, and connection. And with all manner of communication and entertainment at their fingertips, teens crave brand experiences that go across platforms, making audio and video integrations the perfect way to reach them.

Advice for Brands: Diversify Your Ad Formats

With teens getting their content fix across platforms and media, your ads should appear across a diverse set of formats. Find more ways to reach them through the content they're avidly consuming while creating opportunities to engage.

Inspiring brand loyalty with teens is not one-size-fits-all, but we’re here to help you resonate. With SiriusXM Media, brands can incorporate a variety of ad formats into a campaign, including audio (of course), video, display, and more. And we have the content, sponsorship opportunities, and targeting capabilities to get your message into their ears.

Let’s chat to see how our insights can help your brand identify authentic ways to reach today’s teens.

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