Just got back from rainy Minneapolis where I spent the day with folks from Best Buy and the @15 advisory board (no, Taylor Swift wasn't there, but it was nice to catch up with Catherine Cook from Ypulse sponsor myYearbook and Michael Franzini, who keynoted at last year's Ypulse Mashup). As we dove into brainstorming around marketing strategy, what I found most interesting was the realization that while social media is powerful and has the potential to help build a youth movement, it can't replace Best Buy's biggest asset — brick and mortar stores and "boots" or "blue shirts" on the ground.

When I first heard about the @15 initiative, I of course gave my two cents about building yet another pro-social social networking destination here on Ypulse. The reality is that even established activist networks like ThinkMTV and YouthNoise are not attracting youth in anywhere near the same numbers as MySpace, Facebook or myYearbook. I'm not arguing that they aren't successful in reaching youth activists/influencers, but even to maintain engagement with these young people requires dedicated resources (i.e. constant updating, community engagement, etc.).

As I thought about successful youth movements, I thought about Invisible Children — and the Global Night Commute action where thousands of teens still dressed in their "prom attire" slept "on the streets" to show solidarity with child soldiers in Uganda. I am sure that technology was instrumental in helping organize this action, but the movement itself was built, similar to Al Gore trudging around with his Power Point, by the young filmmakers and activists who traveled the world showing the film "Invisible Children" and engaging and activating audiences around this issue.

It became clear that Best Buy's core asset for @15 will not be their web destination (though to their credit they are on the other social networks as well), but the thousands of stores and employees (of which the average age for store employees is 19). Whether it's hosting events for teens in stores or activating their employees around the findings from their research, no amount of registered users on @15 (who may not return after signing up), "Tweeting," Facebook fans, MySpace friends or even cell phone numbers from youth who opt in, can replace the aspect of a "movement" that happens face-to-face. Nor can it replace the need for clear messaging, powerful storytelling and being authentic to what you say you are all about (walking the walk). I am excited to be a part of @15 as their strategy evolves and to see how they decide to tap what we all thought was their greatest asset.

For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection.

Categorized under: Youth Marketing

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