Let’s face it kids and teenagers in particular are a market that many companies are desperate to market to, after all teen spending was expected to top $190 billion during 2006 in the USA alone.

One way a teenage entrepreneur could tap into this is by offering advertisers a mob advertising service. By mob advertising I mean arranging for a large group of people to do something at the same time. For example if you arranged for 50 students to wander around the campus in t-shirts with a logo and URL on them that would get noticed. This could be given an added twist by taking ideas and inspiration from flash mobs - imagine 100 students all wearing branded t-shirts coming together in the middle of town for 30 seconds reading out an advertising slogan and then all dispersing - especially effective if the press have been informed first.

This could be a very lucrative business for an entrepreneurial teen who can persuade a number of their fellows to take part. There are minimal startup costs and no real expense until the job takes place. All staff can be employed on a casual, as needed basis avoiding employment issues and large staff overheads.

The downside is that in a small location the novelty factor will wear off if fresh ideas are not added, too many flash mobs may be recieved badly or perceived as antisocial.

There’s little capital required to startup, just a network of students that will help as and when required in exchange for beer money. The business would be most successful based in or near a large town.

By the way has the term mob advertising been used before? I’m sure it has but couldn’t find a clear reference. Please let me know if you have one.

This post is part of the my teen business week series.

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