Rites of Passage

While teens are the foundation for the future, Bryan Sims, CEO, brass|MEDIA (www.brassmedia.com), Corvallis, Ore., underscores the importance fo the young adult (18 to 25) market.

Sims points to the need for segmenting the "youth" market. "A 13-year-old and 21-year-old can't be marketed to with the same strategy. Keep in mind," says Sims, "that the 13-year-old is is middle school while the 21-year-old is in a bar."

To reach teen, Sims recommends making contact no later than a person's junior or senior year in high school. If yu start after young people have entered college or the workforce, you're at a big disadvantage.

Sims, who is 20 years old, formed brass|MEDIA, named "brass" as a synonym for money and to give the organization a bold, edgy, in-your-face kind of image, in 2001. The company's centerpiece is a 32-page quarterly magazine, brass|CU, sold to credit unions to distribute to existing and potential young adult members. The publication, says Sims, is written entirely by teenagers and young adults.

As to the benefits of marketing to 18- to 25-year olds, Sims notes that many young adults are starting businesses and looking at setting up individual retirement accounts. Further, they are legally able to sign contracts for car and student loans plus credit cards. Sims calls the 18 to 25 set the "forgotten market," representing just 10 percent of credit union members.

What's in brass|CU? One article explores buying a house and having roommates pay the rent. "I can't count how many times peers have come up and said, "That's a great idea. I am going to get a house instead of renting,'" says Sims.