According to a new study 93% of teens are online (surprise there) and a NSBA study has found that 9-17 year olds spend an average of 9 hours a week on social networks alone.

How do we account for the big boom? Generation-defining exercises aside, the explanation can be chalked up simply to that universal truth of being a teen: boredom. Pre-Internet, they relieved their ennui by hanging out at teen hot spots like the mall. Now they’re killing time hanging out online — at virtual malls like MySpace, Facebook and eSPIN.com, among others.

The online activities that teens turn to time and again — communication, casual and incentivized gaming, personalization — are only a stone’s throw away from the boredom-relieving exercises of teen-oriented lead generation staples:

· Want to join a research panel where you get to see insider info on products you use? Sure!

· Interested in a free sample of moisturizer, or a coupon for free contacts? Lemme have it!

· Wanna get a toolbar that lets you build an IM avatar? Who wouldn’t!

The lead generation model isn’t flashy. It isn’t even close to being risky. It’s a pay-for-performance engine that puts an offer in front of a desired audience in a highly organized and, dare I say it, boring fashion.

IAC, NPD, Johnson and Johnson and Procter & Gamble are just a few of the companies that have embraced the magic of teen lead generation marketing. Teen advertisers that are still struggling to harness the power of social media might be missing the opportunity right in front of them.

The social space is messy. MySpace is chaotic, the online equivalent of the wild, tattooed cousin you’d rather not leave your kids alone with. Facebook may have a tidier hairdo and a clean, pressed shirt, but its priority is still to please the teens first and the “parents” (brands and businesses) second. At first glance, it might look like the right fit, but it’s not a guaranteed way to bring your desired teen audience and your brand together in a happy relationship. And these are just the market leaders. There are hundreds of other sites vying for teens’ attention and cycling through millions of unique visitors daily.

Lead generation, on the other hand, is the vehicle that organizes those millions of daily uniques and offers satisfaction for both sides.

· For marketers, it’s a right time/right place/right audience message, putting one more “fun” thing in front of teens in the split second that you have their attention. And in a CPA-priced model, there’s no risk.

· For teens, it’s completely their choice whether they want to participate or not. If they find the message appealing, they’re likely to pull the brand, and the desired transaction, towards them.

Why couldn’t brands big and small benefit from this organized pipeline into the throngs of teens in social media? You don’t have to offer a download or a product sample to play in lead generation. If there’s a direct-response element to your sponsorship campaign (i.e., a coupon distribution, an insider community to join), wouldn’t it make sense to take a small chunk of dollars to see how the CPA model performs against that same audience?

The existing lead generation model is a potential winner for a wide range of teen advertisers, but the next question to ask is, does it go far enough? More and more teens are making social sites their anchor online experience and finding new ways to tune out everything else. Will lead-gen’s ubiquitous page of offers continue to keep them from hitting “skip” before realizing that there’s something in it for them?

There is innovation at play, and there’s a chance to really take this from “lead generation” to “performance marketing.” In future I’ll explore other ways of tapping into the power of all those millions of teens online in social media, all bored and looking for something fun to do.

As written in MediaPost.