Keeping up with the generation of tweeting, texting, social networking-obsessed youth requires marketers to become totally immersed in their wired world. Brands that learn the right way to approach this interconnected environment can become part of the wallpaper of modern life, while those that get it wrong will be dropped into the trash bin in an instant.
To help marketers navigate a path through the technology-driven world of youth, MTV commissioned an in-depth study into the lives of the young and their relationships with brands.
The report, ‘MTV Generation V.2', concludes that the behaviour, attitudes and aspirations of 16- to 25-year-olds have transformed since the launch of Facebook in 2004 and YouTube in 2005. It portrays contemporary youth as a cohort of self-creating mini-celebrities who are obsessed with their online image and in constant search of an identity. The study also lays out lessons for brands looking to help youths achieve their goals.
While the children of the 70s were called Generation X and those who followed them a decade later earned the sobriquet Generation Y, MTV has dubbed today's hyper-connected youth as the Cyborg Generation. The ‘CyberGens' make unprecedented demands on brands. Where companies once pushed their products at Generations X and Y, that process has now gone into reverse.
Today's youth will not accept brands interrupting their media consumption without good reason. Complete honesty and transparency must be a starting point, not a far-off aspiration. The CyberGens expect brands to work hard and give them something extra for free.
‘Marketers need to understand that the dynamic between consumers and brands has changed,' says Agostino Di Falco, director of insight at Viacom Brand Solutions, who oversaw the MTV research. ‘There are a lot more brands out there and consumers are more demanding of them and better able to shape how they develop. There is a desire for more involvement.'
MTV commissioned researchers The Youth Conspiracy to undertake desk research, fieldwork and online surveys to uncover the truth about today's youth and discover insights that every marketer targeting this age group needs to know.
Connecting with the CyberGens - key trends
1. Hyper-fragmentation
Young people can now tailor their environments on their own terms, but are often left searching for anchor communities to give them a sense of belonging.
Implications for brands
Your category is bigger than you think
CyberGens judge brands within their lifestyle spheres. Adidas is as much a competitor to Urban Outfitters as it is to Nike.
Loyalty is harder to come by
Youths are becoming more willing to flip between brands. However, they will return if the reward is right.
Brands can provide community
With faith in religion, politics and family breaking down, brands can provide a sense of community. O2's priority access to tickets for gigs and the iPhone community are two ways to approach this.
2. Open-source society
CyberGens feel they control their media. They no longer passively accept what is given, demanding open structures from organisations.
Implications for brands
Transparency rules
Brands must be as transparent as possible. CyberGens are savvy about brands, but if they do not understand motivations, or are unable to peer in, they are likely to assume the worst.
Get young people involved
Allow CyberGens to feel ownership of their brands. Coke's Facebook fan page, created by Coke fans and then empowered by the company, is more successful than creating an ‘official' fan page.
Know your netiquette on social networks
Brands should behave as ‘passive' friends, rather than interrupting people's conversations.
Reward consumers
Young people will negotiate with brands in return for rewards, as in the case of Spotify. If the negatives outweigh the positives, the CyberGens will jump ship.
3. Rewired: Generation Now
Cyber technology has created a culture of convenience that means you can find what you want without having to look too hard. ‘A quick search online' means we live life through shortcuts without seeing the entirety. This creates disappointment when the young realise the hard work involved in achieving goals.
Implications for brands
The onus of responsible consumption lies with brands
CyberGens are reassured by brands that do their ethical work for them, such as Marks & Spencer and its Plan A promises.
Low commitment is key
Young people are not conditioned to commit. Brands need to allow the youth market to interact with them, but without demanding commitment. If they think there is too much work involved in initial brand interaction, this will be a barrier.
4. Celebrity Me
With everyone watching, it is easy to become known. People want to know what we are doing, where we have been and with whom. Social networks are the toolkit and their users make sure they are seen as they wish to be seen. It is all about image.
Implications for brands
Provide platforms for personal projection
Brands need to help young people enhance their ‘celebrity' status. They are always looking for new ways to be seen and tell the world about themselves.
Peer-to-peer is key
The young often have access to more than 200 people on their social network. They are capable of spreading a message faster than brands, so the latter need to facilitate peer-to-peer communication where possible. Content-one-upmanship leads to messages being taken and pushed further as young people vie to be ahead of the pack.
Putting it into practice: how brands are changing their strategy
Alan Duncan marketing director, Sony PlayStation
Our online strategy is our marketing strategy; there is no difference between the two. We reached a tipping point a few years ago, when our marketing was led by big above-the-line TV campaigns and digital was an afterthought. Now, the situation is very different. We have gone from creating bursts of marketing activity around launches of games or products to maintaining a constant dialogue with consumers. Life used to be simple: you launched a product and let it go. Now we are in a brand dialogue with consumers, which has forced us to be much more open. Sony used to be a closed company. PlayStation relied on mystery and putting out coded messages, but that approach is out of date. It doesn't work any more. The audience wants to be part of the company. They are battering down the doors. It used to be about being clever and creating mystery around the brand, but credibility now is all about honesty.
Graham Sim marketing director, HMV
Businesses are now in a position to develop a more meaningful relationship with their customers and better understand what motivates them. With CRM, online interaction and loyalty schemes, one-to-one engagement has the potential to be far more cost-effective and get better customer response than the scattergun mentality of the mass-market approach.
The rewards may be greater, but the challenges of such a highly-diffused media are more significant. Merely recognising the key channels of communication, or distinguishing between a passing fashion and a longer-term trend, can be a difficulty. A brand must consider the language it uses and the way it interacts with consumers.
The public has become more savvy, and is sensitive to any idea that its aspirations and shopping habits are being manipulated. Any offer has to have substance, and the engagement process has to be transparent. Ultimately, a brand has to tap into consumers' passions and discover what motivates them. That is why HMV rebranded with the ‘Get closer' line, invested in live music venues, launched the purehmv loyalty scheme and next-generation stores and is developing its digital offer with 7digital.
Prinz Pinakatt group interactive marketing manager for Europe, Coca-Cola
Online and offline play different roles in Coca-Cola's communication mix. It is important to remember that teen consumers are engaged in both at the same time. The key is to make every brand experience consistent and seamless across touchpoints, online or offline. Fanta, for example, is running a campaign in which an ad in a magazine turns into a virtual tennis court through online augmented reality, allowing people to play tennis with friends and bridging the gap between online and offline.
David Barker head of communications, British Heart Foundation
We've had to make enormous changes to our marketing as a result of shifts in the digital world, especially the growth of social media. Children have been an important target for us, as one in three is obese and this can lead to heart problems. Two years ago we started channelling more resources into websites.
The Yoobot campaign, an interactive website that teaches children about healthy eating, has gone beyond our wildest dreams. We expected 100,000 people to sign up, but instead got 1m, and 85% of 11- to 13-year-olds said Yoobot had made them think about food they eat and eat more healthily. Demand for the product was driven through other channels, such as TV ads on Nickelodeon, packs in schools and playground banter, and Yoobot become the third-most searched-for term on Google UK after Britney Spears. Media today is driven by the here and now. If you place something on a social network site it can be picked up around the world in seconds. We are able to have a one-to-one conversation with people in their living room.