A generation of young people in Britain is growing up in a highly commercialised social environment. Individuals, the arguments go, increasingly rely on material goods as tools to gain respect and contentment, and friendships, family life and their own happiness are being adversely affected.
Inevitably, questions are being raised about what constitutes responsible marketing, and whether the youth marketing industry requires regulation to prevent further harm.
In this context, it seems appropriate to ask young people about their hopes and aspirations, the pressures they face in modern Britain and the commercial world and marketing as it affects them.
In March 2008, my company, which specialises in youth communications, started taking responses from 650 subjects aged between 11 and 17 from across the UK. The initial phase, a quantitative online survey, focuses firstly on the young people's aspirations and concerns, and the role that is played within these by commercial products and materialism.
Secondly, it looks at their specific feelings about different forms of advertising: which are the ones young people believe are more effective, and which are the ones they respect more.
Why is this research needed? Marketing agencies have a responsibility to their audience, especially when that audience is young, and should gauge the impact their activities have on well-being. Research also helps tailor marketing strategies to what young people see as responsible and respected forms of advertising.
We began by focusing on what they wished for from life (Figure 1). Among the 24 factors they were asked to rate on a scale of one to seven, from 'not important at all' to 'very important', we included several wealth, fashion and brand-orientated statements, alongside those concerning religion, friends, family, jobs and respecting others.
Figure 1: Important things in life
The results suggest that young people's materialism is not as developed as some would have us believe. If you rank each of the factors according to how they rated in the 'very important' categories, 'close friends', 'safe home' and 'enjoyable job' rank over 77%. Close behind follow 'close family', 'respect from others' and 'respecting others'.
Material needs appear low on the list, with 'being able to buy the things I want', 'lots of money' and 'being able to buy cool brands' in the bottom half. It is, rather, their social circle that seems to be deemed most important in young people's lives. This is further reinforced by the more aggressive individualistic factors (such as 'being better than others') being the lowest rated.
NON-MATERIAL CONCERNS
When asked about their main worries, young people did not indicate great concern over material possessions. Schoolwork and personal/social relationships led the list, and health, safety and job potential were ranked above monetary concerns.
Lowest in the list were fashion, brands and 'being cool'. When asked what makes them respect other people, such material and commercial concerns were, again, rated as unimportant. This trend was repeated in a further question regarding how they would gain the respect of others: material effects were lowest rated, and the highest-rated choices were 'care for your friends', 'help other people', 'be funny', and 'show your skills'.
Although young people do not entirely discount wealth and possessions, they do not overtly recognise them as drivers of respect. In light of these results, the commercial world seems to have a lesser impact than we are led to expect, at least in the opinions of young people.
It must be recognised that these methods are not infallible, and that when faced with questions of this nature, these young people may choose (either consciously or otherwise) to represent themselves as less materialistic than they really are. We currently only have a quantitative assessment of young people's opinions of themselves, and no independent ethnographic study of their behaviour. Our own qualitative research is still in progress.
Another area of the research investigated how much commercialism is contributing to bullying. These questions are less personal, more about observed behaviour, and on a subject that is often cited as a serious outcome of a materialist tendency in youth.
Do money, products and marketing feed part of the bullying culture, providing extra ammunition for those with the necessary products to ridicule those on the other side of the fence? We asked the 650 young people in an open question to write down what they think are the five main causes of bullying. Only one in ten cited material factors, such as clothes, gadgets, brands and money, or related issues, such as social class. This shows that, while material factors are involved, they are as random as the other features that may single out a child, including being too intelligent or not intelligent enough, being fat or skinny, or being ugly or pretty.
To take this further, if we examine the group in the survey who listed bullying as one of their greatest worries, we find that love, safety, friends, family and the respect of others are, predictably, the things they worry about most. They are least concerned about having the latest gadgets, brands or fashion trends. Three-quarters feel owning cool products is unnecessary for being cool or making friends.
We cannot find extensive evidence in the results of this survey that the commercial world is making it significantly more difficult for young people to fit in, and it does not appear to have the negative effects that bring the whole industry into question. The next phase of our research will assess whether these currently low negative effects are growing.
TRYING TO FIT IN
So does marketing increase the pressure on young people? Criticism is based on the idea that the marketing of branded accessories, gadgets and fashion items is increasing the pressure on young people to conform to the world around them, or risk alienation. Many recent reports argue that advertising makes young people more avaricious, and more inclined to prioritise material goods over their spiritual wellbeing. The young people we surveyed do not seem to feel that pressure from youth marketing.
So how important is it for young people to own the latest version of a mobile phone, item of clothing or trainers? Only mobile phones and clothing elicit any real desire, with 30% feeling that keeping up with fashion was 'very important'. The reasons for this seemed to fall into the 'I like keeping up to date' category, or 'keeping up with technology'. Motives of fitting in, gaining others' respect or showing off were not rated by our respondents. Also, when it came to asking why someone might fall out of a friendship group, young people in the sample were resistant to any statements that implied it may be caused by not keeping up-to-date, or fashions, brands or money.
To reinforce this, peer pressure to own what everyone else has is also seen as irrelevant for most young people. Only one in five of our sample felt a friend owning a product had any influence on their purchasing decision. This reflects the decline of some 'brand-orientated' youth tribes in recent years. That doesn't mean that what a friend thinks about a product or brand isn't important, but it does suggest that young people today are able to make their own assessments of the brands and products on offer.
LABELS AREN'T EVERYTHING
Brands are part of the commercial landscape – as are new products – but young people are not hanging on to every last word of a campaign, or worrying about material items more than they do about their friends and family.
Some commentators imply that any evidence of commercialisation must be replacing love and care in the minds of young people. What we have found is that they co-exist: the commercial world is there, but it is much less important in young people's lives than the more socially-orientated goals.
Where does this leave youth marketing and advertising? Inevitably, a more commercially aware youth audience has more experience of the sales process. It doesn't mean young people are damaged by the experience, but it does mean they are healthily cynical about corporate communications. When questioned about attitudes towards certain forms of marketing, 69% said they believe advertisements exaggerate products, and only one in ten felt an advertisement was an important factor in determining a 'musthave' product.
Some of this negativity may have been fuelled by experience. Of those who had been persuaded to buy a product by a TV or cinema advertisement, many had been disappointed by some of the products once purchased. This is why, when we asked the question, the majority of young people said they preferred advertising they see as straightforward and 'honest'.
This aspect of our research demonstrates why it is even more important to listen to what young people feel about marketers' tactics and advertising channels. It should be the audience that comes up with the key touchpoints for a brand message, and the influences on their purchasing decision.
In an age where youth marketing is being assessed for appropriateness, we need to get young people's endorsement of the medium, not just the message.
ABOVE-THE-LINE MESSAGES
In terms of achieving awareness about new products or brands, mainstream, above-the-line advertising is still the most effective channel for communicating with young people. Over 42% of our sample felt strongly that, without advertising, they would not know what was available to them, and 32% actually enjoy advertisements. Admittedly, around half said ads were 'annoying', but as respondents were asked to rate each statement out of seven, it is highly likely that some have answered yes to both.
Although advertising did not influence the actual purchasing decision for a new product, more general brand awareness was very influential in determining a must-have product. One could infer from this that advertising operates more for brand reinforcement than for product marketing.
But new technology will change ad delivery, so we asked specifically about personally-targeted advertisements. Targeted or personalised ads are preferred to general advertising, because young people, like most of us, want to hear about products or brands we either already like or will relate to.
Ads on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Bebo, that reflect buying behaviours and stated interests, are preferred by the majority of young people. There was, however, some nervousness about personal details being used to tailor advertisements.
This section of the survey also confirmed that having friends who own the products has very little ripple effect on product awareness. A mere street presence is not enough, but a positive recommendation from friends creates awareness of the brand or product. One in four rated friends' involvement as 'important' or 'very important' in helping them assess a product or purchase decision.
These influences continued when young people were asked about sources of trusted information about a product. Nearly nine out of ten would trust a friend's opinion, compared with only a quarter rating TV ads as trustworthy. Product reviews (61%) and customer reviews, as on Amazon (67%), trump more corporate communications. Roughly the same proportion said they would trust a friend's opinion over an advertisement. Having young people approve a product independently, and then talk about it, appears to be an essential part of an effective campaign. But, of course, the product has to be good enough to generate this approval.
This boost for social and real influencers in the youth arena is backed up by the survey's analysis of key factors in the buying decision. When we asked what made a particular marketing campaign more effective, young people were unimpressed by celebrity endorsement, preferring real people, ideally with humour. Interestingly, having people their age in the ad seems unnecessary, while free gifts and multi-buy offers on relevant items would have much more impact.
To explore the issue in further depth, we asked young people three related questions: which forms of marketing did they feel were most effective; which did they prefer to be targeted with; and which would they choose if they were marketing directors launching a new youth product. In-store, outdoor and school advertising all scored better than average in terms of effectiveness and as respected routes to market.
MARKETING TURN-OFFS
Types of marketing that young people do not approve of include radio advertising, direct email and mail, SMS advertising and any form of interruptive ad, online or in other media. On the whole, internet banner ads and immersive ads in games, both online and console, were seen as effective, but not particularly highly regarded, with young people choosing more 'hands on' campaigns.
Of course, this does not mean young people are unaffected by the forms of advertising they dislike, but it does provide a guide to their engagement (or not) by advertising in the past.
The early stages of this research show young people as savvy, resilient and independent, able to make their own assessments and decisions from the information provided. They do not feel pressured by youth marketing. It doesn't appear to affect their peer relationships, or feed their materialism.
Traditional factors, such as love and relationships, are still key to young people's happiness, and goods and services play only a minor role. Although commercial brands and products are a consideration in the formation of individual identities, they are not relied on to gain the respect of their peers, or seen as factors that encourage them to respect others.
What they ask for is integrity, just as they seek in their own friendships: the brands that respect and include them are the brands they will make friends with. This should be the primary consideration of all youth marketers.
ref: WARC May 09 Article: http://www.warc.com/Tracking/ArticleLink.asp?ID=89348&M=WARC-F-May09
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