Posted in Campus Marketing (On & Off), Youth Culture Research on November 25th, 2008
Filed Under: Army, army strong, Experiential Marketing, mobile campaign, mobile marketing, tour, virtual experience, youth, youth culture, Youth Marketing
Wow. A trip to the mall will never be the same: the U.S. Army has moved in and set up a sleek retail outlet that makes their typical recruitment centers look like, well, Army recruitment centers. And that’s just one part of the Army’s latest attempts to woo young recruits. The Virtual Army Experience (VAE) is an integrated, experiential marketing campaign that seems to have turned what we all know about the Army recruitment process on its head. We at Youth Marketing Connection think this campaign is innovative enough to warrant a shout-out — particularly because the Army is yet another example of a brand that has figured out that experiential marketing is, dollar-for-dollar, the best way to reach today’s youth.
The program includes a 14,500 square foot retail outlet called the Army Experience Center in a Philadelphia mall that’s staffed by civilians and soldiers donning khakis and polo shirts. Talk about taking the intimidation factor down a notch or 10. Just by simply putting the soldiers in nicely pressed khakis, they are transformed from unapproachable warriors into clean-cut every-men. The civilian clothes also helps to suggest the professionalism of the Army, and the kind of future that might follow one’s service. It tells prospective soldiers that the Army is as much a career move as it is about fighting. While this might be less important to sixteen-year-old boys who are mostly interested in firing over-sized guns, this makes pitching wary parents easier. And with flat screen TVs, Xbox 360s and high-tech simulation equipment, the Army Experience increases the fun factor…while not-so-subtly suggesting that Army life is a lot like playing a video game, only more exciting! 
The mall outlet is only one small part of the VAE program. In fact, the biggest draw of the program is its elaborate mobile tour component. The VAE has visited states across the country with a 19,500 square foot space that includes life-sized vehicles, guns, dozens of computers and scores of flat screens. The use of endless banks of flatscreens here is important: it encourages visitors to associate the Army with high technology — which, in turn, implies safety and control. As part of the “virtual experience,” potential recruits can “test drive” the Army virtually using high-tech simulation equipment. Participants are briefed before they embark on their virtual journeys and at the end they are presented with their results. The mobile tour, which visits highly-trafficked events such as air shows and state fairs, attracts thousands of visitors at a time.
It remains to be seen how effective the VAE program will be, especially in the midst of an unpopular war. The struggling economy — which is surely changing post-high school plans for young men and women across the country — may also be a factor in enlistment rates. Regardless of the impetus, though, what is clear is that Gen Y-ers are showing up in droves to see this innovative campaign. And yet another reason why we are constantly pushing brands to embrace experiential marketing — especially when marketing budgets are looking a bit light.
Note: The Army has not disclosed the name of the agency or agencies involved in the creation and execution of this marketing program. Ignited from California handled design of the mall-based recruitment center, as well as development of the technology. US2, also of California, managed the expansion of the mall space. (Source: Army Deploys ‘Experience Center,’ Adweek, 8/29/08)
Posted in Youth Culture Research on November 18th, 2008
Filed Under: boston university, mashup east, myths, realities, Youth Marketing, youth marketing mashup east, ypulse
Earlier this month, our team of learned youth marketers found themselves back in school. For two days, from November 6 – 7, Boston University was transformed into a veritable youth marketing think tank as the east coast’s most innovative marketers arrived at “Youth Marketing Mashup East 2008″ to discuss the state of our art.
YPulse has just published a very thorough accounting of the events, which includes an enlightening discussion of the “myths and realities” of Generation Y. Check out highlights from the conference here.
Posted in Brand Ambassador Programs, Campus Marketing (On & Off), Youth Culture Research on November 18th, 2008
Filed Under: brand power, Generation Y, MTV, Text Messages, youth brands, youth cuture, Youth Marketing, youth network
YMC’s sparkling new website officially launched in September. The site may only have gone “live” a few months ago, but we’re already thoroughly smitten with our YouthBuzz Blog. It’s providing our team of always-opinionated youth marketers with a much-needed outlet. Now, when they start bugging us about a startling new insight, we always offer the same refrain: don’t tell us about it, tell the blog!
Because we’re each going to take a crack at writing when the spirit moves us, we thought we should formally introduce each member of the team. With that in mind, we’ll be profiling one of YMC’s thought leaders each month until we run out of smart people to brag about.
First up is Carisa Natvig, the undisputed dean of YMC’s college campus network. Carisa arrived at YMC after nearly a decade of work on some of the nation’s biggest brands. Holding posts in marketing, sales, client relations and event production, Carisa cut her teeth on the brands you interact with everyday. From Gatorade to MTV, Famous Footwear to American Eagle, Carisa’s worked alongside the best and brightest in the marketing world.
Carisa joined the YMC team three years ago. Under her leadership, our extensive campus network was leveraged for highly effective, peer-to-peer youth marketing. Year round on-campus marketing for Rockstar energy drinks, for instance, has grown each year by more than 30 percent while she’s been at the helm – with more than 75 colleges actively participating in 2008.
But you can only learn so much from a bio. To give you a sense of Carisa’s thought leadership in the youth marketing space, we asked her a few questions and let her tell it like it is!
What’s the core strategy you employ when marketing to a generation of media-savvy, inherently marketing-wary youth?
“You have to make your brand relevant – and you have to be realistic about what’s going to be relevant to a college sophomore or, say, a high school senior. This may seem simple, but it’s something that brands struggle with all the time. There’s an art that goes into matching the right product to the right audience with the right event. It comes down to knowing your audience extremely well.”
What role does interactive, web-based marketing play in reaching today’s youth?
“You have to be comfortable with playing on their turf. They live their lives in between Facebook binges, Twitter feeds and text messages. The trick is to turn their virtual networks into an asset in the physical world where our experiential marketing thrives.”
Given the amount of time spent online by today’s youth, do physical interactions become more or less valuable as a marketing tool?
“The fact is that a successful experiential marketing campaign is going to employ both the virtual and physical. With that said, the more the world embraces online marketing — and the clutter that comes with it — the more stridently our on-campus brand experiences stand out. If you can successfully create experiences that explain the essence of a brand both on- and off-line, you’re going to make a real impact. Which means happy students and happy clients.”
Describe Generation Y in a few short sentences. What makes them tick? What is one thing that people often misunderstand about today’s youth?
“Sometimes Generation Y gets a bad rep for being shallow or uncurious. They’re presented, at times, as flaky, pop-culture obsessed – as though they have few interests beyond the next ungrammatical text message. I don’t think that characterization could be further from the truth. This generation has an inherent sophistication. They have a global worldview, an incredible ability to synthesize little nuggets of information coming from across countless platforms, and – most critically for us – an eagle eye for marketing. Marketing is practically a native language for them. They instinctively know when they’re being sold to, and, more often than not, they just don’t respond to a traditional corporate pitch. They’re dubious from the outset – and its up to the brand to convince them they’re wrong. You also can’t pay them enough to pretend to like something — they aren’t going to shill for you just to get a free t-shirt. At YMC, we’ve found that the surest path to breaking past that distrust is peer-to-peer marketing. If you pair the right network with the right product, they’ll make the pitch for you!”
Posted in Campus Marketing (On & Off), Spring Break Marketing on November 11th, 2008
Filed Under: consumer engagement, credit crunch, economic downturn, economy, Experiential Marketing, marketing, marketing challenges, recession, youth culture, Youth Marketing
The economy is bad. No need to belabor the topic. You get it. They get it. We all get it. Now that that’s been said, let’s move on and talk about what that means to people like us. The people in charge of marketing a brand, product, gadget, widget, whatever. The people that have to ensure that our work is actually doing something – increasing brand recognition, moving product, changing minds. It seems pretty clear that results are more important now than ever.
So, what do today’s headlines that include words and phrases like “panic,” “sharp falls,” “recession,” “consumer pessimism,” and “credit crunch” mean to marketers really? Well, according to a recent poll by MarketingSherpa, it means that 60% of all large companies polled will cut their budgets this year. And it looks like television and radio are getting hit the hardest, which is probably not all that surprising given trends over the past few years.
But what do you do with your newly limited budget? Especially when your sales projections don’t give a hoot about the spiraling economy. Rethink your strategy, of course. And then make sure that every dollar you spend counts.
• Get reacquainted with your customers – secure some one-on-one time with them. Where are they working and playing? Be there. Make an impression.
• Keep your customers happy – keep them engaged. Make them remember why they loved you in the first place.
• Don’t go into hiding – remember that with every brand that drops out of sight, your share of voice goes up. A brand could go from small fish/big pond to medium fish, and so on, pretty quickly. It’s just like the old buy-low/sell-high thing…
It’s the perfect time to increase your one-to-one consumer engagement. And one of the most effective ways to accomplish this – especially when you’re targeting high school and/or college students is experiential marketing. It’s the easiest, not to mention the most cost-effective, way to create a meaningful interaction with your brand. That could mean anything from increasing your presence on campus via product sampling to creating an event where students can compete with each other, or even creating an entertainment venue where they will associate your brand with the fun time they have with their friends.
Wouldn’t it be great if all this economic downturn talk went away tomorrow? And our wallets and Excel sheets magically repopulated themselves to 1999 standards… Ah, to dream big. Well, since that’s unlikely, here’s to more strategic spending across the board. It’s not only smarter — it’s now a necessity.
Posted in Uncategorized, Youth Culture Research on November 3rd, 2008
Filed Under: Digital Influencers, McCain, New Media, Obama, Social Media, Social Networking, Youth Marketing
There’s one constant in presidential politics: every four years, a newer, bigger, better election strategy is unleashed on the voting public. In the 90s we saw a youngish, hip, saxophone-wielding Democrat hit the late-night talk show circuit to acquaint himself with America’s budding new crop of 18-to-24 year olds. And it worked. In 2008, we’re witnessing a new first. The use of social media to galvanize support for presidential candidates.
In the past few years, sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube have changed the way people communicate with each other. So it’s no surprise that they are also changing the face of the 2008 presidential race. With instant and easy access to millions of potential voters, each of the major players in this election has quickly jumped on the social networking bandwagon. With the click of a button you can see McCain’s official campaign on his YouTube channel ‘Country First.’ Or read about Obama’s background and positions on his MySpace page. There’s no more digging around, or riffling through (gasp!) newspapers to find out about each candidate’s position on key issues. Because they’ve already done the work for you.
In fact, two of the country’s leading news organizations, CNN and ABC News, saw the value that social media brought forth. They respectively partnered with YouTube and Facebook to bring two rounds of election debates to us. And in the process redefined America’s town meeting.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the social media phenomenon in this election year – especially to those of us in the business of marketing to today’s youth – is that the voters themselves are doing much of the legwork on their own. And today’s “legwork” is much more effective than yesterday’s pamphlet-distributing, sign-toting, bumper sticker-sticking, protesting kind of legwork. It’s the viral kind. The kind that can infiltrate hundreds of mailboxes in a minute and influence thousands of “friends” with the click of a button.
Take for instance the soldier who posted ‘Dear Mr. Obama’ in support of McCain. At 9.8 million views as of 9/29/08, this amateur 1 minute 55 second video has reached more people than CBS’s broadcast of ‘Two and a Half Men’ the week of 9/15/08. What it’s worth in media dollars is something that anyone with a calculator can quickly figure out. What it’s worth qualitatively, well, that’s what we’ll all be waiting to see. Because this is just one guy in a military uniform with a simple message. Multiply that by all the Gen Y-ers looking to make a difference this election year, and we’re talking something else entirely.
So, will social media define the 2008 election as Florida did in 2000? That remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the rules of communication have changed in this brave new world. Messaging, whether it’s about a candidate or a brand, isn’t just coming from the top these days. The millions of web-savvy youth that make up Generation Y are armed with a digital bullhorn, and they’re using it each and every day to express themselves and influence their peers. While it may not decide the election this time around, its obvious that brands (and candidates) ignore social medias power at their own peril.
