Posted in Brand Ambassador Programs, Youth Culture Research on April 24th, 2009
Filed Under: carisa natvig, conference, mashup, san francisco, Youth Marketing, youth marketing conference, ypulse, ypulse mashup
As I think I’ve mentioned more than once, my job is, well, pretty great. From February to May, I regularly leave the cold and gray confines of Washington, DC, to oversee our marketing campaigns in Cancun, Acapulco and Panama City Beach. My “work” there involves beaches and margaritas. This, needless to say, is a pretty good deal.
Youth Marketing Connection’s very own Carisa Natvig, however, has some work-related travel plans that are making me jealous. Beginning June 1st, Carisa will be speaking at YPulse’s Youth Marketing Mashup in San Francisco, arguably America’s coolest (and climatically reasonable) city. So while we’re all withering in DC’s 100 percent humidity, Carisa will be dropping youth marketing insights and heartily enjoying herself in temperate, cosmopolitan San Francisco.
Having been to more than one YPulse event myself, I can enthusiastically endorse the San Francisco Mashup. Carisa will be speaking at a the “Campus Case Study Slam,” which will outline real-world examples of what works (and what emphatically doesn’t) when it comes to marketing to the college set and peer-to-peer marketing. And because the folks at YPulse are absurdly generous, I can even offer you a ten percent reduction on registration. Just enter the discount code: SPKR09.
Though I’m getting to hear Carisa is enough of a draw for most of you, here’s an abbreviated list of sessions to further convince you (for a complete agenda head to: mashup.ypulse.com/agenda:
- Opening Keynote: Advice for an Integrated Digital Generation by Josh Shipp
- Exclusive Screening of “DARE,”a Hit at the Sundance Film Festival
- SurveyU Case Study
- Spotlight Keynote by Don Tapscott
- MTV’s Networks’ Greg Clayman Keynote
- Ypulse Urban/Multicultural Mashup
- How The Recession Is Impacting Gen Y Attitudes About Spending
Happy Friday,
Paul
P.S.: As mentioned in YMC’s last post, I have recently given in and joined Twitter. If you’re of the Tweeting persuasion, visit www.twitter.com/paul_himmelfarb and “follow” me, so I don’t look like such a newb.
Posted in Brand Ambassador Programs, Spring Break Marketing, Youth Culture Research on December 19th, 2008
Filed Under: authentic brand interactions, college students, data, effective marketing, email marketing, Experiential Marketing, Facebook, Generation Y, MySpace, Social Networking, spring break, survery, Youth Marketing
First off, I would like to report on the very surreal nature of our work right now. Despite the thin (and supremely hazardous) layer of ice that has covered much of the East Coast this week, there’s only one thought on everyone’s mind: Spring Break. Each and every day, for the past month, we’ve been taking calls, scouting venues and inventing campaigns for this year’s Spring Break. Our collective heads are awash in sun, sand, and engaging brand experiences. We’re spending so much time talking about Spring Break in YMC’s offices, you practically need sunscreen. And then you walk outside for lunch and it’s 18 degrees…
In all seriousness, though, I think this is going to be an exceptional Spring Break season. We’re in midst of planning some genuinely innovative campaigns, and I can’t wait to see those visions realized. (With that said, there’s still plenty of time to roll out a top-flight campaign for Spring Break, so don’t hesitate to give us a call if you’re a brand in need.)
In non-spring break news, I was just this morning reminded of the importance of using a peer-driven approach when marketing to this generation of students. A recent student survey conducted by eROI, contains a few insights worth sharing. First, as we’ve all heard many times over, the majority of students list “text messaging” as their preferred means of contact. Second, a whopping 83 percent of college students use Facebook habitually, with MySpace capturing 65 percent of the same pool of students. A majority of students also reported “rarely to never” reading marketing emails. At the same time, the report finds that a significant 60 percent of students “take action” on a marketing email when it pertains to an issue they’re genuinely interested in.
What do these seemingly contradictory findings tell us? To begin, digital campaigns that employ social networking systems have the potential to reach the vast majority of students. Second, email marketing remains a viable tool — but it requires a peer-driven approach to be most effective. When students receive emails from their peers — other students — the likelihood of conversion is increased exponentially. As we all have seen, time and time again, this generation responds to authentic interactions from their peers.
In my eyes, the data above underlines the importance of taking a holistic approach to youth marketing. Email pushes alone are not enough — all of the tools of youth marketing need to be employed in concert to really make an impact. Our campaigns include hands-on, real-world experiential marketing paired with email pushes and custom-built social networking applications, thereby ensuring that we’re reaching our target across multiple platforms. But no matter the number of “touches,” there’s one crucial ingredient that is an absolute must when marketing to today’s youth: peers. All of our marketing — whether its an on-campus experiential marketing campaign or an email push — centers on students talking to other students. This peer-to-peer marketing is the engine that drives our company. Because when you allow students an opportunity to talk to one another about a product or brand they believe in, it’s not marketing or sales, it’s an authentic brand connection with lasting impact.
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 Brand Ambassador Programs, Campus Marketing (On & Off), Spring Break Marketing, Youth Culture Research on September 20th, 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, today’s youth culture just got easier to reach.
Today marks the launch of a company fourteen years in the making. What began as a youth-targeted spring break travel service has grown, year by year, into one of the most robust networks of college and high school students nationwide with a full suite of experiential marketing services for agencies and brands. And now, with the unveiling of Youth Marketing Connection, our team of youth marketing experts is ready to put that network to work for you.
Youth Marketing offers four discrete services for marketing to that most elusive of demographics: 14-to-24 year olds. YM’s Campus Marketing (On & Off) uses its unrivaled network and logistical talents to drive awareness for your brand at more than 600 colleges and universities and 5,000 high schools. And because authenticity is the name of the game for this generation, YM’s Brand Ambassador Programs employ peer-to-peer marketing to create authentic brand connections every time.
Additionally, whether it’s in Panama City Beach, Cancun or Acapulco, no marketing company has better access or deeper ties when it comes to Spring Break Marketing. A decade and a half of spring break experience allows Youth Marketing to offer unparalleled marketing opportunities—from beach and pool events, to celebrity promotions and much more.
You can download our Spring Break 2009 Ratecard here. (Keep in mind, however, that most of our campaigns are custom created on a client-by-client basis. Whether it’s on the ratecard or not, give us a call and we’ll devise a way to make your vision a reality at a reasonable price.)
Of course, marketing to “Generation Y” is more complicated then just gaining unfettered access. Today’s diverse, marketing-savvy youth culture makes it imperative that you intimately understand what moves them. That’s why YM offers comprehensive Youth Culture Research—a discipline that drives everything we do. YM listens to its vast network of more than 80,000 college and 15,000 high school students, gathers data, performs field research, and ultimately generates valuable insights that enable our clients to connect in an authentic, engaging and relevant way.
For more information about YM’s services, download the Capabilities Deck here.
And don’t forget to check in regularly with YM’s YouthBuzz Blog or subscribe to our newsletter. We live, eat and breath experiential marketing—and we’ll be using this blog and the newsletter to share insights learned on the front lines of youth culture marketing. To be notified as soon as our thoughts become posts, sign up here for the RSS feed.
We’re here to help, so reach out anytime!
The YM Team
