Posted in Youth Culture Research on January 15th, 2009
Filed Under: Analysis, Demographics, Facebook, Gen Y, Generation Y, iStrategyLabs, Millenials, MySpace, social networkign, Youth Culture Research, Youth demographics, Youth Marketing, youth trends
As you’ve surely heard, social networking’s reigning goliath, Facebook, grew larger and more goliath-like in 2008. It officially surpassed Myspace as the world’s most popular social networking tool in April 2008. Interestingly, much of it’s virus-like growth has taken place abroad. According to Google, Facebook was the single most popular search term in Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Switzerland — and it was among the top ten most popular searches within every other country Google tracks. Which is, you know, basically the whole world.
As the number of active Facebook users quickly approaches the size of a country of its own, the blogosphere has been overflowing with good demographic data that might be of interest to you all. Our ever-sage friends at iStrategyLabs have an excellent summary here. Forrester Research’s Jeremiah Owyang has a wider social networking survey here. Carolyn Phillips at Millenial Marketing has an analysis worth reading as well.
The quick-and-dirty analysis is simple: Facebook is growing in every conceivable direction. At nearly 60 million active users world wide, we’re all running out of big-sounding adjectives to describe it. With that said, the most rapid expansion is taking place not among Millenials — who are by and large already there — but the parents of Millenials. As more than a few people have noted, Facebook is getting older and grayer by the day.
Although there is much hand-wringing across the blogosphere about the likely reaction from the audience we all watch so carefully — those somewhere along the high school and college continuum — we at YMC are unequivocally confident that, at least for the next few years, Facebook will remain a force in the youth marketing world. (For those who needed a reminder, Burger King reminded us of Facebook’s power just the other day.) For the near future, no doubt, Facebook will continue to be an important arrow in YMC’s quiver — and for all others interested in holistic youth marketing. Of course it’s just as important to remember, however, that social networking is just one of many tools. A good campaign is a holistic one — a campaign that touches young people across a number of platforms, creating true peer-driven brand experiences as it goes. It’s our good fortunes as marketers to live in a world where this can be accomplished in so many different ways.
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.
