Teen Trends. for 2011

Transcription

1 Teen Trends for 2011

2 TEEN TRENDS FOR The Young, at Heart cover: creativecommons/dmjarvey; this page: creativecommons/r.f.m II Reaching the elusive and ever-changing youth market can still be a challenge, but companies across the globe are trying to solve the puzzle Want to reach the youth market? That s easy, right? Go social, like Honda did in Europe for its CR-Z hybrid, with a crowdsourced documentary, or like many brands in China are attempting: branded viral video, the newest rage. Or go mobile, like Ferrero and others did in Europe, Toyota and countless others have tried in the U.S., MTV used in India and so on (all cited at the Asia Business Forum s recent summit on youth marketing in Singapore). And don t forget to go local as American Eagle did recently when it planned a marketing blitz that, among other things, helped college students move in to their dorms (that s hyperlocal!), and as U.S. farmers associations are doing with the launch of baby carrots that are packaged and sold like junk food (in vending machines in schools in the Midwest, for one). If your business is still having trouble making inroads into the elusive demo, just change the definition: According to one claim, the youth demo isn t defined by chronological age. Let s just say 34 is the new 18, shall we?

3 TEEN TRENDS FOR Young Again creativecommons/og2t creativecommons/og2t // ou gee tew tee 22 Youthful consumers wield great power (as evidenced by the multitudes of brand campaigns targeting them), but they should be urged to exercise that power responsibly The youth market is a highly coveted space for brands everywhere even the American Lung Association is trying to woo the young crowd. U.S. automaker Buick is remaking itself as hipper and cooler; Chinese marketers are creating more and more online content to attract the nation s pre-adults. In Australia, research shows that subtlety is key to engaging young consumers, and somewhere, someone is still trying to define the generation gap. Maybe the differences between the youth of today and those of, say, 40 years ago, isn t so great a recent survey found that globally, today s young people believe they can change the world (and that they should). Some engaged in this enterprise will take the high road nonprofits such as Common Sense Media are urging schools to educate young people about their responsibilities as conscientious digital citizens while it s unavoidable that some will take the low road: KFC, with your new Double Down campaign (which pays college co-eds to wear sweatpants with its product s name emblazoned on the backside), we re talking to you.

4 TEEN TRENDS FOR High on Wi-Fi creativecommons/miniyo73 Across the globe, millennials need Wi-Fi as this always-connected generation grows ever more mobile Based on a recent survey, members of Generation Y across the planet are becoming increasingly addicted to Wi-Fi, as they skew ever more mobile and feel the need for (connection) speed. Two-thirds of the U.S. group surveyed and four-fifths of the Chinese respondents spend more time on Wi-Fi devices than they do watching television (ah that helps explain why Apple s ipad had the fastest adoption rate of all tech devices ever). Many of those questioned even said it would be difficult to maintain many of their friendships without Wi-Fi. It is official: Millennials are the most-connected generation, having grown up fluent in social media. Which makes a new device that measures pulse and blood oxygen levels to monitor user tiredness a good start, but it may take stronger measures than that to get Gen Y to step away from the Wi-Fi device.

5 TEEN TRENDS FOR The Bully Pulpit creativecommons/familymwr 44 Cyberbullying is a growing problem around the world a suicide is just one of the more recent cases of the dire results of bad Net behavior A university student from New Jersey threw himself off the George Washington Bridge in September, most likely in response to his college roommate s live-streaming an intimate encounter, unbeknownst to the boy and his partner. It seems to be a case of denigration bullying, recently identified by a psychologist in Australia, where in fall 2010 the government announced a $10.6 million program called esmart to combat cyberbullying. It s not uncommon these days to hear tales of abuse being meted out over the Internet and it s an issue that has only been getting worse over recent years. The relative anonymity that cyberspace allows is likely a major reason mistreatment so often gets out of hand. It has spread like a virus across the globe, worming its way into Asian countries as well. A group of students in South Korea have come up with a novel approach: Kill it with kindness. The idea is to seed message boards and social Web communities with positive messages and friendly comments. Online civility a novel concept that will hopefully become the norm.

6 TEEN TRENDS FOR creativecommons/ed Yourdon.. Learning Without Borders In the never-ending battle to improve education, online learning is getting more attention from educators and wealthy donors alike How to better prepare today s youth to compete in an ever-more-challenging economy remains a tough test for today s educators. More are looking to improve education by adding online tools to the academic arsenal. In a recent real-life example, Carnegie Mellon University s Open Learning Initiative compared the same course taught two ways, and the version that employed an integrated online component was found to be twice as effective, in half the time, as the traditional model. The Gates and Hewlett foundations are donating vast sums of money to develop Web learning methods, and top learning institutions around the world are offering curricula online to gain global engagement. British schools are giving new meaning to outsourcing by connecting students online with teachers in India (mostly for math training). No word on whether Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg s recent donation to the floundering schools of Newark, N.J., will encourage online components but surely many would like that.

7 TEEN TRENDS FOR About Euro RSCG Worldwide PR Euro RSCG Worldwide PR is the public relations arm of Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency with 233 offices in 75 countries. Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago and Pittsburgh. It is part of Adweek s first-ever Healthcare Agency of the Year (2010) and Medical Marketing & Media s 2010 All-Star Network of the Year. The agency provides communications services, social brand momentum and thought leadership, among other services, in core areas ranging from CSR and health care to content creation and social media. Clients include Bayer Corp., Purina, sanofi-aventis, Toyota Motorsports and Transitions Optical. Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications (Euronext: HAV.PA) (Paris: HAV.PA). Contact: Marian Salzman President Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America 200 Madison Avenue, 2nd floor New York, NY P: E: marian.salzman@eurorscg.com

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