W ho is m y C us to m er?

Are you cool
as a BRAND
By: Alok Sharma
alok_sharma1@yahoo.com

Can I b yr Tgt Custmr ?

New Generation
• Bye to GenX, This is iGen.
• They have most ipods & personal laptops in the country.
• They blog.
• They travel with friends not family.
• World’s best hackers are from age 13 onwards.
• 54% of Indian Population is below 25 year of age.
• They are true multitaskers.- email, chatting, over phone and smsing at one
time.
• 25% of Asian youth admitted that they can not live without internet,
• They spend more time on Music, Sports and online.
• Least time spent is on magazine and newspapers.
• They don’t have time- Cricket matches 5days ->1 day->20:20; next what?
• They have pure disposable income
• They want to 'unbelong', stand apart and not merge or blend in .
• Spread of Indian Youth- 10 years back Indian cricket Team was from Mumb
Delhi, now only Tendulkar, Dravid & Ganguly are from Metro.
• They love movies like Rock On, Rang De Basanti not Don
• They learn and use most of the complicate gadgets; adults - struggle to kee
up.

• MTv research reveals that the country where young people
had the greatest perceived sense of ‘wellbeing’ was India,
followed by Sweden with the USA coming third.
• They don’t believe in Father figures, icons changes like
seasons.
• They look for “ whats cool” – Ipod is not cheap but in trend.
• Current elections has conveyed youth is serious and well
aware.
• Is a GDP growth rate of three percent in an ageing country
(US), with a median age of 37, more attractive to a
businessman than a GDP growth rate of 7 percent of a youthf
country (India), where the median age is 24? With over a billio
people, of whom more than 500 millions are under the age of
24. – That’s why every brand focusing youth is serious about
INDIA.

As per KSA Youth Marathon
survey
• 55% youth buys apparel from key high streets
and malls.
• Basic spending is growing by 4% - Apparel,
Books, Music, Movies, Vacation etc.
• Lifestyle spending is growing by 20%-
Computers, Mobile Phones, Gaming consoles,
internet connection etc
• In 1981 they were looking for 8 items now they
are looking for 17 items.
• Threshold age of owning a mobile set is 16
years.

World’s youth Population-2005

Some findings
• "In every city you find young people upward of 21
moving out for different reasons“- even if parents are
living in same city
• 53% claim to have had premarital sex, half of them
below 21, according to an MTV youth survey
• Most young people are college educated here, unlike in
the US where bulk of them tend to be high school
dropouts
• "responsibility towards family and my freedom both are
important."
• According to data available, around 50 percent
of Bangalore's voting population belongs to the
age group of 18-39.

• G en Y is passe, say hello to the
iG eneration or as they prefer to be known,
iG en. C hanting the mantra of individuality,
acquiring bite size chunks of knowledge
from the internet and flashing their iP ods,
they are the new consuming class"

Online Buying Habits of Indian
Youth- Ebay india
• on an average day on eBay India, a stamp sells every 12
minutes and a coin or a note sells every 15 minutes.
• The youth also collect other interesting genres of collectibles
& some clear trends emerge city wise:
• •Ahmedabadi youth collect key chains
• • Hyderabadi youth prefer designer pens and football
jerseys
• • Chandigarh youth collect ties
• • Delhi makes a style statement with Zippo lighters &
miniature cars
• • Mumbai goes cultural with art
• • Bangalore pays tribute to history with British India Coins &
stays contemporary with radio control toys
• • Navasari (GJ ) loves Bollywood Memorabilia
• • Chennai collects die-cast toys

Some quotes
• Traditionally,'‘- ``being cool simply meant who
you knew and what you wore; today, it's a much
more multi-faceted thing involving knowledge,
attitude, behavior and visual cues -- `experiential
cool', in the marketers' jargon.''
• I ndia n yo uth k ey for a ll our des ig ns :
R ena ult I ndia M D
• Youth Market moves in two speeds- Fast and
VERY Fast – Research Agency

g lo ba lly c o nnec ted urba n
tribe
– male/female. “20-something”. middle-upper class.
– urban dweller. educated. working. blue-chip.
boutique.
– entrepreneur. well-traveled. bars. clubs.
restaurants.
– c a f e s . g a l l e r i e s . f i lm. e x h i b i t i o n s .
social.
– gym. spa. yoga. ba la nc ed . media hungry.
– gadgets. real world. virtual world. high speed.
– wireless. c onnec ted . casual. luxury. fashionable.
– opinion leader. trend conscious. trend watcher.
trend

So which brands are
doing youth marketing
the right way?
Source (pic) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/haani/2056702546/sizes/l/

Youth is no
longer a
demographic …
it’s a mindset
Source - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tatianacardeal/36956189/

Youth is no
longer a
demographic …
it’s a mindset
A look at how youth are leading a rapid
transformation of how consumers interact
and engage with brands
Dave Knox
Brand Manager
Procter & Gamble

Insights into Youth Consumption Influences

30 major influence groups and more than 80
There are
influences driving young people’s consumption behaviour

Some of the influence groups include Bargain
Influence, Advertising Influence, Celebrity Influence,
Maven Influence, WOM Influence
Do you know rest of the 25 influence groups?

Some of the 80 influences driving young people’s
consumption behaviour……..

Older Sibling Influence

TV Advertisement Influence

Brand Image Influence

Celebrity Influence

Group WOM Influence

Guess the rest of the 75 influences driving
youth consumption behaviour

Stylistic and Capability Influence groups are at work during
selection of Mobile Phone Handsets
What are the other 17 groups that influence youth selection of
handsets

WOM and Bargain Influence groups are at work during selection
of Mobile Network Operators
What are the other 9 groups that influence youth selection of MNO’s

Locality and Peer Pressure Influence groups are at work during
selection of Brands (clothes, cosmetics)
What are the other 18 groups influencing youth selection of Brands

Influences, which drive youth consumption are much more
complex than people think it to be
Knowing all the influences is a big step towards understanding
Youth consumption behaviour

GENERATION TRENDS
Generation Trends

My Media
Generation
MOTIVATING FACTORS
Motivating Factors
Source – Yahoo Truly Madly Deeply Engaged Study

Key Youth Marketing Fundas
• What marketing strategies brands like –
Red Bull, Crest, Motorola, BMW, Nike,
Starbucks, etc adopt to gain
acceptance…….

• A ttentio n: The brain only processes 5%
of the information it "sees" on an ongoing
basis. Youth don’t wake up thinking about
your brand
• We are moving from an era of finding
customers for our products to one of
finding products for our customers“
(Seth Godin)

• Brandwidth = trus t + a ttentio n
High in demand, short in supply:
brandwidth is the raw material of youth
marketing
• Yo uth do n't w a ke up think ing
a bo ut o ur bra nds . The stark realization
is that youth don't give a **** about our
latest product, technology or service - they
only care about themselves "T he w o rld
do es n't need a no ther S o da " (J ones
Soda Founder Van Stolk)

• N etw o rk E ra In the Network era
Industrial tactics are surpassed by the
more effective dialogue and legacy
building . Networked brands such as
J ones Soda, Red Bull, Threadless, Scion
and Starbucks can grow without recourse
to extensive advertising campaigns.
• P a rtners hip M a rketing What Red Bull
knows that Pepsi doesn’t is that their best
marketers are the customers. Are you
marketing to o r marketing w ith youth?

• P a s s io nis ta s Stop wasting your time on
trying to convert the unconverted. Find
that 10% of your market already sold on
your product and give them something to
care about
• The Pepsi Generation Youth have moved
on but we’re still marketing like it’s 1969
Pepsi, “the choice of a generation”: * Tell
them you’re cool * Tell them in a BIG way *
Keep telling them You cannot buy youth
Brandwidth like this any more you need to
earn it

• Relevance: Don’t be good be releva nt
Brands are slowing waking up to the
realization that advertising Reach no
longer works. Youth no longer need to
compromise so big means nothing. Youth
seek out the most relevant Social
Currency for their lifestyle
• P ers o na liza tio n: ----- Pull the
TRIGGER
If youth term your brand as “I t's c o o l,
fun” You are there.

• S o c ia l C urrenc y Social currency is
the unit of social interaction. How much
Social Currency bang can I get for my
buck from this product? How does it
help me be significant and how does it
help me belong? What is the Social
Currency of your product?
• S o c ia l Fa bric Great youth brands
know that they can sell more products
by not selling. Rather than sell to youth
they focus on helping youth connect
with one another. They want to be the
Social Fabric of the youth universe.

• P la tfo rm s Don’t sell the product, sell
the ability to connect customers How do
brands such as Red Bull and J ones
Soda make their customers care about
fizzy flavored soda in a can where Pepsi
fails? The difference is simple – one is
looking for customers for its products
while the others are finding products for
their customers.

• X -Fa c to r What is remarkable about your
product?
When was the last time you saw an
advert for G o o g le or Fa c ebo o k ? The
X Factor that advertising has for so long
provided unremarkable brands is the
ability for customers to talk about
something meaningful. What is the X-
Factor that will get them talking? Are
you relying on your creative agency to
come up with answers or are you
looking for them out there on campuses,
at events and in the streets?

• Lifestyle or the Product:
Red Bull will become the g o ld
s ta nda rd o f yo uth marketing
because it understand its business is
“E N E R G Y ” not “energy drinks”
J ust as apparel companies need to
consider there business as “social fabric
of youth” not an apparel.
• Successful youth brands have focused
marketing not on awareness but on
building sustainable grass roots. Support

• B enc hm a rk ing never gave us the
ipods, walkmans or even the mobile
phones. All came from some one's ability
to employ uncommon sense – Thinking,
that challenges the received wisdom,
asking “w ha t if ? ”
• M a rketing is no longer something you
do with youth but something you do with
them.
• A w a renes s m ea ns no thing -
when was the last time you bought an
Ambassador car

• K ey Drivers
– Can you help me B E LO N G
– Can you help me be S I G N I FI C A N T
These are the two timeless & culturally independent request youth
have from youth brand.
• G ood youth marketing is focus ed on s hare of
cus tomers not s hare of market
• G R OWTH: Imag ine a virg in market of new s et
of cus tomers the s ize of EUR OPE every year

• LE G AC Y:
When marketing campaigns end and the
ADVT money runs out “WHAT IS LEFT”
Are you propping up the market with
campaigns or c rea ting a L E G A C Y
C a m pa ig ns : Kill your campaign and start creating
something ( to youth campaigns are increasingly
ineffective because as soon as they done they forget
about you.)
A ttention: If you w a nt there attention G ive
something first.

World’s B est Taglines
• We are all created equal, but after that, its upto you.
Harley Davidson. ( old)
• A m eric a n by birth. R ebel by c hoic e.
Harley Davidson (new)
• “NEVER FOLLOW”
A udi
• “W a s s up? !”
B udw eis er
• Between love and madness lies obsession.
Calvin Klein
• N o thing c om es betw een m e a nd m y C a lvins .
Calvin Klein J eans
• Finger-lickin’ good!
Kentucky Fried Chicken

Cont…
• J us t do it. Nike
• At the heart of the image. Nikon
• T he ultim a te driving m a c hine.
BMW
• If you want to capture someone's
attention, whisper. Coty Perfume
• T he pow er o f a ll o f us . eBay
• Don’t dream it. Drive it. J aguar
• B elieve. Yahoo! Personals

Strategy
• Key Model- College Boy, Gang
• Communication- Current themes- IPL,
Elections, FIFA, Ragging,
• Key products: Knits & Denims.
• Key seasons:
– J une J uly Aug: salute ( Admission) Line
– Sep Oct Nov: impression ( open up) Line
– Dec J an Feb: bash ( Party time) Line
– Mar Apr May: cramming ( exam) line

Highlighters
• Organize Fresher Day
• Sponsor College festivals
• Scholarships
• Mr. and Miss College.
• Biking competition
• Save glacier campaign- college students going
to Tibet, etc.
• E-community- e.g.like J ago re or application on
Facebook

Online Activity- Place to
hangaround of new generation
• Banner on gaming sites- indiagames.com etc
• Articles- Website
– Current News.
– Career Options
– Latest trends,
– Latest gadgets,
– What happening around- great palces to be seen
( new pub, disco), College Festivals- give banner
space to colleges to highlight there events
– How to maintain – bikes, ipods, etc
– Counseling- There fears, guidance etc

Website to refer
• Converse.com
• Pepejeans.com
• Levis.com
• Addidas.com
• Etc……

Descriptive
• Demographic: Age, Gender, Education,
income
• Psychographic: Intrest, opinion, values,
lifestyle.
• Consumption: Usage rate, satisfaction,
loyalty,
• Psychological influence: personality, self
image, perception, involvement,
• Social Influence: Culture, social class,
family

Location
• Metro,
• Urban, rural
• Brand Personality:
– Young, energy, exciting
– Low involvement products

Thks