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the seven misconceptions of
youth marketing

misconception no.1:
YOU ARE YOUR TARGET MARKET

Anyone turning 16 next year…
was born in 1993

misconception no.2:
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ALL COOL

‘Coolness’ is relative…
Your average teenager goes
to school, does their
homework, spends more time
with their parents than their
friends, saves money, listens
to pop music, doesn’t drink
(that much), doesn’t take
drugs and wears a limited
supply of high street fashion…

misconception no.3:
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ALL TROUBLE

'The children now love luxury; they
have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for
elders and love chatter in lace of
exercise. Children are now tyrants, not
the servants of their households. They
no longer rise when elders enter the
room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up
dainties at the table, cross their legs,
and tyrannize their teachers…
Socrates: 460 BC

misconception no.4:
THE YOUTH POPULATION IS SMALL

a) There are 3,284,000 young Australians (P13-24)
b) There are 200,000 foreign students
c) Over 400,000 backpackers arrive every year

misconception no.5:
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE HARD TO FIND

Young people are the biggest consumers
of media and entertainment

Technology (and advertising) has created:
“Media Fragmentation”
Young people have evolved the ability to:
“Multi-Media-Task”

Multi-Media-Tasking
Hours per day spent doing…
12.00
11.00
10.00
1.21
9.00
Gaming
8.00 1.51 On the Internet
7.00
0.88
6.00 3.21
Watching DVDs
5.00 1.13
HOURS
4.00 1.98
3.00
2.00 4.40 Watching Television
2.91
1.00
0.00
Weekday Weekend
Source: The Australian Kids & Family Panel
(Nickelodeon 2008) 11-17 year olds

misconception no.6:
YOUNG PEOPLE DON’T CARE ABOUT
BRANDS

Kids can discern brands by
18 months…
source: Marketers Merchants of Menace, Herald Sun, published Sept 2007

and by the age of two, they
ask for brands by name
source: Marketers Merchants of Menace, Herald Sun, published Sept 2007

US teens have 145
conversations a
week about brands
source: The Keller Fay Group, TalkTrack Survey August 2007

…twice the rate of adults
source: The Keller Fay Group, TalkTrack Survey August 2007

58% of teen conversations
about bran ds are positive
source: The Keller Fay Group, TalkTrack Survey August 2007

Favourite Brands Australia (P13-19)
Strictly confidential – legally protected and privileged information

misconception no.7:
YOU NEED TO SPEND ALL YOUR BUDGET
ONLINE BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE ALL THE
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE

online is not a silo
Print
Online TV

online is the thread that
ties everything together

Is there a secret to youth marketing?

“Be intimately involved
with your target
audience’s lifestyle,
understand their wants
and needs and the
landscape they live in”
Omar Saar - UniverSOUL

The 5 Pillars of Youth Culture
Fashion Sport Technology
Socialising Music

(Note: Media & advertising are not a pillars of
youth culture)

What is your single
minded proposition?

Don’t think advertising
Think ENTERTAINMENT

evolve, fragment and deliver
give everyone a little piece, if they like it
they’ll come back for more.

Mountain Dew Case Study
casestudy1: www.mountaindew.com

casestudy2: www.mooks.com

casestudy3:

threebillion.com
Contact:
paul.macgregor@mcn.com.au
paul@threebillion.com