16-24 Year OldsA Cake Perspective

Today

4 Key Areas:

1. Communication

Virtual Is Reality

Digital IS Where & How They Live Their Life

2. Lifestyle

Mix And Match Chic

The Death Of Tribes

3. Music

The Raconteurs

Story Telling, The New Social Currency Of The UK’s Music Fans

4. BeliefsWho Am I?

16-24 Year Olds Hope, Dreams & Fears

Virtual Is RealityDigital IS Where & How They Live Their Life

“They consume more hours of media a week than they get sleep. They’re masters at multi-tasking,

squeezing 31 hours of activity into one day. 26% of their time is spent on multiple media and as

a result, they have got very good at filtering out all the boring bits...

Nearly half of 18 to 24-year-old social networkers (45%) said that, if they had 15

minutes of spare time, they would choose to spend it on social networking sites, rather than watching TV, reading, talking on their mobile or

playing video games

The role of the internet in friendshipscontinues to be very important, with 83%

agreeing that it is important.

The MillennialsSources: MediaLife 2006, Media Week, Youth Tech Tribe Report

Social Currency

With the millennial generation seeing online as anatural part of their socialising with peers, social

currency has migrated online

Sites with interesting, ‘pass-on-able’ contentbecome key destination sites

Self Expression

Rise of:

User generated content

Blogging

Wiki’s

Social Networking

Twittering

Where They Are

Social Networking (3.2m)

Gaming (2.2m) Music (2.3m) Retail therapy (1.9m)

Source: Comscore 2007 / TGI 2007

General entertainment (3.1m)

Have grown up in a speeded up world. They want it now

Powerful group as they will spread information quickly

Adopted the web for knowledge, communication and entertainment - everything in their life

Summary - Virtual Is Reality

Mix And Match ChicThe Death Of Tribes

“Before the explosion of the internet, information about street fashion was much harder to find, and those who sought it had to rely on trend magazines, which sprang up in Japan to cater to otaku—obsessives who care about the precise type of rivet on a particular year’s Levi’s or how many eyelets are on a certain pair of Troop sneakers.”

Portfolio Magazine, October 2007

BAPE

The rise of blogs, broadband and digital camerashave exposed this cult to a global mass market

Brands such as Bathing Ape have capitalised onthis

Widens out into the mainstream

Search volume for Bape

The influence of friends on purchases made is huge, with 91% saying that friends’

recommendations have influence on what they buy

22% of 16-24 year olds said that, to earn their endorsement, brands should provide them with incentives, free downloads/content or

feedback opportunities

11% said social networks have made them expect more from brands and content online

14% of respondents believed brands appear more friendly and creative on such sites

21% of 16-24-year-olds claim that they always go online while watching TV.

Source: New Media Age

85% read comics/magazines

% of kids who read magazines

Once a week: 23%

Once every two-three weeks: 22%

Once a month: 31%

Less often: 24%

77% reading magazine less than weekly

Vs 70% visiting social networks every week

Source: TGI

If you are over-slavishly following one particular subculture that doesn’t look particularly impressive in terms of self expression which is really, really

important to young peoplePaul Hodkinson, Lecturer in Sociology and author of Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes

“I never wanted to attach an identity to myselfbecause I am into so much different stuff”

Paul, 23, The Phoenix Report

Bands like the Klaxons link elements of electronic, new wave music, disco, punk and indie and got a

generation of gig going kids into club culture

Bathe in the now culture of instant gratification thanksto information and entertainment at their finger tips

Cruise different styles, cultures and references, taking what they like and filtering out what they don’t

Everything they watch, buy or wear defines the world they live and who they are to their peers

Summary - Mix And Match Chic

The Raconteurs

Story Telling, The New Social Currency Of The UK’s Music Fans

Power Shift

“For years record companies have had their it all

their own way but that’s changing and we have

to change with it”Ged Doherty, Head of Sony BMG

20 billion songs were illegally downloaded in

2005 aloneIFPI, Piracy Report 2006

64% have recommended artists to others

77% have discovered music they love on SN’sEMR, 2007 Digital Music Survey

Nokia - Comes With Music

Madonna - $120m, 10 yr deal with Live Nation

Prince - Album give away with Mail

Radiohead - Pay what you want

Everyone Is An Expert

“The ownership of a huge and eclectic music collection has become ordinary. Thanks to the iPod, and digital music generally, anyone can build a glorious 10,000-song collection”www.rocknrollreport.com

Hype Machine - 700,000 unique users a month

Stereogum 400,000 unique users a monthwww.trafficestimate.com

Top 100 selling albums in 90’s = 30% of sales,

today its closer to 5%Wired, May 2006

Festival Fever

“It is total boom time for festivals. They are as

much a part of the summer now as Club 18-30”Paul Stokes, editor of NME

240 festivals in 2006 a 20% increase from ‘04Mintel, Music Concerts & Festivals 2006

Glastonbury 2000 - 100,000

Glastonbury 2008 - 180,000

European Market

- 65% rise in tickets sold to Brits at BenicassimYour Music Entertainment, 2007

Challenges:

Saliency - vs competition

Relevance - of brand at that moment

“Its like all music fashions. Look at the superclubs

that were hugely popular 10 years ago. Now

they are completely gone”Neil Greenway, founder of efestivals

Power of Experience

82% increase in number of gigs

35% increase in attendanceMintel, Music Concerts & Festivals 2006

The Twang- Sold out 2000 capacity Astoria before releasing a single- Sold out Brixton just 4 months after first album release

70% attend for the atmosphere as much as the musicMintel, Music Concerts & Festivals 2006

“We talk more about music experiences than music itself” Mark, 24

“Glastonbury festival is about more than music. There's theatre, cabaret and a huge outdoor cinema screen...” Imogen Tilden, Guardian

Power shifted from institutions to the punter

The social currency of music is shifting from the track to the

overall experience

An era of experience where people are becoming more

discerning and adventurous but less tribal

Summary - The Raconteurs

Who Am I?16-24 Year Olds Hope, Dreams & Fears

Qual groups held by Emotional Logic, 2007

Ambitions

“I want to be really really famous, I just want to be really good at something”

“To be successful and original and have a fun life doing what I enjoy for a living”

“I want to see everything, go everywhere, travel the world, own a nice house with a big garden, get a decently paid job that I enjoy”

90% of London teenagers want a job that helps the environmentDepartment for Children, Schools and Families

Passions

“My friends, I’m nothing without them”

“I don’t really have a passion, my passion is just to enjoy life”

“I love taking photographs, I love capturing moments”

“Making music, playing music, hearing music”

“Travel, exploring new places, learning new things, good food and drink, laughing with friends, the great outdoors, driving fast, live music”

When Do You Feel Great?

“Being praised after you have done something,achieved something” “Earning money after you have done a hard job” “Being with friends and being able to doanything, just being yourself” “I like Xmas. Then everyone spends time witheach other and everyone gets presents”

Fears

“That I’m not going to be able to get a good job”

“That I’m not going to accomplish anything before I die”

“Global warming, I just feel so helpless, to be honest I just ignore it now”

“Growing old and regretting not having done all the things I wanted to do”

What Would You Change?

“Less stress. Remove all stressful things (like)school. Nice easy life, just lie down all day”

“No laws. You can do what you want” “Being able to express yourself more. Not havingto hide who you really are. Like a job interview orsomething, you have pretend to be someoneother than who you are...because people don’tlike other people they want robots”

“You have to be quite plain to get on. A lot ofpeople don’t get on with each other and it getsquite stressful. So you have to work around that”

Currency Of Cool

They care less about salaries, and more about flexible working, time to travel and a better work-life balance.The Observer

‘What people yearn for these days is no longer an old-fashioned ‘status’ job, like being a Doctor. The ‘cool job’ has become the holy grail of the modern economy’

‘It is best to think of cool as the central status hierarchy in contemporary urban society. And like traditional forms of status such as class, cool is an intrinsically positional good.’

Rebel Sell, J. Heath

Crave personal recognition and the trappings of status

and success

Anything that they do not have control over worries them

particularly failure to achieve their goals

Happiness is their holy grail and money, work, education

and experience are perceived to deliver it

Summary - Who Am I?

Adopted the web for knowledge, communication and entertainment - everything in their life

Cruise different cultures and references, takingwhat they like and filtering out what they don’t

Led to an era of experience where people are becoming more

discerning and adventurous but less tribal

Without defined groups to belong to they crave personal

recognition and the trappings of success

Anything that they do not have control over worries them particularly

failure to achieve their goals

Conclusions For V

Vital you have a online presence in places relevant to audience

Need to create opportunities for interaction, entertainment and deeper engagement

Youth are not a homogenous group or numerous tribes,

they are a mish-mash of reference points

What does V say about me? You give them

something to be proud of

Music is about experiences - create badges of

honour that people talk about

Help them answer their social concerns, their way