Nearly Normal – Carlton’s Real Life Study of Young Adults

Research carried out on behalf of Carlton Television, reveals new facts about the role that television and consumer brands have in the lives of young adults. Produced in conjunction with The Research Business International (RBI), Nearly Normal studied 17 to 30 year olds to find out their needs, aspirations and television habits.

There are around 10.6 million 17 to 30 year olds in Great Britain, 22% of which are students, 65% are working, 67% are either single or divorced, 33% are married and 44% have children in the household. RBI took a sample audience of 612 adults, who were proportionately broken down by sex, age, lifestage, region and cable and satellite penetration.

The survey found that young adults expected advertising to be targeted towards them on ITV. The level of trust associated with television brands is now being demonstrated in their viewing behaviour patterns, with ITV and Channel 4 being held in high regard as recognised brands, in the same way that Nike, for example, is a recognised brand. The survey also found that there are now more opportunities to target this group.

The views of the so called ‘opinion formers’ among young adults were closely studied to see if their viewing patterns differed from the norm. The opinion formers were defined by separating the respondents into three groups: Ultra Opinion Formers (12%), who said they knew as much as or more than the people who write reviews; Opinion Formers (45%), who said they knew more about things than many of their friends to whom they offer the latest trends; and Non-Opinion Formers (43%), who said they know the same as their friends or rely on them to be informed.

Contrary to popular belief, the survey found that most opinion formers had only one main interest about which they know a great deal. There were found to be no significant differences between the opinion formers and their followers, with their views on relationships, friends and television programmes similar to that of the norm. The top ten programmes listed in their diaries were almost identical to those who do not consider themselves trendsetters.

The research process was conducted in three stages:

• Stage 1 – Face to face in home. This was conducted to gain a general understanding of issues and interests important to 17-30 year olds.
• Stage 2 – Diary. Here respondents were asked to record the television programmes they viewed as well as the various day to day activities they undertook.
• Stage 3 – Face to face in home. The respondents were asked why they viewed the programmes they did. They were also asked about the appeal of television in general and ITV in particular.

The response rate for the survey was 93%, with some of the findings highlighting a disparity between the sexes. The best example of this was found when participants were asked to write a storyline for a new soap opera. They were given a list of topics to choose from, with the females concentrating on introspective storylines like eating disorders and the males choose external themes like unemployment.

For further information about the study contact Catherine Blizzard or Caroline Hunt at Carlton Sales on 0171 240 4000.