Research Reveals The Pulling Power Of Geezers
Advertisers may be missing the mark by targeting their campaigns at ABC1 consumers, with new research showing that men and women from lower social groupings have higher disposable incomes and fewer overheads.
The latest study from youth research group, Vegas, shows that a new demographic group known as “Geezers” is driving consumer culture with its love of high-end designer brands, excessive drinking and fast cars. The vast disposable income of these so called Geezers, combined with their wealth of unfulfilled desires, lack of confidence and desire to impress their friends, makes them highly valuable to advertisers.
Vegas defines Geezers as male or females aged between 18 and 24, wearing expensive sportswear or prestige brands. The Geezer is poorly educated, has an uninspiring job and drinks heavily to compensate.
The research claims that Geezers are the largest and most ubiquitous youth tribe in the UK, with conservative estimates putting the total number at around 2.5 million. On Friday and Saturday nights they descend into the UK’s urban centres for bouts of heavy drinking.
For Geezers consumerism is the new religion and they have a far greater propensity to spend their disposable income on expensive brands than other social groupings. Through owning brands such as Versace, Louis Vitton, Gucci, Burberry and Lacoste Geezers are said to put meaning in their otherwise meaningless existence.
The research suggests that marketers should re-assess their approach to reflect the fact that the ABC1 consumer is too laden with university debt to invest in high-end brands. According to Vegas, the average student leaves university with £12,000 of debt and no desire to move back to the family home. In contrast, the Geezer usually lives at home and therefore has very few overheads and more cash to splash on socialising and shopping.
On a more sinister note the research claims that TV criminals and high-profile gangsters are “inverse style leaders” for Geezers. They are opinion formers and lead lives to which other Geezers aspire.
With the key influences on this group being unfettered consumerism and a type of hip hop often derided as “gold chain and no brain” music, this group’s quest for fulfilment through purchasing maybe unending.
Recent research from Datamonitor reveals that consumers across Europe are increasingly purchasing products of all types in order to reflect their aspiration to lead a cool lifestyle (see Survey Reveals The Rise Of Cool Consumerism).
Vegas www.vegastrbi.co.uk
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