ROAR Talks Up Word Of Mouth Youth Advertising
Young opinion forming groups have been identified as the prime target for advertisers by a new study from ROAR, the collaborative research group run by the Guardian, Channel 4, Emap Advertising and OMD UK.
According to the research, which was unveiled at the DMA Target Youth Conference today, young audiences can be broken down into three distinct categories: Opinion Formers, Aspirants and Mainstreams.
ROAR’s research claims that Opinion Formers constitute 12% of 15 to 24 year-olds and have a genuine passion for new technology and music, actively seeking out new products and sounds. It is this group in particular that can be instrumental in promoting products via word of mouth, with their knowledge of emerging music artists being spread the fastest in 70% of cases.
Conversely, the study shows that Mainstream youths, constituting 65% of 15 to 24 year-olds, have little interest in finding new trends and technologies, instead being lead by the media and influenced by the Opinion Formers. Aspirants sit between the other two categories, believing they are Opinion Formers, but actually picking up on new trends solely through media coverage. Aspirants make up 13% of 15 to 24 year-olds.
ROAR’s report states that Opinion Formers are the key group that marketers should influence to encourage early adoption and trialing of new products. They are more print media focused and read specialist niche magazines that relate to their particular areas of interest.”
It also claims they have a definite symbiotic relationship with media and pick up signals both from UK and international media. They play an essential role in spreading the word within the youth market by predominantly influencing the Mainstream segment.”
The latest research follows similar findings by Mediaedge:cia published last month. The research urged advertisers to exploit the influence of word of mouth as an integral part of marketing campaigns, rather than treating it as an afterthought, in order to maximise the effectiveness of campaigns (see Mediaedge Talks Up Word Of Mouth Marketing).
ROAR: www.roar.org.uk
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