Young hearts and minds
Starcom’s Heather Dansie and Channel 4’s Sophia Field spoke with young people to identify the emotional needs that were most compelling to them today. What they discovered has significant implications for the way brands target them through advertising.
Marketers are still fascinated by young people. Indeed, they’ve never been so important as the speed in which they influence the market place has never been faster; from the way they communicate on emerging social media platforms, to the speed in which they’ve embraced the sharing economy.
Many assumptions are made about young people, but to really connect with this audience, brands have to understand the deep emotional reasons as to why they behave in certain ways. Starcom and Channel 4 conducted the study ‘Young Hearts and Minds’, to find out just that, asking over 1,100 young people to identify the emotional needs that were most compelling to them today.
The results, which prioritise and quantify how young people express these desires, have significant implications for the way brands target young people through advertising.
Security emerges as a key ‘need’ state with 9 out of 10 saying it was very important to them today and was also the need which had grown more important over the past year. The recent EU referendum brings this into sharp focus, where younger people voted overwhelmingly (73%) to stay in Europe which, amongst other things, highlights a vote for security and stability.
A desire for security in turbulent times
Many young people are aware that they are growing up in a culture of political change, austerity and fast paced technological innovation. The path to adulthood is complex and challenging with more distractions than ever before.
Key milestones such as marriage, a career, a house are achieved in a less linear and less traditional fashion, and aren’t necessarily guaranteed. Young people are preparing for jobs that might not even exist yet. In fact, a report from Demos found that 18 year olds are three times more likely to believe that school doesn’t prepare them for adulthood than 14 year olds.
Novelty seeking and capturing defining moments
Novelty is a need that is more relevant to this age group than any other. Why? They have more time, more appetite and realistically, they have the energy for it.
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The boom in experience economy is built on our desire for thrills not just things. Novelty means “Adventure” (54%) followed by “Opportunities” (44%). Travel is a huge part of discovery and self-development, and of course it isn’t just about experiencing new cultures or meeting new people.
“I did it for Instagram” is a reason to do anything. The anticipation and nervous energy that surrounds each new encounter is heightened by the strategic need to capture it for all eternity. 63% agreed that social media is crucial to meeting this need because if you don’t have the photo, well, then it (almost) didn’t happen.
Relationships are built on affirmation
Arguably this is the most connected and worldly youth group to ever exist. Yet they are also one of the loneliest. Depression is high with this age group and fewer teenagers go out post 9pm or have a boyfriend or girlfriend than back in 1997 (Source: British Lifestyle Survey). How come?
We’ve found that, whilst 58% of young people still build relationships through meeting up with friends, the same percentage build relationships through online channels.
Communication between friends is becoming quicker, broadcast and group orientated. Rather than a dialogue, communication becomes increasingly a means of validation through “likes” from peers to your posts and/or photos online.
Whilst you have greater access to what is happening in the lives of friends, the relationships are often built on weaker ties. These weaker ties, built on written, rather than spoken communication means that it becomes much easier not to commit.
The rules of FOMO mean it becoming socially acceptable to feel that it’s OK to take up a better offer. In our study, Coca Cola stood out as a brand that delivered powerful and compelling messages of friendship and loyalty – of standing by your friends.
Integrity delivers self-actualisation and esteem
Whilst Integrity was ranked the 5th most important need in our hierarchy at 75%, it is still acutely relevant to this demographic. Integrity centres around moral principles and for young people it primarily means Justice (38%).
7 in 10 young people view themselves as social activists and social media is an integral means for young people to share their opinions, seek information and stay connected to the issues facing the world today.
This space is a particularly difficult one for brands, as our study revealed that only 10% of young people think brands help to provide them with something to believe in. Yet brands that stay true to strong principles in an authentic manner are the ones that seek attention from young people.
Brands such as Selfridges’ Agenda clothing line or Lush who have a clear environmental approach, cut through the clutter. When 25% of young people say their trust in companies is lower than it has ever been (Source: YouthSight), delivering integrity becomes a vital means to connect.
Brands must focus on needs first, demographics second
The needs highlighted in the research also resonate with people beyond the 16-24 year demographic too. By tapping into fundamental desires that affect how we approach life and make decisions it allow us to talk to potential customers in highly meaningful and inclusive ways.
By understanding the cultural shifts amongst young people from generation to generation we are able to define and build compelling experiences to engage with this important audience. And needs states are an important starting point.
Heather Dansie is associate director of research at Starcom and Sophia Field is senior research executive at Channel 4
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