Some say the worth of the youth population is obvious from its size. In key developing markets, 40% or more of the population is under 30 years old, so surely this is a market worth chasing.
Others have mentioned that young customers have a larger Life Time Value over a longer period of time. If you don’t have young customers, your current customers would eventually age and diminish.
However, to discover the full value of the youth market, one must look beyond the obvious, as Carol Philips wrote in her blog.
Millennials (Finally?) On the Move
Collectively, marketers know Millennials are a potent force. They are a large cohort, more homogenous than older cohorts due to their relative similarity in life stage and upbringing, and uniquely empowered through technology to ensure their voices are heard. What has been more surprising up until now is why they haven’t mobilized. I speculated in the past that it may be that they are less comfortable advocating on their own behalf than that of others. Now that the economy has given them a big enough cause, the time may have come for them to mobilize.
It is characteristic of Millennials that their movement is relatively calm, leaderless and still collaborating on its agenda. It may take a while for them to find their voice, but once found it is sure to be heard.
Read the full post here: http://millennialmarketing.com/2011/10/kings-of-wall-street-beware-millennials-gone-mad/
One of the biggest value in the youth market is in their ability to innovate and create change in a self-organizing manner. A segment of the youth market called the Cashless Innovators is particularly good at this. We see them at the forefront of Occupy Wall Street in New York, USA, and we see them pushing forward the adoption of bicycle-riding culture in a city crippled with traffic jams in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Only few brands realize this, and even fewer still know how to take advantage of it. Those that did, like Ford with its Fiesta Movement or Apple with the way it engages the Instagram community, are reaping an abundance in reward.
Your Comments