One in three US teens says they can’t live without their games console. Out of 18,000 young people around the world, almost 70 percent said the first thing they did after turning on their computer was to check IM. With marketing research like this, you can fine-tune your marketing approach to the elusive young audience.
At Microsoft, we understand the intersection of the consumer and technology. Our advertising solutions can help you connect with your consumers as they access different media at various points throughout the day—from PCs to games to mobile devices—and even more in the future.
The average Chinese young person has 37 online friends he or she has never met, Indian youth are most likely to see mobile phones as status symbols, while one in three UK and US teenagers says they can’t live without their games console.
Globally, the average young person connected to digital technology has 78 people on a messenger buddy list and 86 people in their social networking community. Yet despite their technological immersion, only 20 percent of 14-to-24-year-old young people globally admitted to being “interested” in technology.
These are just some of the findings from the largest-ever global study undertaken by MTV and Nickelodeon, in association with
Microsoft Advertising that examined how young people interacted with digital technology.
The technology and lifestyle study, conducted by Circuits of Cool/Digital Playground, challenges traditional assumptions about their relationships with digital technology, and examines the impact of culture, age, and gender on technology use.
“We wanted to understand more deeply how young people interact with digital technologies and consequently what this means for our advertising partners focused on reaching this highly engaged and influential audience. Working with MTV Networks globally on this study enabled us to do so,” said Chris Dobson, Vice President, Global Advertising Sales, Microsoft Advertising.
- Technology has enabled young people to have more and closer friendships thanks to constant connectivity.
- Friends influence each other as much as marketers do.
- Friends are as important as brands.
- Young people don’t love the technology itself—they just love how it enables them to communicate all the time, express themselves and be entertained.
- Digital communications such as IM, e-mail, social networking sites, and mobile/sms are complementary to, not competitive with, TV.
- TV is part of young peoples’ digital conversation.
“There is a critical difference in mobile phone usage between kids and teenagers. For 8-14s, the mobile phone is a toy that you can talk to parents and close friends on. From 14 onwards the mobile phone quickly becomes a means of communication and self-expression,” said Andrew Davidson, Vice President of VBS International Insight, MTV Networks International.
Many of the 14-24s surveyed said that the different forms of communication enabled them to talk about more intimate subjects than they would have otherwise done.
- On average, 14-24s said they had 20 online friends.
- Communicating with friends is a priority.
- Nearly 70 percent said the first thing they did after turning on their computer was to check IM.
- 14-17 girls spend the least time online—21 hours per week,
- 22-24 males spent the most time online—31 hours a week online.
- One hundred percent of those surveyed said they communicate every time they go online.
“The power of online communication tools, like instant messenger and social networking sites, enables young people to communicate both privately and with multiple friends. Features in IM, like winks and emoticons, add to the fun of chatting and allow them to express themselves more deeply,” said Caroline Vogt, Head of International Research, Microsoft Advertising.
Advertisers and content companies wishing to evolve and engage with kids and youth audiences need to understand the changes taking place in how young people lead their lives. “Traditional youth marketing considered opinion formers and influencers to be a small elite, but these days the elite has become much larger,” said Davidson.
A clear majority of young people asked said the majority of Web site links (88 percent) they viewed and the viral video content they downloaded (55 percent) came from friends’ recommendations. Audiences also wanted more control of what they watched and when they wanted it. Young people expect content to be on all platforms—mobile, computer, and TV. They want it to be searchable and increasingly expect it to be supplied on demand through services such as Joost.
“In an age when young people influence each other as much as marketers do, friends are becoming as important as brands. Kids have much more power to influence each other. You need to be interesting enough for young people to bother to talk about you. You need to be remarkable. If not, you won’t be respected—that’s what some brands get wrong,” said Davidson.
Vogt agreed. “Brands need to provide teens with content that they want to share. Their reward will be the loyalty of brand-savvy groups.
Microsoft’s online campaign for Sony is a great example of using content to build loyalty across a youth audience. By announcing new film releases using a
Messenger tab, Sony was able to provide content for teens that they then shared with peers across their networks, generating 8.4 million visits to the site,” said Vogt.
Circuits of Cool/Digital Playground found that the things that youths enjoy doing the most are:
- Watching TV (85 percent)
- Listening to music (70 percent)
- Hanging out with friends (68 percent)
- Playing video games (67 percent)
- Spending time online (51 percent)
While the "best ad they’ve seen recently" is still overwhelmingly on TV, there is the opportunity for marketers to extend their digital advertising across the other technologies kids are engaged with, including IM and social networking sites, especially since 47 percent of youth IM each other about what is on TV right now.
“Far from being a background medium, TV is the only medium they use while not multitasking at all. Linear TV is the medium for introducing people to new things they weren’t searching for in the first place,” said Davidson.
And for IM, the top topics for 14-24s were:
- Gossiping (62 percent)
- Making arrangements (57 percent)
- Talking about the opposite sex (57 percent)
- Flirting (55 percent), work, or school (54 percent)
- TV and music (52 percent)
“The amount of time young people are spending on instant messenger every day presents a very powerful opportunity for brands to connect with the youth audience. When on IM, teenagers are at their most engaged and interactive,” said Vogt.
At Microsoft, we understand the intersection of the consumer and technology. Our advertising solutions can help you connect with your consumers as they access different media at various points throughout the day—from PCs to games to mobile devices—and even more in the future.
