Studying the tribe

Media News

Mumbai, May 2, 2011

The 'global marketplace' is a bit of a cliché now, but you only have to dive into one of the many global youth tribe studies to see that when it comes to youth, their motivations, and their relationships with brands the similarities.

worldwide far outnumber the differences. Younger consumers are well-connected and well-informed, and expect to feast on only the best-of-the-best delicacies. But for youth brands, understanding what makes young people tick must be right at the center of their offering. Where to start? For youth (and in fact for all consumers), the search for social status is at the heart of almost every purchase and action.

And what we're seeing, in India and around the world, is that for an increasing number of people, status is increasingly not just about owning the biggest or most expensive, but can also be about acquired skills, about ecocredentials, about generosity, or about being connected to name a few. Now, that's not to say that Indian youth aren't still chasing the material dream, but that there are increasing opportunities for brands to reach out to people with new aspirations. And the opportunities for consumer.

brands in India are truly awesome. Because as well as having a vast youth population, India's young people are getting ever more urban and thus more accessible, richer and more open to trying new products and experiences.

We call these new consumers Citysumers -increasingly young, increasingly urban consumers who are addicted to the here and- now, experiences, choice and freedom, flexibility and rawness, unrestricted opportunity, and yes, the hunt for the Next Big Thing. Urbanization and its associated social change is leading to another trend that we are seeing in Indian youth: Maturialism (mature materialism).

Younger generations have grown up immersed in consumer culture: they 'get' it. But just as sources of social status are fragmenting, so are the expectations of consumers. Savvy, streetwise youth are increasingly bored, if not downright distrustful of the conventional consumer-producer relationship, and now look for brands and products that are more authentic, more human, and quite simply more mature.

There's an obvious link between the broad spread of more liberal attitudes and increasing Indian urbanization. As new arrivals find themselves distanced from traditional social and familial structures, and are exposed to a wider range of alternative goods, services, lifestyles and experiences, their tolerance to these alternatives grows, as does their interest. Now, deep social and cultural changes don't happen overnight. Compared to many trends, these changes are moving at a glacial pace.

And while we're certainly not suggesting that everyone becomes overwhelmingly liberal as soon as they move to the city, the clear trend is for urban populations to have more diverse living arrangements, and have more socially liberal and tolerant views towards abortion, euthanasia,casual sex, homosexuality, religion, drug use, women's rights etc.

For further information, please contact:

MTV

Arun Kumar

Email: arun.kumar@viacom18.com