Being a part of the talk

Media News

New Delhi, April 30, 2012

According to Ritesh Ghosal, head brand marketing at Tata Docomo, the best way to engage the young is through a two-way conversation rather than just advertising itself.

Q 1. What according to you is the best way to engage the young? What works with them?

- Self-deprecating humour, irrevent iconoclasm, a brand that doesn't take itself too seriously. Also, a brand that engages them in a two-way conversation rather than just advertising itself.

Q 2. Does the approach differ for the telecom industry?

- Tata Docomo believes in talking life rather than category and therefore, has never believed it's a telecom brand. We are a youth brand, telecom is our playing-field.

Q 3. How does the younger generation think today? As a tribe would or as strongly opinionated individuals?

- Youth as a life-stage, sees itself as a tribe. Their group (tribe) is their sense of identity and the grown-up world symbolised by parent, teachers, etc the world they are up against. This I believe is as true today as it has ever been. What has changed is their awareness of the environment and the level of self-confidence.

Q 4. What should brands keep in mind while conversing with the youth?

- Today's youth is far more advertising literate and far more brand-conscious than the environment they live in. It is important to treat them as intelligent consumers. Advertising that doesn't dot the last i and cross the last t is rewarded with attention and buzz.

Q 5. Should a brand establish aspirational difference or is it better (for a brand) to be one amongst them (the young people)?

- Its not an either or question. Aspirational is not merely a lifestage its also the lifestyle. My answer would be that its critical for a brand to create an aspirational life-style – whether the life-stage is pitched above or at the youth TG is a function of the category.

Q 6. How important a tool is social media for a brand to reach out to the younger generation?

- The youth appreciates a one-to-one conversation with his brands and social media is a platform amenable to two-way conversations. Therefore, it's a critical tool for any brand interested in the youth segment.

Q 7. Do role models matter any longer or is the young happy treading his/her own path today?

- In a fast-changing world the youth find it difficult to look up to achievers who grew up at a different time. Yet as a life-stage, youth requires icons to look up to, belief-systems to belong to, etc. Brands like MTV and Tata Docomo play a larger role in the youth's life because they fill at least part of this lacuna.

Q 8. What appeals to the young ones today? The freedom to be, to express, to lead or to follow, share, be a part of the party?

- Again this is not an either-or. The youth wants freedom to be, to express, to lead in the context of the grown-up world and to share, be part of, etc with its tribe.

For further ifnormation, please contact:

MTV

Alexander

alexander.valldares@viacom18.com