The no bullsh*t guide to reaching the youth

Who are they?

In South Africa, it's not possible to stick the entire age group into one category. There are simply too many social, demographic and environmental variables involved.

But let's say you're only looking at those that are able to buy whatever it is you're selling, since it's accessible and it's affordable AND it's of a reasonable size (sure there are very few millionaire 21-year-olds out there shopping for an M3, but BMW is very unlikely to target those exclusive few).

So, who makes up the ideal group? Well, they need money to pay for your products, so they need to have a job, so they probably have some sort of education. And, of course, they need to have access to whatever it is you want them to buy, so let's assume they live near to where most things are sold. Ok, urban environment.

Right, you've got a 21-year old kid, who lives somewhere in Joburg who has some disposable income (but not much).

Something that is clear amongst all young people, regardless of income, is that they, to some extent, are image-conscious. They care about what they eat, drink, wear, drive, listen to, read and watch and they can be influenced by their peers. This is good for those trying to sell them something, since all you need to do is make your product affordable and cool (not your cool, it has got to be youth cool).

What do they want?

They want cool, affordable stuff. Is that what you're selling?

How can you reach them?

So here it gets a little trickier. If you want to waste your money trying to reach this market, then go with television. Sure, it's fun to make TV ads - it's a day out of the office and there's free food - but it's freakin' expensive, and unless you have the budget of the US military or Oprah, it's not going to make a dent in the minds of South Africa's young consumers.

Radio is marginally better, and cheaper, although it's still relatively costly and short-lived. Unless your ad agency is spectacularly trendy, succinct and youth-focused, your message gets totally lost among the clutter that permeates the airwaves.

Print....eish...who reads these days? Secondly, does anybody even look at print ads anymore? Unless you're booking every ad space in the coolest youth mags in the country, your money is being squandered.

Outdoor has potential, but as the city skylines are filling up with more and more ad space, consumers are paying far less attention, so once again, you have to spend big bucks to cover the territory where your target market is spending their downtime.

Word of mouth

So, what does that leave you? There's only one way to reach the youth market, and make any sort of impact. And, incredibly, it doesn't cost you anything. It's WOM. Word-of-mouth. As any marketer knows, nothing can get your product off the shelves like a little bit of hype.

That's what all those companies using the expensive traditional advertising platforms are trying to create, and they're all failing. Young people don't listen to the TV or radio to tell them what to buy; they listen to their friends. That's why many young people still smoke - the entire world tells them it's bad for them, but, hey, my friend's doing it, so it's cool.

So, really all you need is a message and a platform that will get people talking about your product. If you have a cool product, and the youth are talking about it, and it's affordable, they will buy it.

Fortunately, at no charge to you, I will tell you how to do that.

1. Sell something cool (youth cool, remember), or change your product to make it cool, or change your image to make it cool (which by extension makes your product cool)

2. With your cool product/image, generate a cool, funky message - something that tells people that being seen wearing, drinking, eating or playing with your product makes them cool.

3. Put your message in places where the youth go. Seriously, isn't this part obvious? University and college campuses, shopping centres, bars, shebeens, sports clubs, Facebook, YouTube and MXit. Note that you don't have to put your product there, only the message (the assumption is that whatever you're selling is relatively easy to purchase nearby).

4. Force your market to notice your message. The bottom line is that we live in a world full of advertising. If you want people to notice your ad, it isn't just going to happen. You need to give a little incentive. And there's a very straightforward way to do this - Make. Your. Message. Interactive. If you can get your target market to interact with your advertising, they will notice it. If that interaction is fun, they will talk about it. And, if they talk about it, they will remember it. For example:

   1. Campus/shopping centre/bar - entertainment (free music, foosball, events, activation, go guerrilla - all branded with your message, of course)
      
   2. Bars and restaurants - washroom advertising ensures a truly captive audience (mid-stream), and depending on the amount of alcohol consumed combined with dodgy aim, interactivity is a real possibility
      
   3. Facebook - Cool branded game/application
      
   4. YouTube - Funny/weird viral video (not so easy, this)
      
   5. MXit - free branded music/games/applications etc.
      

5. If you have a cool product/image, it's affordable, and young people are talking about it, they will buy it.

   Easy.