Gen C:The Connected Collective By Dan Pankraz

ENGAGING GENERATION C ‘The Connected Collective’ By Dan Pankraz

Dan Pankraz Youth Planning Specialist Based in Sydney, Australia Follow me on twitter.com/danpankraz Email me on danpankraz@gmail.com

The changing media and consumer landscape The Rise of Generation C Creating a Collective around your brand Evolving the Communication Model

... is an umbrella term that defines various CONSUMER activities that integrate technology, social interaction and the construction of words, pictures, video and audio. Source. Wikipedia.org

SOCIAL NETWORKS VS SOCIAL MEDIA My Social network People share information in Social Media We talk about Family Life Work Socialising Sport

MORE SIMPLY PUT…. Social Media is about people having conversations and sharing online

GLOBALLY, PEOPLE ARE INTERACTING AND SHARING LIKE NEVER BEFORE

AND IT’S PRETTY DAMN BIG IN AUSTRALIA TOO September 14, 2007 client name or logo 4.3M Australians on Facebook 2.3M Australians have created a blog 7.1M Australians read one or more blogs 1.6M Australians ongoing update their blog since creating it 84% of Australian internet users use Web 2.0 for sharing content such as photos, links and video 83% consume Consumer Generated Media content 78% of Australians download and stream audio and video content 39% of Australians create online content in the form of uploading video and music *estimates based on the Australian online universe aged 14+ of 2.652 million as of January 2008 (source: Nielsen Media National Readership Survey – Quarter 4 2007)

AUSSIE YOUTH IN SOCIAL MEDIA 3.4 Hours a day on the Internet Synovate research 12 Feb 2009 36% Read other peoples social network profile pages 35% Regularly update their profile pages 98% Of all Youth connected on the Internet 52% Report increased usage of the Internet from previous year and expected to grow 41% Have searched for information on products and services

THE RESULT: MEDIA DEMOCRATISATION WHERE ANYBODY CAN BECOME AN AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, FILM MAKER OR STAR

… they’re NOT an age cohort, but a Collective of creators whose interests and behaviours are expressed across the technologically progressive backdrop of social media….

GEN C’S PRIMARY NEED IS TO BELONG TO A COLLECTIVE

GEN C MOVE AS ‘SWARMS’ MOVE AS ONE NO ONE LEADER ACTIVE SHARE FAST WEB 2.0 HAS ENABLED ‘SWARM BEHAVIOUR’ ‘ The Nature of Marketing’ by Chuck Brymer

IN CONTRAST, GEN X AND BOOMERS TYPICALLY DISPLAY ‘HERD’ BEHAVIOUR MOVE INDEPENDENTLY WAIT TO BE LED PASSIVE SLOW

… accelerating the ‘social graph’

Whether Gen C FLOCK OR FLEE depends on...

WHETHER YOU’RE PERCEIVED AS A OR PREDATOR PEER

GEN C ARE THE CONNECTED COLLECTIVE CRAVING CONSTANT CONTACT WITH FRIENDS Always searching for ‘CULTURAL CAPITAL’ to talk about

THEIR MOBILE PHONES ARE THEIR SOCIAL HUB DELIVERING ON THREE KEY NEEDS EXPRESSIONISM Creativity COLLECTIVISM Belonging ESCAPISM Entertainment Competition

WE’LL SEE AN OUTBREAK OF O.L.D. – ‘OBSESSIVE LIFESTREAMING DISORDER’ Gen C’s need for belonging and social significance has led to the constant archiving of one’s memories, words, photos and detailing every-day life for public sharing . Streaming your life in 5 minute intervals

AND THERE IS AN UNDERLYING COMPETITIVE PRESSURE WITHIN THESE COLLECTIVES TO BE IN THE KNOW ‘SNOOPING’ PHENOMENON Who is with who? Where are people going ? Who is/isn’t invited? Wearing? Style? Status...

THEY COLLABORATE ON EVERYTHING Peer influence has made purchase decision making a ‘Team Sport’

EVEN GAMING HAS SEEN A SHIFT FROM INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT TO ‘COLLECTIVE FUN’ Group play of Wii and MMORPG’s more popular than Xbox 360

REAL AND CYBER WORLDS CO-EXIST Their personas can be fluid through these different worlds

C FOR CONTENT Youtube is the new TV, they don’t want ‘appointment to view’ The swarm gravitate towards content that gives them something to talk about with friends

GEN C COMPRESS 38 HOURS OF ACTIVITY INTO A DAY Living in a state of continuous partial attention

REQUIRING CONSTANT STIMULATION ‘Always on’ attitude

C FOR CO-CREATION AND REMIXING Gen C are our partners in communication Source:Faris Yakob blog

Source: Forrester Research ‘Technographics Profile’ Australia 2008 ALTHOUGH IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE ‘TECHNOGRAPHIC’ PROFILE Creators Critics Collectors Joiners Spectators Inactives Publish a blog Publish your own Web pages Upload video you created Upload audio/music you created Write articles or stories and post them Post ratings/reviews of products/services Comment on someone else’s blog Contribute to online forums Contribute to/edit articles in a wiki Use RSS feeds Add “tags” to Web pages or photos “ Vote” for Web sites online Maintain profile on a social networking site Visit social networking sites Read blogs Watch video from other users Listen to podcasts Read online forums Read customer ratings/reviews None of the above

IT IS MAINSTREAM IN AUSTRALIA 26% Influence 65% Influenced

C FOR CREATIVITY An insatiable appetite for creativity in the palm of their hands

THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR LEARNING NEW SKILLS WHILE NOT TAKING THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY

PUTTING THEIR OWN CREATIVE SPIN ON SNACKABLE IDEAS Make it simple, easy, random and addictive Make it simple, easy, random and addictive

THEIR CREATIVITY HAS MANIFESTED TO AN EXPLOSION IN BODY ART The ‘Ink Tribe’ is pervasive across all Gen C subcultures and a form of cultural capital

5 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN ENGAGING WITH GEN C It’s about doing, not saying If you don’t stimulate conversation and give them something worth talking about… it’s over Not a Target Audience, but partners in production, modulation, development and distribution of brand ideas. ‘ Subversive Communications’ is the future - when Gen C feel like they’re ‘in the know’ in regards to a brand idea, they then propagate within their collective A brand must be inspired by the culture of the collective you hope to reach

HOW DO YOU CREATE A COLLECTIVE AROUND YOUR BRAND ?

3 KEY PRINCIPALS TO GET THE GEN C SWARM ‘FLOCKING’ TO YOUR BRAND CONVICTION CREATIVITY COLLABORATION

CONVICTION Stand for a belief system and inspire Have a point of view on the world Be real and honest Have a peer to peer conversation, don’t talk down to them

NIKE FOOTBALL ‘BOOTCAMP’ HELPS YOU TRAIN LIKE A PRO

NBA 2K9 ‘THE OTHER SEASON’ ALLOWS GAMERS TO BE DRAFTER INTO AN ONLINE FANTASY LEAGUE OWNED BY 9 REAL NBA PLAYERS

THE ‘BEST JOB IN THE WORLD’ $150K TO LIVE IN PARADISE AND REPORT TO THE WORLD

GIVE ME SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN

ORANGE ‘ROCKCORPS’ GIVES YOU THE CHANCE TO GIVE BACK 4 HOURS OF YOUR TIME TO A COMMUNITY PROJECT = 1 AMAZING GIG TICKET

THE GREAT SCHLEP MOBILISED YOUNG JEWS TO CAMPAIGN FOR OBAMA...24,000 OF THEM

DON’T BULLSHIT ME.. BE HONEST AND REAL

WITCHERY IS MORE KNOWN FOR DECEIVING US THAN CREATING A COOL CONVERSATION $3.99 There’s a fine line between being ‘deceived’ and being let in on a secret

CREATIVITY Do something remarkable Deliver brand utility – it’s about doing, not saying Stimulate conversations in culture, then participate Be a discovery brand, let them uncover interesting and surprising things about you, or create them yourself

DO STUFF FOR ME...DELIVER BRAND UTILITY

THE ‘FUTURE FILM FESTIVAL’ IS FOR BUDDING DIRECTORS, ACTORS, WRITERS (AGED 13-25) GIVING THEM THE CHANCE TO GET UP CLOSE AND LEARN FROM GURU’S IN FILM..ALL FOR FREE

AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, GARNIER OFFERED TEEN GIRLS THE CHANCE FOR A QUICK MAKEOVER..FOR FREE GIRLS LINED UP FOR 3 HOURS IN 32 DEGREE HEAT FOR A QUICK MAKEOVER AND A $30 GARNIER GIFT PACK

NINTENDO CREATED THE Wii TENNIS CLUB GIVING YOUNG TENNIS PLAYERS THE CHANCE TO COMPETE AGAINST THEIR HEROES… AND EACH OTHER….

CREATE CONTENT I’LL WANT TO TALK ABOUT AND SHARE

ZOO YORK’S ‘SPREAD THE WORD’ TURNED FANS INTO MESSAGE CARRIERS

SPARK CULTURAL PHENOMENON, NOT CAMPAIGNS

MOOKS BRINGS ‘CUPROCKING’ TO THE WORLD VIA ANDY UPROCK

COLLABORATION Try to motivate ‘collectives’ not the individual consumer Invite manipulation of your content, have flexibility and fluidity with your ideas Enable relationships to develop around common interests Listen to what your fans are saying ‘swells’, then give them something interesting Experiment

RELINQUISH BRAND CONTROL AND INVOLVE ME

MOUNTAIN DEW LET TEENS TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR BRAND VIA ‘DEWMOCRACY...A NATIONAL ELECTION TO CREATE A NEW FLAVOUR PROBLEM: Create a closer connection with Dew drinkers. SOLUTION: ‘ Dewmocracy’ campaign, a national election to create the next Mountain Dew flavour. Oct 07 at dewmocracy.com teens could create all aspects of new drink, colour, name, flavour and the ads for it. Top 3 drinks were voted on and tried out. Mountain Dew ‘Voltage’ won with 42% of vote and hits in Jan 09. RESULT: 1.6m unique site visitors 350,000 votes on dewmocracy.com Massive social buzz & excitement

YOUTH CAN NOW DESIGN SHOES VIA THEIR MOBILE WITH NIKE ID

LET ME GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL...VIA MEDIA AGGREGATION

ADIDAS BASKETBALL FOR ‘ALL STAR WEEKEND’ LET YOU FOLLOW DWIGHT HOWARD AROUND FOR THE WEEKEND....HE UPLOADED PICS, VIDEO FOOTAGE AND TWITTER’D

GIVE ME TOOLS TO REMIX AND RE-IMAGINE IDEAS

Source: Mr Truffle’s Flickr photostream

LISTEN TO YOUR BRAND FANS, THEN REACT

HOW TO LISTEN IN SOCIAL MEDIA Create profiles on the following websites Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Bebo, Google Search for conversations relating to your brand Collate the results in one place and make sense of what consumers are saying

EA SPORTS RESPONDED TO A YOUTUBE USER COMMENT ABOUT A ‘GLITCH’ IN THE PGA ‘WALK ON WATER ’ VIDEO GAME

BURGER KING CREATED THE ‘WHOPPER SACRIFICE’ WHERE YOU GOT A FREE WHOPPER IF YOU SACRIFICED 10 FACEBOOK FRIENDS

EVOLVING THE COMMUNICATION MODEL

THE OLD WAY OF COMMUNICATING TO THE ‘HERD’ HAS LIMITED SUCCESS WITH GEN C

BECAUSE THE CONVERSATIONS ARE NOW HAPPENING WITHIN COMMUNITIES

SO IT’S NOW ABOUT GETTING CLLECTIVES TO TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT YOUR BRAND THROUGH MORE ORGANIC COMMS MODELS Source: David Armano Blog

AND SHIFTING HOW YOUR BRAND BEHAVES IN MEDIA TRADITIONAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA Brand in control Consumer in control One way delivery Repeating the message Informing, Entertaining Solely company created content Co-creation where relevant Influencing, Involving Adapting the message Two way, part of a conversation The ‘Best Bits’ Complete Honesty & Transparency

I BELIEVE THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOUTH BRANDS CAN INTERACT IN SOCIAL MEDIA ‘ DO GOOD MARKETING’ MOVEMENT ‘ SUBVERSIVE’ MOVEMENT VS VS VS VS VS Big mainstream brands Eg: Coke, Nike Underground niche brands Eg: Zoo York Give back to community, Provide utility Honesty, bigger causes Self enhancement Hoaxes, tricks, rebellion Disrupt/agitate the community Feel good stuff Squirm worthy stuff Mainstream youth culture Youth subcultures

5 KEY QUESTIONS FOR YOUR NEXT YOUTH BRIEF What SWELLS in culture can you contribute to? What COMMUNITY should we engage with? What CONVERSATION can we get people talking about? What’s our POINT OF VIEW on this conversation? What CRISIS plan will we have in place?

REFERENCES David Armano ‘Logic & Emotion’ blog Faris Yakob Blog Peeyosh Chandra (PC), Social media guru at DDB Radar Sydney Sally Hrouda, RAPP Sydney Mike Arauzo Blog

Gen C:The Connected Collective By Dan Pankraz

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